Riordan Mansion State Historic Park is an historic site in

Flagstaff, Arizona Flagstaff ( ) is a city in, and the county seat of, Coconino County, Arizona, Coconino County in northern Arizona, in the southwestern United States. In 2019, the city's estimated population was 75,038. Flagstaff's combined metropolitan area has ...

, bordering

Northern Arizona University Northern Arizona University (NAU) is a public research university based in Flagstaff, Arizona. It was founded in 1899 as the final public university established in the Arizona Territory, 13 years before Arizona was admitted as the 48th state. ...

Origin

This park features the duplex home of Timothy and Michael Riordan, lumber baron brothers who married sisters, Caroline and Elizabeth Metz. The brothers were members of an important Arizona Territorial family who played a role in the development of Flagstaff and northern Arizona and were involved in lumber, railroads, cattle, banking, and politics. Cooperatively the Riordan brothers built their thirteen thousand square foot mansion in 1904 while Arizona was still a territory. The home consisted of two similar six thousand square foot wings for each family, connected by a large common room. Charles Whittlesey was the architect for the Riordan homes. He also was the

architect An architect is a person who plans, designs and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...

for the

El Tovar Hotel The El Tovar Hotel, also known simply as El Tovar, is a former Harvey House hotel situated directly on the south rim of the Grand Canyon in Arizona, United States. The hotel was designed by Charles Whittlesey, Chief Architect for the Atchison ...

at the

Grand Canyon The Grand Canyon (, yuf-x-yav, Wi:kaʼi:la, , Southern Paiute language: Paxa’uipi, ) is a steep-sided canyon carved by the Colorado River in Arizona, United States. The Grand Canyon is long, up to wide and attains a depth of over a m ...

. Architectural similarities between the structures can be found in the massive stone arches at porch corners as well as exterior elements that reflect the surrounding landscape like log planks, wood shingles, and native stone.

Park history

On November 15, 1978, after over a year of planning and negotiations,

Arizona State Parks } An Arizona state park is an area of land in the U.S. state of Arizona preserved by the state for its natural, cultural, or recreational resources. The state park system in Arizona includes both state parks and state historic parks, as well as ...

received a warranty deed conveying the Riordan homes, much of their contents and of land surrounding the structures for State Park purposes. The public opening of the Park was held on August 4, 1983, and only included the Timothy A. Riordan (east) side of the house. This was the results of cooperative efforts of the family owner, Robert Chambers, who had died in 1980, and the Arizona State Park board members and personnel. On April 27, 2002, the Michael J. Riordan (west) side was opened for self-guided tours. The park was scheduled to close on February 22, 2010, for an undetermined amount of time due to state budget cutting, but its contract with the Arizona State Parks system was renewed for another three years under the condition it is self-funded. The Riordan Action Network Group, a team of local volunteers fund-raises to keep the park open and pay the staff salaries. The park now maintains very few staff and relies on volunteers to maintain the mansion and provide educational tours.

References

External links

Riordan Mansion State Historic Park
{{authority control State parks of Arizona Museums in Flagstaff, Arizona Historic house museums in Arizona Parks in Coconino County, Arizona Houses in Coconino County, Arizona Houses completed in 1904 Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in Arizona National Register of Historic Places in Flagstaff, Arizona 1978 establishments in Arizona Museums established in 1978 Protected areas established in 1978