Near Grand Canyon Village in Coconino County, Arizona — The American Mountains (Southwest)

Ancient Illusion

Grand Canyon

Photographed By Cosmos Mariner, May 26, 2015

1. Ancient Illusion Marker

Inscription. Mary Colter's Desert View Watchtower creates an illusion of age. Concealed within the tower is an entirely different reality. Workers built a concrete and steel reinforced superstructure and then applied a veneer of native stone.

The weathered stone exterior creates the desired effect of a structure rising from the canyon. Colter and her masons carefully selected stones, insisting "any tool mark [would be] a conspicuous scar on the face of our walls." The 70 foot (21 m) tower and 40 foot (14 m) diameter kiva speak to the knowledge and talent of the ancestral masons.

Erected by National Park Service, U. S. Department of the Interior.

Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Architecture • Arts, Letters, Music • Native Americans • Parks & Recreational Areas.

Location. 36° 2.608′ N, 111° 49.561′ W. Marker is near Grand Canyon Village, Arizona, in Coconino County. Marker can be reached from Desert View Drive (Arizona Route 64) 21½ miles east of South Entrance Road. Marker is located along the walkway overlooking the Desert View Watchtower, about 4/10 mile north of Desert View Drive. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Grand Canyon AZ 86023, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 10 miles

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of this marker, measured as the crow flies. The Watchtower (within shouting distance of this marker); Tragedy Remembered (about 300 feet away, measured in a direct line); 1956 Grand Canyon TWA-United Airlines Aviation Accident Site (about 300 feet away); Tusayan Ruin Trail (approx. 3.1 miles away); Tusayan Museum and Ruin (approx. 3.1 miles away); Spanish Discovery (approx. 6.1 miles away); Grandview, 1898 (approx. 9.6 miles away); Mining on Horseshoe Mesa (approx. 9.6 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Grand Canyon Village.

Also see . . .
1. Mary Colter's Desert View Watchtower. The internal steel framework of the Watchtower was designed and supervised by the bridge builders of the Santa Fe Railway company. Upon this framework, each exterior stone was selected and carefully placed to ensure exactly the look Mary Colter was hoping to obtain for she was a stickler for detail. Her attention to accuracy of detail was amazing. (Submitted on March 26, 2021, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida.)

2. Desert View Watchtower. The Desert View Watchtower in Grand Canyon National Park was designed by architect Mary Colter in the 1930s for the Fred Harvey Company. Colter based her design on prehistoric architecture in Mesa Verde, Hovenweep, Chaco, and Wupatki, using stone native to the Grand Canyon to encase a steel

Marker detail: Artistic Influences image. Click for full size.

2. Marker detail: Artistic Influences

Colter paid equal attention to the interior, working with artists to adorn the walls with meaningful images. Hopi artist Chester Dennis created incised petroglyphs on the interior parapets. Another Hopi artist, Fred Kabotie, wove the history of his people into the murals on the first floor. Fred Geary precisely copied drawings found in ancient sites.

frame. (Submitted on March 26, 2021, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida.)

Photographed By Cosmos Mariner, May 26, 2015

3. Ancient Illusion Marker

(Desert View Watchtower in background)

Desert View Watchtower image. Click for full size.

Photographed By Cosmos Mariner, May 26, 2015

4. Desert View Watchtower

National Historic Landmark image. Click for full size.

Photographed By Cosmos Mariner, May 26, 2015

5. National Historic Landmark

Photographed By Cosmos Mariner, May 26, 2015

6. Desert View Watchtower

Credits. This page was last revised on February 24, 2023. It was originally submitted on March 26, 2021, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida. This page has been viewed 289 times since then and 37 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6. submitted on March 26, 2021, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida.