Grand Canyon Village in Coconino County, Arizona — The American Mountains (Southwest)
Revealing Features
Grand Canyon
| | National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior | |
Photographed by Sandra Hughes Tidwell, September 11, 2025
1. Revealing Features Marker
Mary Colter's attention to detail is reflected in every element of the Desert View Watchtower.
Each rock and painted wall is intended to convey meaning. Colter used ornamental details, seemingly haphazardly, to create an added charm of the unexpected.
Find triangular and diamond-patterned rocks, horizontal bands of different sizes, and actual petroglyphs with pecked designs. The tower features T-shaped doors and tapered windows like a building hundreds of years old. Colter used uneven masonry surfaces to "create shows, and give more vigor to the walls."
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 • Parks & Recreational Areas.
Location. 36° 2.632′ N, 111° 49.56′ W. Marker is in Grand Canyon Village, Arizona, in Coconino County. It is on Desert View Walkways north of Desert View Road, on the right when traveling north. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 906 Desert Vw Rd, Grand Canyon AZ 86023, United States
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Regionally, this marker is in Flagstaff & High Country and in Hopi. It is also in the American Southwest, in the Mountain West, in Colorado Plateau, and at the Four Corners. Globally, it is in North America, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere. Historically, it finds itself in what was once New Spain and also Mexicos Alta California.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 2 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies: The Watchtower (a few steps from this marker); Tragedy Remembered (within shouting distance of this marker); Ancient Illusion (within shouting distance of this marker); 1956 Grand Canyon TWA-United Airlines Aviation Accident Site (within shouting distance of this marker); Like Nowhere Else (about 700 feet away, measured in a direct line); Tribal Connections (approx. 0.7 miles away); Grand Canyon's Gateway (approx. Ύ mile away); Delta Farmers (approx. 1.7 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Grand Canyon Village.
Photographed by Sandra Hughes Tidwell, September 11, 2025
2. Revealing Features Marker
Credits. This page was last revised on December 26, 2025. It was originally submitted on October 2, 2025, by Sandra Hughes Tidwell of Killen, Alabama, USA. This page has been viewed 62 times since then and 26 times this year. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on October 2, 2025, by Sandra Hughes Tidwell of Killen, Alabama, USA. • Devry Becker Jones was the editor who published this page.
