Mary Jane Colter

Photo credit: Museum Collection Grand Canyon National Park

In 1902, Mary Jane Colter was hired by the Fred Harvey Company to design hotels, shops and rest havens along the new Santa Fe Railway lines for the eager tourists who were anxious to experience the American West. Eleven of her buildings are listed on the National Register.

Some of her most innovative designs are in Arizona at the Grand Canyon – Hopi House, Desert View Watchtower and La Posada – exceptional structures that seem to grow out of the landscape.

Colter was a distinguished figure in the intellectual society of St. Paul, Minn., where she was raised. Her imagination and determination were legendary, and her colleagues described her as intelligent, stubborn and meticulous. She was a contemporary of Frank Lloyd Wright; like him, her style had its roots in the Arts and Crafts movement, which fostered an "American" style that emphasized functionality, simplicity and regionalism.

Her first project for the Harvey Company was at the Alvarado Hotel in Albuquerque – a museum and gift shop that incorporated Spanish and Native American influences. Its success convinced the company that architecture could be used as a marketing tool to attract tourists, and they sent Colter to the Grand Canyon to build an Indian museum. This was Hopi House, a revolutionary design that re-interpreted local traditions and construction techniques to offer a glimpse of the "real" Southwest. Visitors loved it, and tourists came in droves to discover the canyon's natural wonders and native cultures.

For nearly 40 years, from Chicago to Los Angeles, Mary Jane Colter created buildings that shaped the image of the Southwest. Her favorite project was La Posada, an elegant hotel in Winslow, Ariz. Built in 1930, it was a showplace that welcomed the rich and famous, from movie stars to presidents. But after the war, Flagstaff became the state's gateway to the north and rail traffic declined.