From the category archives:

Arizona

Painted Desert Inn Interiors, Petrified Forest National Park

by Bo Mackison on 12/04/2010

Trading Room Glass Art Panels

Trading Room Glass Art © 2010 Bo Mackison

The Painted Desert Inn was built in the 1930s under the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC), and the architect, Lyle Bennett, was in charge of the project. Under his guidance, two CCC workers hand-painted these skylights in the Trading Room of the Inn. The designs are based on prehistoric art found in Southwestern archeological sites. The concrete floors were also painted with patterns based on Navajo blankets.

Painted Desert Inn Mural by Fred Kapotie

Mural by Fred Kapotie © 2010 Bo Mackison

In 1947, the Painted Desert Inn was purchased by the Fred Harvey Company. The company placed their architect, Mary Elizabeth Jane Colter, in charge of renovation and repairs. She changed the color scheme to harmonize with the Inn’s natural surroundings.

She also hired Fred Kobotie, a famous Hopi artist, to paint blanket-sized murals on the walls of the dining room and lunch room. Kapotie’s murals depicted his culture and provided a glimpse into Hopi culture.Some of his subjects included the Buffalo Dance, a journey to a sacred place, spring planting time, and the sun’s face. The sun face also became the logo of the Fred Harvey Company.

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Hubbell Trading Post

by Bo Mackison on 10/21/2010

Wagon Wheel

Wagon Wheel © 2010 Bo Mackison

One of the last sites we visited in Arizona before reaching the Four Corners area was the Hubbell Trading Post National Historic Site located in Navajo Nation in northern Arizona.

John Hubbell purchased the trading post in 1878, ten years after Navajos were given permission to return to their homes from their enforced exile at Bosque Redondo in New Mexico. The Navajos were introduced to many, different material goods during the four years they were in New Mexico and Hubbell and his family traded with the Navajo once they returned home.

Hubbell Trading Post

Hubbell Trading Post © 2010 Bo Mackison

He built a trading empire that included stage and freight lines as well as several trading posts.

Historic Hubbell Trading Post

Historic Hubbell Trading Post © 2010 Bo Mackison

This historic site is surrounded by the Navajo Nation. The 160 acres are on the Colorado Plateau in the high desert, approximately 6300 feet in elevation. The environment is comprised mostly of shrub land and Pinon and Juniper vegetation.

Hubbell Trading Post, Interior

Hubbell Trading Post, Interior © 2010 Bo Mackison

Various members of the Hubbell family operated the trading post continuously until the site was sold to the National Park Service in 1967. The trading post remains active, continuing the trading traditions the Hubbell family began in the 1870s.

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Painted Desert Inn, Historic Landmark

by Bo Mackison on 10/20/2010

Painted Desert Inn and Autumn Blossoms

Autumn Blossoms, Painted Desert Inn © 2010 Bo Mackison

On our swing through some of the Southwestern National Parks in October, we stopped at the Petrified Forest National Park in the east central region of Arizona. This park also includes the Painted Desert and this building, the Painted Desert Inn Museum. The architectural style of the inn was influenced by Pueblo Indian dwellings and Early Spanish architecture. It was built to harmonize with its surroundings and blends well with the surrounding Painted Desert.

Garden at the Painted Desert Inn II

Desert Garden and Painted Desert Inn © 2010 Bo Mackison

The original inn was built in the 1920s, mostly of available stone and petrified rocks and the builders used a mud mortar to hold the structure together. It was a trading post and had a lunch counter, but it had no water or electricity. The Park Service purchased the building in 1936 and used WPA funds and Civilian Conservation Corps labor to essentially rebuild the entire structure.

In the late 1930s, National Park Service architect Lyle Bennett redesigned the building, utilizing the Pueblo Revival Style. The Painted Desert Inn re-opened for business on July 4, 1940 and was a stop on the Historic Route 66. (Petrified Forest National Park is the only national park that has a portion of the Historic Route 66 within its boundaries.) The inn’s life as an oasis in the middle of the desert lasted only a couple of years, and ended with the beginning of World War II. Traveling was greatly curtailed and the inn closed in 1942.

Not to be ignored for long, the Inn again opened and was operated from 1947 through 1963 by the Fred Harvey Company, a company who was a concessionaire in many of the Western National Parks. Then, after sitting unused for a dozen years, the building was scheduled for demolition in 1975. However a public outpouring of concern for the historic building convinced the Park Service to save the Painted Desert Inn. It opened in 1976 as a museum and bookstore on a limited basis.

Painted Desert Inn, National Historic Landmark

Painted Desert Inn, National Historic Landmark © 2010 Bo Mackison

It again underwent extensive repair in 2004-06 and then reopened as the museum and bookstore now pictured. The building is on the National Register of Historic Places and is also a National Historic Landmark.

The building is a stunning example of architecture, and has a history well worth exploring. There are exhibits inside the Inn which shed light on its fascinating history. A walk around the entire structure and through its many rooms reveals small architectural gems such as arched doorways and windows, hand crafted metal lamps, and an intriguing wooden beam support system in the ceilings.

In the next posts, I’ll feature the interior of the Painted Desert Inn, so lovingly and meticulously restored, and filled with art and intricate design features, and also photographs of the Painted Desert and the Petrified Forest landscapes.

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Courthouse in Tucson

by Bo Mackison on 04/23/2010

Tuscon Arizona

Pima County Courthouse © 2010 Bo Mackison

Pima County Courthouse, in Tucson’s downtown district, was designed by Tucson architect Roy Place and built in 1929. This building is often referred to as the “old courthouse” since the Superior Court Building was built in the 1970s and operates as the main court, but the historic structure continues to serve as the courthouse for lower level state criminal matters as well as housing the offices of the Pima County Treasurer and Recorder.

Courthouse Architecture in Tucson Arizona by Roy Place architect

Mosaic Dome © 2010 Bo Mackison

The building is a lovely example of the Spanish Colonial Revival style and also has Moorish influences. The brick structure is covered with pink stucco, a rather bold move when it was done in 1928 amidst some local debate. A remarkable cement dome decorated with mosaic tiles also gives the building an international flavor. The building was built at a cost of approximately $350,000.

Architectural Details

Arches, Columns, Tiles © 2010 Bo Mackison

As part of the walking tour of downtown Tucson (accomplished by following a stripe of turquoise paint on the pavement) one crosses through an interior courtyard of the courthouse and passes through this columned pathway. Moorish arches cover the portico and lead into a central patio with fountains and tiled designs.

When ground was excavated for this building, the third county courthouse, the southwest corner and part of the wall of the original Tucson Presidio was discovered. A section of the wall is on display on the second floor of the builing and can be viewed during business hours. (Security check required.) A stone marker in the courtyard also gives the location of the ancient Presidio.

The courthouse is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

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Bo Mackison loves to photograph historic places, including many sites in one of her favorite cities, Tucson Arizona. Photos are available of various historic places in Arizona for licensing and publication.  For information, contact Bo at bo@historicplacesphotography.com.

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Winged Victory atop Old Arizona Capitol

by Bo Mackison on 03/30/2010

Arizona Capitol Museum

Arizona Capitol Museum © 2010 Bo Mackison

Although this building is often referred to as Arizona’s State Capitol, it is actually Arizona’s original territorial capitol building and the first state capitol. The Capitol was  replaced by modern legislative office buildings in 1960, and the building truly fitting of the title “Capitol” has been restored and is currently a museum.

The museum features the governor’s office, Senate and House Chambers as they were in the year 1912, the year Arizona officially became the 48th State of the Union. The copper roofed dome dates to 1878. The copper is fitting–the mining of copper has been a significant source of income for the state.

The dome is capped with a white statue called Winged Victory. Winged Victory is in fact a weathervane, and can be viewed from inside the building through a window at the uppermost part of the dome. It swings freely with the wind currents.

The main entrance pediment is decorated with an unusual copper filigree design which looks uncannily like the pattern of a state snake, the glossy, brown and black Arizona elegans.

Capitol in Phoenix Arizona

Exterior of Arizona Capitol Musuem © 2010 Bo Mackison

The Capitol was designed and built by James Riely Gordon, an architect from San Antonio Texas,  in the Neoclassical style with some Spanish influences. It was built in 1899-1900 at a cost of $136,000. It was the territorial statehouse for 12 years prior to Arizona’s statehood. The building is on the National Register of Historic Places.

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Bo Mackison loves to photograph special places Phoenix and other great parts of the state. Photos are available of various historic places in Arizona for licensing and publication.  For information, contact Bo at bo@historicplacesphotography.com.

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Fox Tucson Theater

by Bo Mackison on 03/18/2010

Fox Tucson Theater @ 2010 Bo Mackiosn

The Fox Tuscon Theater opened in April, 1930, the only known example of a Southwestern Art Deco movie house. The theater had 1200 seats and offered Tucson a variety of original programming including first run movies, vaudeville acts, and community productions. The theater closed in 1974 and sat empty for over 25 years. It re-opened in 2005 following a 6 year, 3 million dollar restoration project.

It is on the National Register of Historic Places because of its unique architecture, and also because it is the only known example of a theater designed with special acoustics to adapt from the silent movies to the “talkies”.

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Bo Mackison enjoys photographing special places in Arizona–from the National Parks to Phoenix and Tucson, and beyond. Photographs are available of selected historic places in Arizona for licensing and publication.  For information, contact Bo at bo@historicplacesphotography.com.

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