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It was originally built to help visitors understand Grand Canyon’s geology. But over the years, the Yavapai Observation Station has evolved into an old building with large glass windows, popular with tour buses and tourists looking to take cover when poor weather rolls in.

Naturalist Edwin McKee points out something to a Canyon visitor in 1930. Note the observation deck and overhang which do not exist today. (Photo courtesy of GCNP Museum Collection)

The National Park Service wants to restore Yavapai Observation Station to once again serve as a place for visitors to comprehend the geology of the Canyon.

"Yavapai Observation Station is not only a unique building at Grand Canyon, but it’s actually one of the earliest," Grand Canyon National Park interpretive planner Ellen Seeley said. "It was sort of the first in a series of buildings built around the National Park Service for educating visitors. It was kind of the beginning of the whole naturalist program in the NPS."

Because of its significance and high visitor numbers, Yavapai Observation Station will be undergoing some changes. Seeley said there are plans to add museum exhibits to once again provide information on geology.

"It will serve as an introduction to geology of Grand Canyon once again," Seeley said. "It will be one of the only of its kind, until the Heritage Education Campus is done. We have the Tusayan Museum now, but this will be the only interpretive facility, rather than orientation."

Planners were scheduled to meet early last week to come up with a conceptual design plan. This summer, the NPS created focus groups to help with design decisions. Employees who work in interpretation and for tour-related groups, along with various types of visitors, provided information to serve as the foundation for the beginning processes of design.

"In nine months, we’ll have the exhibits designed and it will be another nine months for fabrication," Seeley said. "In the last half of 2003, we’ll begin construction on the rehabilitation of the building."

The building rehab will involve things like heating and air-conditioning, as well as possibly extending the roofline back to its original design in 1928.

There was some debate over the building’s large windows, which provide visitors with a grand view. The original building did not have windows, but an observation deck.

"The windows were kept in because visitation is so high and it’s one of the few areas where you can go and have that exposure to the Canyon in a protected environment, especially for people with a fear of heights," Seeley said. "It gives people a more secure sense."

The original Yavapai Observation Station was built with peak visitation numbers of 500 to 600 a day, which served as a another concern. That’s because today, the park gets up to 6,000 people a day through the building in the summer.

"Some days, the Grand Canyon Association has counted up to 10,000 on a peak day," Seeley said. "The superintendent basically said he’s interested in reconsidering if the traffic was kicked out. Then we could consider it being more of an observation deck."

Therefore, there will not be a 100-percent restoration.

"The goal at this point is we’re trying to preserve the building, so we won’t do a 100-percent restoration," Seeley said.

Interestingly, another building was built with the same design in the same time period at Crater Lake. The Crater Lake building’s original design is still intact with the observation deck. In the winter, the building closes. If the Grand Canyon building had a deck, it could not close and there would be more maintenance because of show shoveling.

The bookstore operated by GCA in the building will see changes. The bookstore as it exists now will be eliminated. However, there will be books sold to fit in with the geology theme.

"Up until the last few months, that was our biggest-selling store," GCA’s Patty Brookins said, adding the bookstore at Canyon View Information Plaza passed the Yavapai store in sales a few months ago. "It’s our smallest store in terms of sales space."

The GCA bookstore has been at Yavapai Observation Station since the early 1990s, providing financial benefits to the park.

"They’ve been interested in our concerns and are working with us," Brookins said. "We’re working with them to try to mitigate having that store closed for three months."

The construction schedule would force the building to be closed sometime in the latter half of 2003. Seeley said it could close as early as June, but planners may hold off until September depending when final construction drawings are done and because it could hurt GCA.

While closed, the NPS is looking at options for the bookstore.

"There have been discussions of having an information trailer there," Seeley said, adding that the parking lot will not close during construction. "There have been discussions like that, but no decisions have been made."

Seeley said there’s a good chance that exhibits will be installed by June 2004, a timeframe she called "optimistic." The contract calls for indoor exhibits only.

"However, we have been talking about outdoor exhibits," Seeley said. "We may come up with something outdoors. But for now, we’re focusing on indoors."

Yavapai Observation Station was a landmark project for the NPS.

Architects such as Ansel Hall and Mary Jane Colter became involved with its design back in the 1920s. Influential scholars, curators and researchers of the day collaborated on plans for interpretation as they all wanted to help visitors gain an understanding of geology.

"A group of geologists picked Yavapai Point," Seeley said. "Yavapai Point was chosen as the area with the best vantage point ... with views on three sides."

In the 1920s, the NPS realized there was a need for park museums. However, there had always been funding problems until various grants became available. The Yavapai facility was constructed with $10,000 from a memorial fund given to the American Association of Museums. Herbert Maier was hired by AAM to design museums for Yellowstone, Yosemite and Grand Canyon.

The building was designed in the spring of 1927 and completed in July 1928.


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