Hopi House | |
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| Location | Grand Canyon National Park,Arizona |
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| Coordinates | 36°3′28″N112°8′12″W / 36.05778°N 112.13667°W /36.05778; -112.13667 |
| Area | less than one acre |
| Built | 1904 |
| Architect | Mary Colter |
| Part of | Mary Jane Colter buildings (ID87001436) |
| Significant dates | |
| Added to NRHP | May 28, 1987[1] |
| Designated NHLDCP | May 28, 1987[2] |
Hopi House is located on the South Rim of theGrand Canyon, withinGrand Canyon National Park in theU.S. state ofArizona. Built in 1904 as concessioner facilities at the South Rim were being developed, it is the first of eight projects at the Grand Canyon that were designed by architectMary Colter, along withBright Angel Lodge,Hermit's Rest,Lookout Studio,Phantom Ranch,Desert View Watchtower, Colter Hall and Victor Hall, (the latter two being employee dormitories). Hopi House was built by theFred Harvey Company as a market for Native American crafts, made by artisans on the site. TheHopi, as the historic inhabitants of the area, were chosen as the featured artisans, and the building was designed to closely resemble a traditional Hopipueblo. Hopi House opened on January 1, 1905, two weeks before theEl Tovar Hotel, located just to the west, was opened.
Mary Colter had worked on a number of projects for the Fred Harvey Company, principally as anarchitect andinterior designer. She was particularly successful in a similar project, the Indian Building at the Fred Harvey Company'sAlvarado Hotel (now demolished) inAlbuquerque, New Mexico.[3] Colter planned Hopi House as a sort of living museum, in which Hopi Indians could live while making and selling traditional crafts. The structure was based on Colter's interpretation of the Hopi dwelling atOraibi, Arizona.[4] In 1904, ethnologist and missionary Heinrich R. Voth, who had lived among the Hopi from 1893 to 1902, was hired to collaborate with Colter. He may have also overseen the construction of the site, as Colter lived in St. Paul at the time.[5] Theethnohistorically-correct structure was at the time of its construction the first introduction for many park visitors to the architecture and life of the native peoples of Arizona, New Mexico, Utah and Colorado.[4] A variety of interior spaces provide museum, sales and demonstration space.[6]
Hopi House is a stepped structure executed insandstone of varying size, texture and coursing. The roof surfaces function as terraces in the same manner as traditional Hopi dwellings. Windows are small and sparse, with doorways on the same small scale. Interior walls are plastered withadobe, while ceilings are composed of saplings, twigs and grass covered with mud. Fireplaces are located in the corners of rooms. The old staircase to the second floor is decorated with murals by an unknown Hopi artist. The second floor houses a shrine, called akiva, with Hopi religious artifacts. Floors on the second floor were made to look like adobe but were actually cement, which later in the 1930s the floor was laid with hard wood flooring. The third floor was used as an apartment for the building's former managers. It has since been updated and is now used as storage but a number of original features have been preserved. Most of the original furnishings in the main level, picked out by Colter, have been preserved.[4]
Hopi House is a component of the multi-siteMary Jane Colter Buildings National Historic Landmark, It was incorporated into theNational Historic Landmark group on May 28, 1987.[2][1] Hopi House and theLookout Studio are also major contributing structures in theGrand Canyon Village National Historic Landmark District.[7]
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