A wind-whipped wildfire has reduced the nearly century-old Grand Canyon Lodge in far northern Arizona to a skeletal ruin, devastating many who considered it an intrinsic part of the North Rim of Grand Canyon National Park.
The blaze tore through the historic structure within hours over the weekend.
Long a refuge for ambitious hikers and adventurous tourists, the lodge offered magnificent views of one of the world’s most remote and renowned landscapes.
Fortified with Kaibab limestone and logs from the surrounding Ponderosa pine forest, it sat at the canyon’s edge, blending seamlessly with and enhancing the natural environment.
“It’s tragic, it really is,” retired National Park Service chief historian Robert K. Sutton said.
The lodge itself was a key part of history for both the Grand Canyon and the National Park Service.
Gilbert Stanley Underwood, who designed the lodge in 1927, sought to immerse residents in the landscape that now draws millions of visitors annually from around the world with a rustic, organic architectural style. He designed similar lodges in Zion and Bryce National Parks in Utah, Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming and Yosemite National Park in California, according to the park service.
The Grand Canyon Lodge, the only lodging within the canyon’s North Rim, was built at a time when the federal department was eager to find ways to engage the public with the country’s best natural offerings, Sutton said.
For a place as remote as the North Rim, that wasn’t an easy task. The lodge was a winding 212-mile (341-kilometer) drive from the more popular South Rim, where 90 percent of the tourists go. Hiking from one side to the other is even more arduous at over 20 miles (32 kilometers) with steep ascents at the end. But the historic building’s tranquility is a fundamental part of its appeal.
“You’re just on your own. It’s just a completely different atmosphere,” Sutton said.
The drive up to the North Rim was a chance to see a bison herd that roams the far reaches of northern Arizona. The highway ended at the Grand Canyon Lodge, built right up to the edge of the rim. Across the lobby, inside and down the stairs, visitors got a picturesque view of the Grand Canyon framed through the windows of the “Sun Room” furnished…
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