Grand Canyon Lodge

Grand Canyon Lodge on the North Rim Exudes Quiet Coziness

BUILDERS OF THE transcontinental railroad drove home the Golden Spike in 1869 just weeks before John Wesley Powell launched his boats on the Green River, heading for the first Colorado River exploration through the Grand Canyon. Though the two events seemed unrelated at the time, it was the Santa Fe Railway that developed the Grand Canyon's South Rim and opened the luxurious El Tovar Hotel in 1909, and the Union Pacific Railroad that opened the Grand Canyon Lodge on the more remote North Rim in 1928. Now, visitors from around the world come to the Canyon, but one thing remains unchanged: the North Rim and the Grand Canyon Lodge are still remote and somehow . . . cozier than the more frequented South Rim.

The U-shaped lodge rests at the end of State Route 67 on the southern edge of the Kaibab Plateau in Grand Canyon National Park, 1,000 feet higher than the South Rim. Dense stands of ponderosa pine trees flank the highway, allowing only glimpses of the Canyon, and at the road's end, the lodge-a complex of cabins and a main lodge building-blocks the view entirely. A walk from the parking lot passes the cafe, gift shop and saloon on the way to the main lobby and registration desk. Around a corner And down a few steps, light bursts through the floor-to-ceiling plate-glass windows of the immense sunroom, which perches breathtakingly on the very edge of the Rim. Some first-time visitors might even experience a sense of vertigo and hesitate to inch forward all the way to the glass to take in the breathstopping view.

Architect Gilbert Stanley Underwood ingeniously created this remarkable effect of unveiling the Canyon. Working under a mandate from the National Park Service that the building should harmonize with its setting, Underwood used Kaibab limestone quarried on the plateau and ponderosa pine logs milled from the surrounding forest. Hovering at the edge of Bright Angel Point, the lodge seems to rise as an extension of the canyon walls, and the stairs cascading onto walkways from the outdoor terraces appear as natural as ancient canyon paths. The pitched roofline, tiled green and gabled with log beams, blends with the pine forest.

The 23 Western cabins, made of half-log siding over wood frames, stand scattered on a rise northeast of the main lodge, and offer luxury without detracting from the rustic flavor. Rocking chairs on the porches suggest that it would be a good idea to relax and enjoy the views. Meandering sidewalks connect the 70 log cabins, duplexes called Frontier and Pioneer cabins, to the southwest. Clustered along a forested slope, these smaller cabins have a woodsy village atmosphere. Visitors find themselves walking to dinner with neighbors and making arrangements with new hiking companions.

Meals at the lodge can be simple and quick by stopping at the cafeteria-style cafe, but a visit to the North Rim should include a meal in the grand dining room in the main building. Because of its popularity and reputation, dinner reservations are required, although anyone can drop in for breakfast and lunch. With Canyon views on two sides, the dining room can't be beat for location or for gourmet food with a Southwestern flair.

After dinner the place to be is on the terraces stretching out on either side of the sunroom. At this hour, a quiet camaraderie grows, and strangers regard each other like friends as this tiny part of the world community shares the close of a day at the edge of the Grand Canyon.

If a place can retain the love by which it was built, then this one does. Early settlers on the Kaibab were few and far between, but they were closely connected with each other. These pioneers built the roads across the plateau, brought the first "tourists" to the North Rim and set up camps to accommodate them. They carved a new trail into the Canyon, established a camp near Bright Angel Creek and built a cable system that was the first means of crossing the Colorado in the Canyon.

These men who had loved the North Rim for decades rallied to the call when the Union Pacific Railroad announced plans for the lodge in 1927. They set up construction camps on Bright Angel Point so they could build through the winter. Some of the men brought their families with them.

Joseph Gurnsy Brown had the contract to cut and peel all the logs for the lodge andcabins. His wife, Anna, was the cheerful cook for the 30 loggers, baking eight to 10 pies and a dozen loaves of bread in a wood stove each day.

A stonemason's wife, Hortence Excell, taught the children of the families that stayed on with the construction crew. Joan Brown, the daughter of Joseph and Anna, completed third grade in the impromptu school of five grades with 17 children. Anna remembered this time on the Rim with fondness and recorded in her memoirs, "Along with our work we had a slab of cement where we could dance.. We had some real good parties out to the timber camp." In June 1928, the lodge opened one year after construction began.

The builders took pride in their work, desiring to fuse the natural beauty of the area into the buildings - both times. Fire consumed the main building and a few cabins during the night of September 1, 1932. Only the stonework remained, some walls, the foundation, terraces, stairways and fireplaces. Two years later, many of the original crew returned to begin reconstruction on the remaining foundation. The second design did not re-create the first, but remained true to its rustic style and to the harmony with its surroundings. Grand Canyon Lodge reopened on June 1, 1937, asking $8.50 a night for the Western cabins and $2.25 for the smaller cabins. The prices today reflect the times, and the number of visitors each year has increased to 500,000, but, remarkably, little else has changed. The whole complex retains the sense of place designed by Underwood, nature's material precariously set on a tiny promontory through which to share the wonder of the Grand Canyon. H

LOCATION: North Rim of Grand Canyon National Park, approximately 200 miles north of Flagstaff. GETTING THERE: From Flagstaff, travel north on U.S. Route 89 to U.S. Route 89A. Remaining on Route 89A, continue north across the Colorado River at Navajo Bridge, then drive west to Jacob Lake. Turn south onto State Route 67 and travel approximately 45 miles to Grand Canyon Lodge. DATES: Grand Canyon Lodge is open from mid-May through mid-October. INFORMATION: Xanterra Parks & Resorts, (303) 29PARKS or (888) 29PARKS, www.grandcanyonnorthrim.com; dinner reservations, (928) 638-2611; www.nps.gov/grca.