HISTORIC PLACES

LOWELL OBSERVATORY Flagstaff

Percival Lowell believed in something bigger than himself in the stuff that stars are made of and in faraway planets and other galaxies. So, in 1894, he chose Mars Hill, near downtown Flagstaff, to build his observatory. What started as a place for Lowell to sketch canals - the evidence, he believed, of life on Mars - and search for a trans-Neptunian planet has since grown into one of the country's major astronomy research institutions. It's there that Clyde Tombaugh discovered Pluto on February 18, 1930, and where Vesto M. Slipher investigated spiral nebulae. Today, Lowell Observatory houses the 4.3-meter Discovery Channel Telescope at its Happy Jack site, as well as a slew of others on Mars Hill. It has an annual operating budget of more than $6 million.

LOCATION: 1400 W. Mars Hill Road, Flagstaff

CONSTRUCTED: 1894

ARCHITECT: Sykes Brothers (Clark Dome); Guy Lowell (Administration Building)

INFORMATION: 928-774-3358 or www.lowell.edu

In 1894 Percival Lowell establishes his observatory on Mars Hill.

In 1912 Vesto M. Slipher's research into spiral nebulae leads to the first real evidence that the universe is expanding.

In 1916 Lowell dies, and his search for a trans-Neptunian planet is suspended while the observatory battles his estate.

In 1930 Clyde Tombaugh discovers Pluto.

In 2012 Lowell Observatory commissions the Discovery Channel Telescope.

HISTORIC PLACES EL TOVAR Grand Canyon

ABOVE: Fifteen years after a multimilliondollar renovation, El Tovar remains the grande dame of Grand Canyon lodging. Located on the Canyon's South Rim, El Tovar features 78 rooms and is booked months in advance.

LEFT: Hopi Indian performers attract a crowd in front of El Tovar in 1922.

John Muir saw the Grand Canyon and called it “God’s spectacle.” The Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway saw it and saw money, and thus built a spur line there to haul out copper. Turns out, there wasn’t much copper in the area, so the railway built El Tovar at the then-exorbitant cost of $250,000the luxury resort was dubbed “the most expensively constructed and appointed log house in America.” Hyperbole notwithstanding, Charles Whittlesey’s design is indeed impressive. The exterior was built in the style of a European chalet, with a wrapped turret, jigsawn balustrades and cedar shakes, while the interior is pure American hunting lodge, complete with dark wood, a massive fireplace and trophy mounts. The rock is all local, which helps El Tovar blend in with the landscape, and the logs - Douglas firs were shipped by rail from Oregon. During the planning stages, the hotel was known as Bright Angel Tavern, because of its proximity to Bright Angel Point; but before the grand opening on January 15, 1905, it was changed to El Tovar, in honor of the Spanish explorer Pedro de Tobar. Today, the hotel’s 78 rooms are small and simply furnished. Few offer Rim views, but they’re all mere steps from the Seventh Natural Wonder of the World.

The first passenger train arrives at the South Rim.

Charles Whittlesey works on the design for El Tovar Hotel.

El Tovar opens.

The Santa Fe Railway builds a depot on the South Rim.

Grand Canyon is designated a national park.

Fred Harvey Co. purchases South Rim facilities from the Santa Fe Railway.

Fred Harvey Co. becomes a subsidiary of Amfac Inc.

El Tovar gets a $1.5 million rehabilitation.

Passenger train service returns to the South Rim after a 21-year absence.

El Tovar undergoes a multimillion-dollar renovation.

HISTORIC PLACES ELKS OPERA HOUSE Prescott

In February 1904, the Prescott Daily Journal Miner posted notice that members of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks Lodge No. 330 sought to build an opera house at an estimated cost of $15,000 on East Gurley Street in Prescott. Weeks later, the building's granite cornerstone was laid, and 10 months after that, the Victorian-style theater opened with a staging of Marta of the Lowlands, starring Florence Roberts. Over the decades, the Elks began offering more film viewings than stage performances, though live theater returned in the 1980s. In 2001, the city of Prescott acquired the opera house and established the Elks Opera House Foundation to help preserve and restore the structure.

The Elks Opera House opens in downtown Prescott on February 20.

Birth of a Nation is the first motion picture shown at the Elks, launching it into the film era.

Opera boxes and ornamental finishes are removed to accommodate wider movie screens.

The Arizona Community Foundation purchases the building.

The city of Prescott acquires the building.

The Elks Opera House Foundation completes a $2 million restoration.

Now part of Oracle State Park, Kannally Ranch House once belonged to Neil and Lee Kannally and their siblings, Lucile, Mary and Vincent. The 2,622-square-foot home features four levels, but no sleeping quarters. Kannally Ranch doesn't have the name recognition of El Tovar or Lowell Observatory, but it is on the National Register of Historic Places, and it's on our list of iconic Arizona landmarks. Built into a hillside between 1929 and 1932, the 2,622-square-foot whitestucco home with turquoise wooden shutters features four levels, two terraces and no bedrooms. The lack of sleeping quarters is odd, but the history of the property is pretty typical. The original 160-acre ranch was purchased by Neil and Lee Kannally of Illinois in 1903. The two brothers were later joined by sisters Lucile and Mary and brother Vincent, and the ranch grew to almost 50,000 acres or 78 square miles. They ranched those acres for decades, and then, in 1952, they sold their mineral rights and all but 4,000 acres to the Magma Copper Co. Following Lucile's death in 1976, the rest of the ranch was willed to the nonprofit Defenders of Wildlife, which later deeded the ranch to the Arizona State Parks Board. Oracle State Park was officially dedicated on October 1, 2001, and today it's a 4,000-acre wildlife refuge and environmental learning center. Friends of Oracle State Park raises funds for the restoration, preservation and operation of the historic Kannally Ranch House.

HISTORIC PLACES KANNALLY RANCH HOUSE Oracle State Park, Oracle

LOCATION: Oracle State Park

CONSTRUCTED: 1929-1932

ARCHITECT: H. Newkirk

INFORMATION: 520-896-2425 or www.azstateparks.com

HISTORIC PLACES TOVREA CASTLE Phoenix

When Italian cobbler-turned-developer Alessio Carraro moved to Phoenix in 1928, he dreamed of turning the desert east of Phoenix into a major resort community, with a hotel at its center. In 1932, Carraro sold the property to cattleman Edward Ambrose Tovrea. Although Carraro's development never came to fruition and E.A. Tovrea passed away in 1933, the property including what's come to be known as Tovrea Castle remained in the family until 1993, when the city of Phoenix purchased it. Today, the Tovrea Carraro Society oversees the preservation and restoration of the property and has begun offering public tours.

LOCATION: 5041 E. Van Buren Street, Phoenix

CONSTRUCTED: 1928

ARCHITECT: Alessio Carraro

INFORMATION: www.phoenix.gov/parks/tovrea.html 1928 Alessio Carraro conceptualizes Carraro Heights and the Carraro Cactus Garden.

1932 Carraro sells the castle and surrounding land to E.A. Tovrea.

1936 The widowed Della Tovrea marries William Stuart, publisher of the Prescott Daily Courier. The couple spends most of the year in Prescott, but winters at the castle.

1969 Della Tovrea dies, and the Tovrea Family Trust assumes control of the castle.

1993 The city of Phoenix purchases the castle, as well as 7.5 acres of surrounding land.

1996The city purchases an additional 36 acres and begins 2003 preservation and restoration efforts.

2012 The castle and cactus gardens open for public tours.

Last year, the Tovrea Carraro Society and the city of Phoenix opened Tovrea Castle for public tours.

OPPOSITE PAGE: When this photograph was made in 1930, Alessio Carraro lived in the castle. He sold it to E.A. Tovrea two years later. It remained in the Tovrea family until 1993. AH