She had to be. Also, at the time, Fred Harvey Company had all male managers. “Mary Colter was a woman in a man’s world and her characteristics made her unique,” said Carol, who had a friend whose father knew and was employed with Colter. “She worked with men but was able to get her way. She stood up to men but she was tactful. To obtain this result, Colter insisted that the rocks not be cut or worked…so they would not lose the weathered surfaces so essential to blend in with the Grand Canyon walls.”įlagstaff residents Allen and Carol Naille lived at the Grand Canyon for 13 years. Allen worked for Fred Harvey Company in several positions before assuming the position of general manager there, eventually moving to Flagstaff to accept his role as president of the company. In all, he worked for the company for 25 years. Carol was in charge of the Grand Canyon library. She also designed the men’s dormitory at the Grand Canyon and Colter Hall, the women’s dormitory.Īccording to the Grand Canyon National Park Website, NPS.gov, Mary Colter designed buildings that would become part of their surroundings, that “would create no discordant note against the time-eroded walls of this promontory.

That was in 1902.Ī few years later, Colter was asked to design the Hopi House, an indigenous-influenced architectural design that launched five other projects at the Grand Canyon: Lookout Studio, Bright Angel Lodge and cabins, Hermit’s Rest, Desert View Watchtower and Phantom Ranch, named after nearby Phantom Creek. Meet Mary Jane Elizabeth Colter, born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on April 4, 1869. She was 33 years old when she was hired as an interior designer and architect by the hospitality forerunner Fred Harvey Company, a contractor for Santa Fe Railway.

Grand Canyon buildings continue to inspire one hundred years later.She was tough, funny, fearless, dogmatic, imaginative, and her Grand Canyon architectural marvels continue to intrigue historians and fascinate visitors, including the only inner canyon lodging facility, Phantom Ranch, which turned 100 years old this year.

Mary Colter by Arnold Berke