"Scenics - Old Highway 180 and Petrified Wood" by U.S. National Park Service , public domain
![]() | Petrified ForestPainted Desert Inn National Historic Landmark |
Brochure Painted Desert Inn National Historic Landmark at Petrified Forest National Park (NP) in Arizona. Published by the National Park Service (NPS).
featured in
![]() | National Parks Pocket Maps | ![]() |
![]() | Arizona Pocket Maps | ![]() |
covered parks
Petrified Forest
National Park Service
U.S. Department of the Interior
Petrified Forest National Park
Arizona
Painted Desert Inn
National Historic Landmark
The Stone Tree House
The Civilian Conservation
Corps (CCC)
Built of petrified wood and other native stone,
the Painted Desert Inn was the vision of Herbert
David Lore. While his family remembers the
finished building prior to 1920, Lore registered
the inn with the land office in 1924, fulfilling his
responsibilities under the Homesteading Act.
The Stone Tree House was an oasis in the
Painted Desert, and quite isolated. A shop
containing a lighting-plant supplied electricity,
as the inn was not connected to electrical lines.
Water was hauled from Adamana, ten miles
south on the Puerco River.
For almost twelve years, Lore operated the
“Stone Tree House” as a tourist attraction.
Visitors could eat meals in the lunchroom,
purchase American Indian arts and crafts, and
enjoy a cool drink in the downstairs taproom.
Six small rooms—cubicles really—were
available for two to four dollars per night. Lore
also gave two-hour motor car tours through
the Black Forest in the Painted Desert
below the inn.
Unfortunately, Lore had built his inn on a
seam of bentonite clay. As the clay swells and
shrinks in response to changes in moisture,
the foundation of the inn shifts. Early on, the
Painted Desert Inn began to show cracks in the
walls and water damage.
In the early 1930s, Lore had expressed an
interest in selling or exchanging his property “in
order that it could be preserved and protected.”
He was probably also concerned about the
integrity of the building. Petrified Forest
National Monument purchased the Painted
Desert Inn and four sections of land—four
square miles—for $59,400 in 1936.
National Monuments and Mesa Verde National
Park. The workers that made his plans a reality
were the men of the Civilian Conservation
Corps (CCC).
In the early 1900s, National Park Service Rustic
style architecture—nicknamed Parkitecture—
arose in the National Park System. This style
reflected its connection with the Arts and Crafts
movement through buildings that harmonized
with their natural environment and regional
culture. In the Southwest, Pueblo Revival Style
epitomizes this movement, drawing from the
Puebloan and Spanish Colonial cultures.
Pueblo Revival Style features stuccoed
masonry, thick walls, earth tones, flat roofs,
and projecting roof beams (vigas). Due to the
structural problems of the inn and popularity
of Pueblo Revival Style in the 1930s, the Painted
Desert Inn was redesigned. Well-known for the
Southwestern influence of his designs, National
Park Service architect Lyle Bennett created a
new look for the inn.
Bennett first started as a ranger in 1927, but
moved on to use his degree in fine art to become
one of the best and most sought-after architects
in the National Park Service. He was considered
a master of the Pueblo Revival Style. More of his
work can be seen at White Sands and Bandelier
In the 1930s, men were finding relief from
the Depression through the CCC. They built
roads, buildings, trails and bridges in many
national parks and other federal and state areas,
including Petrified Forest National Monument.
Throughout the country, the men of the CCC
have left their mark on many historic structures.
The CCC used ponderosa pine and aspen poles
cut from nearby Arizona forests for roofing
beams and smaller crossbeams (savinos).
Light fixtures were hand-made from punched
tin, and wooden tables and chairs were given
American Indian designs. The beautiful skylight
panels were hand-painted by the CCC workers,
designs of prehistoric pottery. Concrete floors
were etched and painted with patterns based on
Navajo blanket designs.
Open for Business
The fine work of the CCC gave the Painted
Desert Inn new life. The inn reopened for
business of July 4, 1940, under the management
of Edward McGrath for Standard Concessions.
The Painted Desert Inn supplied Route 66
travelers with meals, souvenirs, and lodging. It
was popular with local residents as a place for
meetings and special events.
The good times ended with the beginning of
the United States’ involvement in World War
II. The CCC was disbanded as most of the
young men went to war. Travel was curtailed by
wartime rationing. The inn closed in October
1942, reopening five years later under
new management.
The Fred
Harvey Company
The Painted Desert Inn reopened in the late
1940s under the renowned Fred Harvey
Company, a business with important ties to
Southwest, railroad, and tourism history. Fred
Harvey started his company as a partnership
with the Santa Fe Railroad in 1876. His facilities
for travelers were well known for comfort and
quality. The company’s architect and interior
designer, Mary Elizabeth Jane Colter, arrived in
December of 1947. She was already noted for
her innovative Southwestern concepts when
she came to the Painted Desert Inn. Along
with renovations and repair, Colter created a
new color scheme. She ordered new plate glass
windows placed in strategic walls of the Inn to
take advantage of the magnificent view.
Colter was not the only woman that made
history with the Fred Harvey Company.
Frustrated by rowdy male employees, the Fred
Harvey Company recruited women from towns
and cities in the East and Midwest to serve
customers. These young ladies had to be of
good moral character, have at least an eighth
grade education, display good manners and be
neat and articulate. Their contract stipulated
that they could not marry and must abide by all
company rules during the term of employment.
If hired, the women were given a rail pass to get
to their place of employment, a smart uniform,
good wages, and room and board. Since their
beginning in the 1880s, the Harvey Girls have
become American legends. The Harvey Girls of
the Painted Desert Inn, from the late 1940s and
through the 1950s, still have local ties.
Fred Kabotie, a renowned Hopi artist, was
hired to paint murals on the dining room and
lunchroom walls. The scenes are glimpses into
Hopi culture: the Buffalo Dance, a trek to a
sacred salt lake, planting time, and Tawa—the
Hopi sun god. The sun face was also the logo
of the Fred Harvey Company. Kabotie had
previously worked for the company at the
Grand Canyon and other locations.
Preserving Our Legacy
Thanks to the concern and support of the
public, Painted Desert Inn remains a testament
to the historic legacy of Petrified Forest
National Park. Although its history is intriguing,
the building is difficult to maintain. Cracks form
in many of the walls. Window and door frames
swell and skew. Water damage and cracks
threaten the beautiful Kabotie murals. The seam
of bentonite clay beneath the foundation of the
inn continues to cause structural problems.
Severe structural damage to the inn forced the
Fred Harvey Company to move to the newly
completed visitor center complex in 1963. The
inn’s doors closed while debate over demolition
versus preservation went on for many years. The
park set aside funds and scheduled demolition
of the building for 1975. Due to a public
campaign to save the Painted Desert Inn, the
building was listed on the National Register
of Historic Places in 1976, and reopened on a
limited basis as the Bicentennial Travel Center.
Because of its fine examples of Pueblo Revival
Style design by Bennett, historic work by the
CCC, touches by Mary Colter, and Kabotie’s
murals, the Painted Desert Inn became a
National Historic Landmark in 1987.
www.nps.gov/pefo
EXPERIENCE YOUR AMERICA
During the most recent work between 2004
and 2006, “modernizing” some of the structural
elements in the building will help postpone
damage—thirteen “floating” roofs, joint-less
pipes in the walls, and re-laid flagstones to
help with drainage. Even while bringing the
structure into the present, the park is trying to
maintain the historical integrity of the building
and attempting to present the inn as it was in
its heyday during the late 1940s into the 1950s.
These rehabilitation projects have continued to
preserve the inn for future generations to enjoy,
thanks to generous public support.
April 2013