Bright Angel History Room - Bright Angel History Room

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Bright Angel History Room

Categories: Shopping

Location: Grand Canyon Village

Intensity: 1

Duration: .5-1 hours

Directions:

The Bright Angel History Room is located inside the Bright Angel Lodge, just a few steps from the Bright Angel free shuttle stop.

From the South: From Grand Canyon’s south entrance gate on Hwy. 64, continue north and follow the signs to Grand Canyon. Road will loop past the Mather Point and Visitors Information Center parking areas, and the Yavapai Point turnoff. Stay on this road, known as Village Loop, until you are at a stop sign with a clear view of the log Train Depot straight ahead, and the El Tovar Hotel, a large brown building up on the hill to your right.

Continue straight ahead on Village Loop past two motel-type buildings, and pull in to the driveway in front of the Bright Angel Lodge. If you are unable to find parking in the small lot, you can turn right at the bottom of the parking lot, and find parking behind the Bright Angel Cabins. It will be a short and beautiful walk along the rim to come back to the Lodge and History Room.

From the East: If you come into the park from Cameron, you’ll go 23 miles past Desert View, following signs to Grand Canyon Village. When you come to the "T" intersection with Highway 64, turn right. Go past the Visitors’ Information Center, Mather Point, and Shrine of Ages, until you are at a stop sign with a clear view of the log Train Depot straight ahead. The El Tovar Hotel will be visible on top of the hill just ahead of you.

Maps: Printable Map

The Bright Angel History Room, just a flagstone patio back from the Grand Canyon rim, is a favorite with visitors to the South Rim. Here, you can find books and maps about the Grand Canyon and the Southwest, as well as a fascinating collection of Fred Harvey and Harvey Girls memorabilia, information about Bright Angel architect Mary Colter, and an original carriage from the days when visitors took carriage rides along the rim.

Intensity: 1, Duration: .5-1 hours, Location: Grand Canyon Village

Description

The Bright Angel History Room is a favorite with visitors to the South Rim of the Grand Canyon. Here, you can find books and maps about the Grand Canyon and the Southwest, as well as a fascinating collection of Fred Harvey and Harvey Girls memorabilia, and an original carriage from the days when visitors took carriage rides along the rim.

The most well-known feature of the History Room is the Geologic Fireplace, created by architect Mary Colter in the general shape of Zoroaster Temple, and using rock from every layer of the Grand Canyon’s geologic history, installed in the same order river to rim as in the canyon itself.

Merchandise Offered

Books
Maps
Postcards

History

In the mid-1930’s, encouraged by park Superintendent Tillotson, a wide-ranging clean-up and improvement of Grand Canyon Village was undertaken. In conjunction with this effort, the Santa Fe Railroad had architect Mary Jane Colter draw up plans for a new Bright Angel Lodge that would include new guest cabins, a restaurant, lounge, and curio shop. Since its grand opening on June 22nd, 1935, the Bright Angel has been a favorite with our visitors while serving as an entryway for millions, and their first view of the Grand Canyon.

One notable feature at the new Bright Angel Lodge was (and remains) the Geologic Fireplace located in the History Room. Mary Jane Colter, with the assistance of then chief naturalist at Grand Canyon National Park, Edwin McKee, created a fireplace in the general shape of Zoroaster Temple which contained rock from every major stratum found from river to rim along the Bright Angel and South Kaibab trails.

For archive photos of Mary Colter’s architectural work at Grand Canyon, see the Park Service photo collection.

Season

Open year-round.

Contact Information

928.638.2631 ext 6032

Hours of Operation

Open from 9am - 5pm, year-round

Online Gift Store

Take home a Grand Canyon South Rim memory today. Just visit any Xanterra gift shop or visit our Grand Canyon South Rim Online Gift Store.

Fred Harvey Trading Company

Resources

Related Information

Additional Maps

Additional printable maps of the Grand Canyon area are available courtesy of the National Park Service. Visit our general Maps page for more information.

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