Mary Colter: Architect of the Southwest

Mary Colter: Architect of the Southwest by Berke, Arnold. hardcover edition. ISBN: 9781568982953.

Mary Colter may well be the best-known unknown architect in the world: her buildings at the Grand Canyon National Park--which include the Lookout Tower, Hopi House, Bright Angel Lodge, and many others--are admired by almost five million visitors a year. In addition to creating the "National Park Service Rustic" style, as it came to be known, Colter, a contemporary of Frank Lloyd Wright, is also remembered as designer of three classic hotels: El Navajo (Gallup, NM), La Posada (Winslow, AZ), and Painted Desert Inn (Painted Desert, AZ), where Colter called on Hopi, Zuni, Navajo, and Mexican motifs. This extraordinary book about an extraordinary woman weaves together three stories--the remarkable career of a woman in a mans profession during the late 19th century; the creation of a building and interior style drawn from regional history and landscape; and the exploitation, largely at the hands of the railroads, of the American Southwest for leisure travel. In a book certain to appeal to designers, history buffs, and fans of the American Southwest alike, Arnold Berke offers a colorful look at this woman, whose life and work continue to awe and inspire.