Documentation of Village Loop Drive Retaining Wall No.l is the result of a mitigation study in anticipation of imminent Grand Canyon road work which may bury the structure or require that it be rebuilt. This report was prepared as an NPS Denver Service Center contract assignment in September and December by r Michael F. Anderson, 985 N. Granite Reef Scottsdale, AZ GRAND CANYON NATIONAL PARK ROADS, VILLAGE LOOP DRIVE RETAINING WALL NO. 1 HAER NO. AZ-35-A (Page 2) INTRODUCTION Many of the minor roads and associated structures within Grand Canyon National Park's residential and commercial areas were designed in the by NPS and Bureau of Public Roads engineers.
These men designed roads to federal highway standards of the time, which considered far fewer and smaller vehicles than travel these routes today. Changing traffic patterns have required new alignments, grades, and roadway widening since the Such modifications are now being considered which may result in the burial or dismantling and reconstruction of Village Loop Drive Retaining Wall No. 1 and several other masonry walls along Center Road, Apache Street, Boulder Street, and Village Loop Drive within Grand Canyon Village. This report describes the retaining wall and documents its construction, subsequent modifications, and the historic context within which it is significant.
The author found no specific references nor photographs for Village Loop Drive Retaining Wall No. 1 in the various Grand Canyon archives, thus its origin is not certain. Portions of today's Village Loop Drive existed as early as and by some form of the road segment above the retaining wall existed as far west as the stables. The only construction report found which mentioned work near the wall entailed the building of a "double road" from the end of the railroad tracks to Center Road in but this project missed the area of the wall by a few dozen yards as it swept south to join with Center Road. A photograph pictures a Fred Harvey mule corral in the vicinity of the wall (just south and west of it) but does not reveal the wall itself, if it existed.
No other direct reference was found for road work in proximity to the retaining wall. Since masonry retaining walls were constructed in the park before the arrival of the CCC and no specific reference was found for construction of this wall, it is possible that it was built in the or earlier and that subsequent road improvements left it intact. Indirect evidence suggests otherwise, however. A sketch map drawn by Park Engineer CM. Carrel for a minor road construction project in reveals a 750-foot realignment of Village Loop Drive, with the new road grade superimposed on that existing in This clearly shows that in the area of the retaining wall, the new road would be realigned at least twelve feet north of the old road.
Assuming that this project was C completed, and Carrel's handwritten "Completed in Oct. GRAND CANYON NATIONAL PARK ROADS, VILLAGE LOOP DRIVE RETAINING HALL NO. 1 HAER NO. AZ-35-A (Page 3) suggests it was, Village Loop Drive Retaining Wall No. 1 must have been built between late and late or thereafter.1 Several factors suggest that the retaining wall was built at this time and that the work was performed by the The engineer's sketch map indicates that the road project was approved at all required levels and Carrel's handwritten note almost certainly refers to completion of the project (completion of the drawing was a year earlier). The road today resembles the path drawn on the map and the wall itself seems integral to the grade not something that would have been added later.
The masonry style and choice of materials is identical to dozens of other CCC masonry structures built during these years and Company 819 was assigned to minor roads projects at this time and in this vicinity. Lacking other evidence, the assumption of a construction date and CCC builders is reasonable. Written and photographic evidence is also lacking for any repairs or maintenance to the wall since it was built. A visual inspection suggests that it has not been altered unless entirely reconstructed. Aging of the rock facing and deterioration of the mortar seems uniform. Doug Brown of Grand Canyon's Professional Services office told the author that a footpath once ran along the road above the retaining wall front Village Loop Drive Headwall No.
2 west toward the mule barn, which has since been buried by widening and asphalting the roadway to the top of the retaining wall. Doug's informant was a road maintenance man who had apparently dug beneath the asphalt and discovered the limestone footpath wall. This roadway modification did not effect the retaining wall itself.
The exposed portion of the retaining wall is approximately fifty feet long and four feet high at its highest point, which is at the center of the wall. It is of undressed, flat, rectangular blocks of sandstone and limestone, collected or quarried locally and crudely mortared. The roadway's asphalt wearing course is laid right to the edge of the top of the wall. The wall rises only to the wearing course level, it is in good condition, showing no signs of bulging, buckling, nor cracking. The only significant sign of aging is the flaking of the exterior mortar. The retaining wall faces north toward the railroad tracks and is not visible from the roadway.
It supports the road grade through a small hollow in the terrain not a drainage, but an area where GRAND CANYON NATIONAL PARK ROADS, VILLAGE LOOP DRIVE RETAINING WALL NO. 1 HAER NO. AZ-35-A (Page 4) water might collect following a rain. At one time a Fred Harvey mule corral occupied a portion of this hollow. Although built as a retaining wall, two 8" diameter metal pipes today emerge from the top level of the wall. These pipes are immediately below the roadway wearing course at approximate center of the wall. They at one time apparently carried water across the road from the south side, but are today stuffed with cans and other debris. The terrain at the south side of the road today is level to the wearing course and there is no sign of a drainage ditch nor the other end of the pipes.
CONCLUSIONS/
Village Loop Drive Retaining Wall No. 1 is significant for its association with the work of the Civilian Conservation Corps within the western national parks. Built during the peak years of CCC activities, it represents a conscious attempt to conform to the tenets of rustic architecture popular at the parks from the through the Constructed of native sandstone and limestone from local quarries and purposely rough-mortared, the retaining wall attracts no attention to itself; rather, it complements the landscape while serving the utilitarian purpose of supporting the road grade. GRAND CANYON NATIONAL PARK ROADS, VILLAGE LOOP DRIVE RETAINING WALL NO. 1 HAER NO. AZ-35-A (Page 5) ENDNOTES 1. CM.
Carrel, "Department of the Interior, National Park Service, Grand Canyon National Park, Minor Roads Headquarters Area," engineer's sketch map, 12 September Microfiche Grand Canyon drawings cabinets, top floor of the Grand Canyon Railway Depot,
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