South Entrance Road, Between South park boundary & Village Loop Road, Grand Canyon

Source document Quoted word for word from HAER ARIZ,3-GRACAN,9-. Not written, edited or summarised by this site.

South Entrance Road'begins at the park's south boundary and runs north to the Canyon rim, thence west through the administrative area to its terminus at Village Loop Drive. Coconino County, Arizona. UTM A: 12 /Park boundary UTM B: 12 /Village Loop Int. Tusayan East USGS Quadrangle, Grand Canyon, Arizona USGS Quadrangle, Phantom Ranch USGS Quadrangle, Date of Construction: 195 4 Type of Structure National park entrance road Use: National park entrance road Designer/Engineer U.S. Department of Agriculture, Bureau of Public Roads . U.S. Department of Interior, National Park Service Builders: James Vallandingham, Salt Lake, UT Givens Construction Co, Phoenix, AZ Sorensen Construction Co, Murray, UT Fisher Contracting Company 4) Owner: Grand Canyon National Park

Source document Quoted word for word from HAER ARIZ,3-GRACAN,9-. Not written, edited or summarised by this site.

The 192 8 alignment of South Entrance Road is significant as an early example of the cooperative agreement between the NPS and BPR to build quality automotive roads within national parks. The 195 4 alignment is significant as the first park road built in response to growing numbers of visitors following World War II in the Mission 66 style of utilitarian structures. Project Information Documentation of South Entrance Road is part of the NPS Roads & Bridges Recording Project, conducted in summer under the co-sponsorship of and HABS/HAER. This report was researched and written by Michael F.Anderson, HAER historian, r\ September ! I HHP SOUTH ENTRANCE ROAD HAER No. AZ-45 (Page 2) INTRODUCTION The 7.42-mile South Entrance Road as align'ed and constructed in .

195 3-5 4 serves as the principal entrance to Grand Canyon National Park. It is, however, only the latest in a series of approach and entrance roads worn or constructed from the transcontinental National Old Trails Highway (U.S. 66) since the late nineteenth century. The evolution of these roads reflects transitions from horse-drawn stages to automobiles? from only a few hundred annual park visitors in the to nearly a million by the middle Within this report, the two roads built to automotive standards in and 195 are considered in detail. The road represents the park's first attempt to accommodate (and attract) growing numbers of motoring tourists.

It served for nearly thirty years as the only automotive approach from the south, and a portion Center Road still serves as an internal park road and alternate entrance. The NPS built the 195 4 replacement road along an entirely new alignment in response to heavier and escalating numbers of vehicles which placed greater physical demands on the roadway, and in order to redirect traffic from a ^\ direct to an oblique approach to Grand Canyon Village.

Historical Context

The difference between a park entrance road and a park approach road originates in recent times with considerations of land management, building costs, and maintenance responsibilities. In years prior to the and even within that decade, park administrators used the very terms approach and entrance interchangeably, understanding full well that one meant little without the other. Prior to when Grand Canyon National Monument became a national park, the distinction had no meaning at all roads simply started at a convenient point and ended somewhere along the rim.

Private entrepreneurs built these roads at little cost and they quickly became what are called in Arizona "public" roads: belonging to no one and maintained by whoever happened to use them or, sporadically, by a generous county government. A multitude of roads seme formal, others not approached and entered Grand Canyon from the south before it became a national park. One of the first was a wagon road from Flagstaff, built in the middle by Philip and William Hull homesteaders and shepherds who lived south of the rim near Grandview Point. This road which served early tourist developments near Grandview > evolved into a regular stage road by and by the turn of the century had been extended westward down Long Jim Canyon, to Rowes SOUTH ENTRANCE ROAD HAER No.

AZ-45 (Page 3) Well, and north to the rim at today's village. By during the first years of automotive travel, a branch road emanated from this roundabout approach and struck directly north from a point close to today's south entrance station to enter the village very nearly along the current alignment. The "Flagstaff-Grandview" road along with its automotive terminal segment never consisted of more than a 14*-wide bladed dirt roadway, but served visitors from Flagstaff in diminishing numbers until Two more early stage approaches before the turn of the century are attributed to William Wallace Bass. Bass maintained a tourist camp near Havasupai-Point 26 miles west of today's village, and his roads one from Williams by and one from Ash Fork in 1894-^at first reached Bass Camp only.

When the railroad approached the south rim during the years Bass constructed a connecting road from the west to the railroad line, then used the developing road north along the tracks past Rowes Well to transport his customers to the south rim. Bass's roads had for the most part fallen into disrepair by and were likely never traversed by automobiles other than his own.2 Still another approach road developed early along the Grand ^"^ Canyon Railway tracks from Williams to the south rim. Beginning as a stage route for south rim tourism operators Martin Buggeln and Sanford Rowe, the "Williams-Grand Canyon" automotive road developed over time, apparently more from use by locals than deliberate construction by any government agency. Ultimately, Coconino County and the U.S.

Forest Service began to spend a few dollars on maintenance between Rowes Well and the rim (the "entrance" portion used as the terminal segment of each of the earliest "approach" roads) and this segment survives today as Rowes Well Road.3 The approach along the tracks from Williams continued to be used until replaced by the BPR-engineered south approach road from Williams in One final road approached Grand Canyon from the National Old Trails Highway during the Developed in 0, the "Mairte-Grand Canyon" road, or "Old Maine Road" as it was sometimes called even in its youth, ran north from the town of Maine (later named Parks) and around the east flank of Red Butte, then curved northwest to intersect with the Williams road near Rain Tanks.4 From that point, traffic entered the park along the Rowes Well road or along the terminal portion of the Flagstaff-Grandview-Grand Canyon Road.

Coconino County built the Old Maine Road for automobiles, though not to proper standards of the time, and maintained it (and no other) from through construction of the approach road from Williams.5 r\ When the NPS assumed management responsibility of Grand Canyon National Park in Superintendent Peters noted that SOUTH ENTRANCE ROAD HAER No. AZ-45 (Page 4) approach roads to the Grand Canyon National Park are a disgrace to the State of Arizona and Coconino County.' While they can be called fair roads in this locality , and among persons accustomed to desert travel, they seem almost impassible to the Californian and Eastern tourists. On account of these roads probably sixty percent of the transcontinental auto tourists do not came to the park.6 Peters knew well the problem.

All approach/entrance roads, including that from Maine constructed the following year, were of dirt, sand, and bedrock with little or no subgrade. All were impassable when wet, deeply rutted following rainfall, prone to washouts from flash floods, and lacking drainage structures. Residents and tourism operators knew full well to stay at home for several days following rain, and to make their way along them hurriedly in the early morning during winter before the morning sun thawed a nicely frozen surface to mire. Local ranchers and homesteaders actually looked forward to winter showers, snowmelt, and summer thunderstorms for the economic boom afforded by pulling hapless tourist automobiles out of the muck with horse teams.

The nearly motoring visitors to south rim in the ^~> travel year dreaded the trip home along the same routes. Each year the number of mired automobiles1 and angry motorists grew. superintendents raised an annual protest to the NPS director over the condition of all roads in their vicinity during the Regional and approach roads earned as much written abuse as park roads. They pointed out that in the travel year, more visitors arrived by auto than by train during several months and that for the entire season, visitors arrived at south rim in same automobiles. In numbers rose to visitors in nearly vehicles the first year in which more people arrived at south rim in automobiles than by the Grand Canyon Railway.

All understood the traffic trends, but not much could be done concerning a south approach and entrance road until funding appeared for the work.8 Funds for the construction of roads to and within the national parks began to loosen up in 192 An agreement in (formalized in February between the NPS and BPR whereby the latter would design and manage construction of park-related roads also bode well for new park automotive roads. BPR engineers had also been working with the states since the turn of the century, and with modern state departments of transportation since the thus, prospects looked hopeful for federal/state road projects.

All favorable elements for the construction of V^ automotive roads coalesced in 192 when the BPR began surveys, specifications, and estimates for five road projects at Grand SOUTH ENTRANCE ROAD HAER No. AZ-45 (Page 5) Canyon, one of which detailed a new south entrance. An approach road leading to this entrance from Williams or Flagstaff would not be built until however, following the complex and politically sticky transfer of the county-owned Bright Angel Trail to the federal government in exchange for in federal road funds.9 HISTORY OF THE STRUCTURE 192 8

South Entrance Road

Design and Construction The first BPR-engineered south entrance road originated with the master plan for Grand Canyon Village. Beginning at the park boundary near today's Moqui Lodge, engineers designed the initial 3.85-mile segment to run almost due north through ponderosa forest well to the west of the Grandview entrance and east of Rowes Well Road. The final 1.96-mile segment curved northwest through alternating ponderosa and pinon-juniper forest to end in the heart of the expanding village at the NPS administrative office (superintendent's residence). The last feet of this road would be redesigned in as a double road and ultimately become a portion of Village Loop Drive (see HAER AZ-41) .

The mile segment which entered the village from the southeast would serve as a dividing line between Fred Harvey development to the west and NPS development to the east, and after 195 4 become Center Road.10 As one of five road projects surveyed in and without immediate funds programmed for construction of all, development of the new entrance road proceeded slowly. The Bureau of Public Roads completed their survey in summer Still lacking funds to proceed, park forces cleared the roadway along the entire proposed route in the following year. In December engineers completed plans and specifications and administrators programmed funds for grading and surfacing.

The BPR advertised for bids and USDI awarded the contract for grading as well as penetration macadam surfacing to James Vallandingham of Salt Lake City, Utah. The contractor started work in January and completed the project in December 1928.u Vallandingham's workmen and NPS forces completed the South Entrance Road in three segments. They graded the initial mile segment from the south boundary northward, and the second 3.94-mile segment (2-A1 and 2-A2) to the junction of the village loop, both to a 24'-wide roadbed. Vallandingham then o applied an 18'-wide penetration macadam surface to complete his portion of the work. The final segment running from today's SOUTH ENTRANCE ROAD HAER NO.

A2-45 (Page 6) d 131 0 U r-i H 0 > a a a tn 0 H >.& fl <d T3 u a a) 73 ss H H ~ rg to to 0 O *H <d o 0 N -H o cu H W P P nj fl 0 0 P .H 0 0 (Q a oi a m -P 0 0 fl u <fl flj HDi * A & OWE My <tf -P u> o -w H a ^ 73 CN at Q <* 0 H H H M S3 * -P H r> h S SOUTH ENTRANCE ROAD HAER NO. AZ-45 (Page 7) SOUTH ENTRANCE ROAD HAER No. AZ-45 (Page 8) SOUTH ENTRANCE ROAD HAER No. AZ-45 (Page 9) Ranger Ops building to the old superintendents' residence was, as mentioned earlier, redesigned and graded by park forces then surfaced by Vallandingham in October Construction of the south entrance road included an entrance arch at the park boundary and an entrance station where the road approached Grand Canyon Village.

The entrance arch spanned the entire roadway and consisted of two masonry pillars of rough- quarried stone (typical of, early rustic style) tapering near the top. A peeled ponderosa pine log pierced the stone pillars near the top and spanned the 18 ' wide roadway at a height of approximately twenty feet.

Visitors passing beneath the arch were greeted with a rough-hewn wooden sign dangling by chains from the overhead log which read "Grand Canyon National Park" in capital letters, carved into the wood and highlighted with white paint.13 This arch was dismantled some time after abandonment of the old alignment in the middle The south entrance station completed by stood in the middle of today's Center Road on a curve, about fifty yards southeast of the service station (today's school bus building) between Boulder and Albright streets. The peeled-log building rose from z^\ the center of a masonry-curbed traffic island, landscaped with native grass and shrubs.

The lovely rustic building, reminiscent of today's North Entrance Station, was destroyed in by a tourist's runaway automobile and replaced by a cheap Mission 66- style frame and glass station. The new building was placed along the roadway rather than on the traffic island, and the assumption is that park forces removed the island from the center of the road. Givens Construction Company, contractor for the modern entrance road, moved this structure in one piece in September 195 4 to become a part of the entrance station along the new road.14 Manor Repairs and Alterations The Center Road segment of the old south entrance road has retained its original alignment since completion in 192 8, but roadside features and landscape have changed considerably since that year.

Valandingham built the road through virgin ponderosa pine and pinon-juniper forests where no road had gone before, but the terminal portion at the village soon began to change. The 192 4 master plan called for survey and grading of Avenues A, B, and C minor roads that would serve the Fred Harvey Company's residential district east of the south entrance road. The company surveyed these minor roads and residences in early C* beginning with 22 residences along Avenue A (today's Apache Street) , which was described at the time as a "by-road which SOUTH ENTRANCE ROAD HAER No.

AZ-45 |fc (Page 10) meandered in and out among the trees, narrow, and in Fall, Winter and Spring, impassible to all traffic." Park forces cleared and rough-graded Avenue A in including its intersection with , the entrance road, and further improved it in along with the survey, clearing, and grading of other intersecting streets Avenue B (today's Boulder Street) and Avenue C (no longer connected to Center Road) .1S The entire entrance road as well as intersecting village service roads received considerable improvements during the period of park public works projects, especially in the years Soon after Civilian Conservation Corps Company 819 arrived at the park in May they established Camp NP-2-A south of Avenue A and west of the Fred Harvey residential area and went to work on park roads.

Superintendent Tillotson approved seventeen initial projects for Company including roadside improvement to the entire south entrance road and intersecting minor roads. Landscape architect A.C. Kuehl kept about fifty young men busy for several enlistment periods along the entrance road on tasks such as slope cutting, ditch clearing, revegetation, widening shoulders, sealing cracks, patching oil-mixed surfacing, and building culvert headwalls (see HAER No. AZ-35 and associated f*\ reports) .16 In the south entrance road, initially constructed with a macadam surface, received its first bituminous-treated (asphalt) surfacing.

Nearly ten years of use had apparently broken down the wearing tread such that Superintendent Tillotson described it as corrugated and "wavy." Contractor Jack Casson applied two overlays to the entire length of 18'-wide roadway: a leveling course, and a Class F, Type F-l plant mix wearing course. He completed the project in August In the Santa Fe constructed a modern eight-pump service station along the south entrance road, about 50 yards northwest of the entrance station. The new station was built in response to the inadequacy of the one (gravity) pump at the end of the railroad tracks in front of the Fred Harvey garage, as well as traffic problems caused at that location by autos and buses lining up to fill.

The,new masonry building, which today serves as a repair facility and parking area for school buses, once included a projecting flat roof with peeled-log pillars. This "awning" protected vehicles from the elements as they drove in to the two pull-through lanes of four pumps each. It extended out to the roadway in front of the southeast end of the building.18 During World War II, visitation to the park as well as appropriations returned to early levels, thus, little work (^ other than minimal routine maintenance was directed to roads, including the south entrance road. As the war wound down in SOUTH ENTRANCE ROAD HAER NO.

AZ-45 (Pago 11) and in NPS administrators anticipated the explosion of visitation which would ensue and began to make plans for a new south entrance road which would bypass the village. With these ( plans in mind, only routine maintenance continued through the ' and into the early With construction of the new south entrance road in 195 3-5 4, the purpose of the old road changed entirely. No longer the primary automotive access to south, rim, it became a service road for NPS and Fred Harvey village employees. Its name, too, was changed from Route 2, South Entrance Road to Route 32, Grand Canyon Village Commercial Access Road. After 195 4, it also acquired the name of Center Road, which is what one sees on the street 20signs today and what everyone associated with the park calls it.

Immediate changes for the old road in 195 4 included obliteration of its first miles (Sections 2B and most of 2-A1) and reconfiguration of the eastern end of the road to form a "T" intersection with the new South Entrance Road. For reasons not entirely understood, but probably to accommodate heavier vehicles and traffic volume, the BPR and NPS decided on an entirely new alignment from the south boundary which would run nearly due f~> north and parallel the old road for almost four miles, only 50 to 200 yards to the east. Park forces obliterated the old alignment, removing surface and subgrade while grading the topography to something approaching a natural appearance. In December 195 4, a ranger-led crew of boy scouts planted pinon pine seeds along the road scar.

Thirty years later, this segment which serves as a utility corridor is easily traced (once found) by following a dirt road along and through the absent-tree line from Shuttle Bus Road to the Mogui Lodge. Some of the scouts' efforts have borne fruit, and by the looks of it, the tree line may be back to a natural condition within a century.21 Development continued along Center Road after it was bypassed in 195 4, but the road itself changed little until the widening and surfacing project initiated in early NPS forces continued with normal maintenance which included chip seal and surfacing, crack filling, patching, and ditch clearing.

Intersections with minor roads such as at Apache Street in were reconstructed and curbed, but roadway alignment width and culvert headwalls remained as constructed until this year. Alignment is to remain the same within this project, but pullouts are being constructed on the east and west sides of the roadway just south of Ranger Ops, masonry curbing is being laid on both sides of the roadway as far south as Apache and Ton to streets, a bicycle path is being built that crosses the road at Boulder Street, and nearly all historic CCC culvert headwalls are C^ being replaced with modern masonry headwalls (see HAER No. AZ-35 and associated reports) .22 SOUTH ENTRANCE ROAD HAER No.

AZ-4S (Page 12) n Ficrure 4 Vallandingham workers at the quarry near the town of Tusayan, South Entrance Road Construction- (Final construction report, r^ V "Sft'iNMW SOUTH ENTRANCE ROAD HAER No. AZ-45 (Page 13) Figure 5 . Vallandingham workers subgrading (above) and surfacing (below) during South Entrance Road Construction. (Final Construction Report, r^\ " - * '..AlHABRni SOUTH ENTRANCE ROAD HAER Ho. AZ-45 (Page 14) rv- Ficmre 6. Entrance Arch, South Entrance Road, November (GRCA Image r*\ SOUTH ENTRANCE ROAD HAER No. AZ-45 (Page 15) "* ..-Pr^^^Bi^^K *<*s*W#A ' mirttiiii - Figure 7.

"Old South Entrance Station was located on Highway 6 4 at junction with service road 300 yards south of Administration Building," August This station apparently predates the log entrance station at about the same location. (GRCA Image #4, SOUTH ENTRANCE ROAD HAER No. AZ-45 (Page 16) H H <*i A o $ 0 d Tf 8 in m OS 0) u J3 W H 0* 0 <C u a (D W H s M P id n 0 0 +> <o u xn i-i o a H HTJ +J 0 +j 0 H d w "'Brew SOUTH ENTRANCE ROAD HAER No. AZ-45 (Page 17) *'* * Jt . .'' ' .' / - v&* \ r\ Figure 9. CCC crews rounding slopes along the South Entrance Road, (GRCA Image r\ Figure 10. Fred Harvey service station on South Entrance Road in Built in (GRCA Image SOUTH ENTRANCE ROAD HAER No. AZ-45 (Page 18) Figure 11.

Fisher Contracting Company shovel and 12-yard dump truck working on the first segment of the new South Entrance Road near Yavapai Point, July 195 3. (GRCA Image o SOOTH ENTRANCE ROAD HAER No. AZ-45 (Page 19) Description The intersection of Center Road and Village Loop Drive had been , planned since the as a civic plaza within a village which was to evolve along the City Beautiful movement, popular at the turn of the century. The NPS master plan confirmed this intention, but the "plaza" has never developed in quite the manner envisioned. As if illustrating the confusion of plan versus traffic realities at the intersection has in fact endured more changes over the years than any other roadway within the park.

When Vallandingham completed the Center Road segment of South Entrance Road in at least one building in place reflected the civic plaza concept the Babbitts' store, along the northwest corner of Center Road. By however, planners had begun to discard the open plaza concept with construction of a large landscaped traffic island curbed with stones immediately north of the building.23 This allowed two lanes of traffic to pass (perhaps one lane to park) in front of the store while vehicles continued along Center Road on the east and Village Loop on the south.

This intersection was more severely constricted in ^~^ 36 when a formal parking area three lanes deep was constructed to the north serving both the store and the newer post office to the west.24 Needs for village parking had fairly well superseded thoughts of scenic plazas by the middle The nearby built landscape continued to change as the new administration building was completed along the northeast corner of the intersection 9) and the Babbitt Brothers added several warehouses south of their store. The landscape appeared not to change all that much, however, at least through the as all buildings were of rustic architecture, roadways mimicked the surrounding terrain with gravel then macadam surfacing, and great care was taken to preserve the natural vegetation.

Photographs through the reflect a rustic setting down to the hand- lettered, wooden directional road signs. Fewer vehicles required little or no warning signs, which helped preserve the natural setting. The uncluttered look appeared a primary goal for the intersection and initial few hundred feet of Center Road, and with hordes of public works men raking pine needles, rounding slopes, and planting trees, shrubs, and grass, the look was not hard to achieve.25 The roadside and adjacent landscape from the Village Loop intersection to the south and southeast as far as the south boundary also exhibited in the and likely through the a more natural appearance than today.

Fewer intersecting roads f^* and fewer vehicles alone would account for this, but teams of CCC men raking, planting, and rounding ditches and shoulders through SOUTH ENTRANCE ROAD HAER NO. AZ-45 w (Page 20) the developed area and beyond assured this primary NPS goal. Aside from undergrowth, however, which is -thicker today than decades ago, the natural landscape remains much as it was sixty years ago. The canopy of ponderosa pines surrounding the Village Loop intersection and thick stands of pinon and juniper farther to the southeast have survived.

Many young ponderosas seen in photographs can be recognized in their middle age along the road today.26 It is unfair, and a bit diifficult, to compare today's roadway to that of the since Center Road from the intersection with Village Loop as far as Clinic Road is torn up with construction. Surfacing has been stripped from the road itself and traffic, which never seems to abate, splashes through the muck in the wake of water trucks wetting down the dust. The parking area in front of Babbitts is also torn up while the historic store itself is gone burned in an electrical fire in winter the blackened timbers and upright masonry columns only recently (July) cleared and site cleaned.

Once again, the ever-evolving intersection is undergoing reconfiguration and one cannot tell at this time exactly what it will look like in .27 Despite the uncertain nature of the Center Road/Village Loop intersection, one can ascertain the present intent for Center Road itself. The alignment which dates to is not changing, but the roadway from the intersection to Apache and Tonto streets is being converted into an "urban" street of masonry curbing and curb to curb surfacing. Road crews are also resurfacing the remainder of Center Road, at least through the developed area which currently extends to the clinic road and Lapp Loop.

Road widening is not a goal of the current project, but it appears that widening is taking place as CCC culvert headwalls and some of the CMP culverts are being replaced along this length. Beginning at the intersection with Village Loop, the first features worthy of note are the sweeping roadway aprons which ease the flow of traffic between the two roads. Aprons give the intersection a broad appearance and they date to tie late construction when ideas for a roomy plaza still occupied planners' minds. Along the south-southeast side of Center, a 4'- wide asphalt walk with placed stone (not cemented) curbing abuts the street and continues along the front of the former 192 9 administration building.

This walk and curbing are attributed to the but no specific reference to their construction has been found. At the intersection with Tonto (on the east) and Apache (on the west), three CCC culvert headwalls of the period have been removed and replaced with new masonry headwalls on the NW, SE, and SW corners. These walls are nicely constructed of rough- V 1 X -Jl " . '-JI..B ii iv II ' ' <-. .IM.T ' i . ' J .' fi'i.-AJW-.l'SAU.fflJJV' ' TU""" ( . ..- .. "JIWW" SOUTH ENTRANCE ROAD HAER No. AZ-45 (Pago 21) cut, irregularly-shaped stones and beautiful mortar pointing, and mimic the walls they replace to a great ex-tent.28 Principal differences lie in the rock itself and how it is cut. CCC walls are of a rougher cut, often limestone; modern NPS walls are of a sharper cut, often sandstone.

A new culvert headwall on the east side of Center just south of the Ranger Ops building measures 7' long x high x 2' wide. The new headwall on the SW corner of Apache measures long x 3' high x 2' deep. The size and appearance of these two walls are typical of most being built within the project. Center Road's surfaced roadway measures twenty feet across just south of its intersection with Apache. This width is consistent with some of the early construction reports which identify a 20' macadam surface; it is two feet wider than other reports which identify an 18' macadam then bituminous-treated asphalt surface. In any event, it suggests that the roadway has not been widened much, if at all, since construction, and identifies roadway width prior to the project.

Unlined ditches parallel Center Road and drain to the northwest toward Village Loop. These ditches continue from Apache beyond . Albright Street as the road ascends in a moderate grade. The main ditch is on the southwest side of Center and the slope ensures that all culverts under Center (at least to Albright and perhaps beyond) drain from the northeast to the southwest. Each intersecting road (Tonto, Apache, Boulder, Albright, and Clinic) requires culverts and all as far as Clinic road had CCC headwalls in These have all been replaced as described above or are about to be replaced within the project.

At the intersection of Center and Boulder, a 9'-wide bicycle path crosses Center and continues down to the east side of the Ranger Ops building and across Village Loop to the footbridge over the wash and on to the RR depot area. The path also requires culverts and headwalls, which measure long x high x 2' wide. Beyond Boulder Street and as far as Clinic Road there are several culverts which pass under Center Street which have new headwalls in place. There are no intersections nor masonry walls beyond Clinic as Center Road passes along minor cuts and fills to its intersection with Shuttle Bus Road. At this point the old entrance curved sharply to the south along the initial Shuttle Bus alignment for its run to the park's south boundary.

Today, Shuttle Bus leads back to the NPS helicopter field and shuttle bus repair station, but the first couple hundred yards (until it turns again sharply toward the helicopter field) is the old entrance road. At the C'^ curve, an earthen berm directly south blocks the path of the old alignment, but one can drive around this obstacle and remain on a 7.^ SOUTH ENTRANCE ROAD HAER No. AZ-45 . t (Page 22) dirt road along and near the old road as far as the Moqui Lodge. This modern dirt road ends just short of the lodge and offers no exit to today's approach road visible immediately on the east. The segment of Center Road from Shuttle Bus to the intersection with today's south entrance road dates to the 195 3-5 4 project and its purpose is obvious.

This short segment allows NFS and Fred Harvey employees, service vehicles, delivery vans, buses, and knowing tourists to cut several miles from their journey to Grand Canyon Village. There is only one sign along the entrance road at this intersection, which states that the clinic lies down the road to the northwest. There are no directional signs (but a few warning and informational signs) other than intersecting street signs along Center Road. HISTORY OF THE STRUCTURE 195 4 SOUTH ENTRANCE ROAD Design and Construction As noted earlier, NPS planners as early as envisioned a ^^ new south entrance road which would approach Grand Canyon Village from the east and entirely bypass the Center Road segment of the old entrance.

Superintendent Bryant's stated reason for the new road was to avoid "the present confusion of roads in the village and reach the rim of the Canyon more easily."29 This statement, however, rings false or at least incomplete, as all services in remained at the village nucleus and tourists would end up at that point whether they approached directly or indirectly. It is far more likely as indicated in other correspondence that Bryant, NPS planners, and BPR engineers realized that tourists would return in droves following the end of World War II and that existing roads would have a difficult time withstanding the weight and volume of modern vehicles.

administrators likely wanted to keep such traffic from passing through the heart of the NPS and Fred Harvey residential areas as well, and may already have envisioned village development to the east which would be better served from that direction. In any event, several years had to pass before Congress would awake from the war years to understand the citizenry's frenzied return to the national parks along antiquated roads. Early conceptions of a new entrance road did not follow exactly along the alignment seen today.

In February the regional office of the Division of Plans and Design completed a drawing which depicted use of the old entrance road as far as today's () Center Road intersection (with two minor straightening segments), then a broad loop to the northeast and west as eventually ^^ SOUTH ENTRANCE ROAD HAER Ho. AZ-45 * v (Page 23) constructed. This plan called for improvements at Mather and Yavapai points, but envisioned nothing new-in the area of today's visitor center. The intent seemed to be that expressed by Bryant the year before to get tourists to the rim quicker as well as to relieve congestion within the residential area.30 Flans a few years later did not reflect the broad loop at the end, but rather something of a31 "T" intersection with East Rim Drive in the area of Mather Point.

The Bureau of Public Roads apparently completed a reconnaissance, survey, and specifications for the new south entrance road by because the BPR opened bids for construction on June 3rd of that year. Only one contractor submitted a bid, and the Department of Interior rejected it as being too far in excess of engineers' estimates. Nothing more of this attempted project was found in the course of this study, but based on knowledge of other aborted park road projects, the BPR probably went back to the drawing board to redo plans and specifications. The new south entrance finally advanced beyond the planning stages in 195 3 when the BPR designed a two-stage construction project and solicited bids.

USDI awarded the first contract to the Fisher Contracting Company.32 o Fisher completed the first segment (a portion of section of the new entrance road in 195 3-5 4, which ran from Grand Canyon Village (Station to a point (Station 15 south of today's intersection with East Rim Drive. The project which followed the survey of resulted in grading, base course, and bituminous treatment of a 30'-wide, mile roadway. Base course consisted of of selected borrow and of crushed stone. This segment began at Village Loop Drive and traversed undeveloped country south of the pioneer cemetery, then looped north past the Yavapai Point spur and Mather Point before turning south where it flowed smoothly into East Rim Drive along an old alignment.

The new road obviated a segment of East Rim which ran from the point several hundred feet south of today's intersection with the entrance road, directly west to a point near today's visitor center. Upon completion, NPS administrators began to consider this roadway an official portion of the south entrance road rather33than the initial segment of East Rim Drive which it superseded. Construction of the remainder of the new south entrance road followed close on the heels of the first project. The BPR opened bids on 2 February 195 4 and the Department of Interior awarded the contract to Givens Construction Company of Phoenix, Arizona.

The contractor started work on 16 March 195 4 and completed the project 8 November Construction costs totalled O or per mile for the 4.825-mile segment, which extended from Station 15 near the junction of East Rim Drive to SOUTH ENTRANCE ROAD HAER No. AZ-45 (Page 24) south of the park boundary to merge with the recently-rebuilt Arizona Forest Highway 2 (State Route Upon completion, the entire entrance road within the park from Village Loop Drive to the park boundary (Sections 2-Al, and measured miles with a maximum grade of 6.1 percent34and minimum radius curves of (blind) and (open). This contract called for miles of grading, base course, and bituminous treatment of a. ,30 '-wide roadway the same as the first segment completed earlier in the year.

The base course consisted of selected borrow ranging from to in depth, placed and compacted in layers not exceeding Mand topped by of crushed stone placed and compacted in layers. asphaltic oil was applied to the base course at an average rate of gallons per square yard, resulting in 1" of bituminous penetration. A second application of at an average rate of gallons per square yard followed the first. This treated surface was covered with "Type 4 blotter material" of crushed red cinders at an average rate of pounds per square yard. The contractor delivered and stockpiled another 100 tons of colored cinders for future chip-sealing, presumably to maintain the red surface appearance.

Drainage structures consisted solely of f~> 142 4' of corrugated metal pipe culverts with end sections (no headwalls) which ranged from 18" to 36" in diameter. Landscape requirements within the contract included 5 cubic yards of excavation for slope rounding and cubic yards of topsoil for revegetation. Aside from the contract, NPS forces obliterated 3.4 miles of the entrance road from the park boundary to Center Road, first stripping and stockpiling the old bituminous mat then blading the ground to original contours. A troop of boy scouts, as noted earlier, seeded pinon pines along the old alignment later in the year.

Other old roads obliterated by force account included segments of the automotive road mentioned at the beginning of this report, and several other old roads in the vicinity of the Center Road intersection. The BPR accepted the national park segment of the roadway on 8 November 195 4 while the state accepted the small portion south of the park boundary on 6 January With the obliteration of 3.4 miles of the entrance road, the remaining portion (Center Road) was extended feet to the east to join with the new entrance road at Station This generally followed the alignment of an older spur road which 35 had connected the entrance road with the entrance road. A new entrance station necessarily accompanied a new South Entrance Road.

Construction drawings depict the^ station complex r^\ at approximately Station through but a final completion report identifies its construction in SOUTH ENTRANCE ROAD HAER NO. AZ-45 (Page 25) U .. (D M SS8 nawaw "^ SOUTH ENTRANCE ROAD HAER No. AZ-45 (Page 26) Figure 13 Segment of new South Entrance Road at site of new entrance station, September (GRCA Image r^\ SOUTH ENTRANCE ROAD HAER No. AZ-45 (Page 27) M*i *_ i ^1^ .-5 '. v \ Figure 14. New South Entrance Station, 15 July facing south (GRCA Image r>\ SOUTH ENTRANCE ROAD HAER NO. AZ-45 (Page 28) m as H u o a 0 M .p M 0 o a a <6 U U O a\ = oo 8 0 in <g H a H O Ik, n\ u i. miijjjii njni k....,i.iie^ppBwi^p' SOUTH ENTRANCE ROAD HAER No. AZ-45 (Page 29) in 0 $ 0 0 n d r?\ An 30 0 *.

a 0 -P 8 M so 0 Pi* g p fr i-l M M 6 H 'MM,MI, -1.ii ji i i-j J -1 i.. ji. wuwiiLL i iiju. i 'inw:: ;. j SOUTH EHTRAHCE ROAD HAER Ho. AZ-45 (Page 30) ! o Figure 17. Aerial view of the new (present) south entrance station, July (GRCA Image m SOUTH ENTRANCE ROAD HAER No. A2-45 (Page 31) Givens Construction moved the existing station from Center Road to its new location in September 195 4, and this apparently served until the more formal station was completed. D .0. Norton and Sons of Phoenix, Arizona, won the contract to construct two frame buildings Building No. 310-A measuring x (checking station with toilet facility) and Building No. measuring x (a checking station).

The project included excavation, concrete footings and stems, a concrete slab on grade, electric, plumbing, painting, toilet accessories, septic tank, and bumper sign guards. NPS rangers began to use the buildings in December 195 7, but the project was not completed until September 195 8. Contractor was paid for his efforts .'7 D.O. Norton's contract included a narrow island extending approximately forty feet to the south and ten feet to the north of the 8' x 20' entrance building. A post and single-beam guardrail surrounded the island. Traffic entering the park passed in two lanes along the east of each building, with room for another lane of traffic to pass farther to the east. Only one exit lane ran along the west side of the larger building.

Construction photographs indicate that the smaller building was f~\ removed and placed "in storage" as soon as the larger was completed, but a 196 3 photograph shows the same building or an exact replica back in place serving two lanes of visitors.38 Completion of the new South Entrance Road also called for construction of an "entrance portal" at Station consisting of signs and pullouts on both sides of the road.39 Each sign was of peeled logs mortared upright in a three-tier, roughly 2'- high, masonry foundation, fronted by a wooden plank sign and an adjacent standard NPS "arrowhead" sign.

The entrance sign (erected in read "South Entrance, Grand Canyon National Park, National Park Service, Department of the Interior," and was constructed by the Yosemite National Park sign shop at a cost of Pullouts were gravel surfaced, 30' deep and 50' long, and across from each other between Stations and 390+00.i0 Manor Repairs and Alterations Following the first winter after the new South Entrance Road was constructed park administrators noted that the surface was deteriorating rapidly. Engineers quickly determined that this was due to the thin bituminous-treated surface which had not been treated with a final seal coat.

Administrators also noted that channel striping alone at the new road's broad intersections with the Yavapai spur road and East Rim Drive was confusing motorists more than helping them. They also noted the need for a parking SOUTH ENTRANCE ROAD HAER No. A2-45 ' . (Page 32) lot to go along with the new visitor center under construction near the pioneer cemetery. Administrators, landscape architects, and BPR engineers met in to correct these deficiencies.41 BPR engineers and landscape architects quickly addressed the intersections and parking lot within a reconstruction project of East Rim Drive.

They designed landscaped, masonry-curbed islands to channel traffic at the intersections which would require linear feet of masonry curbing, arranged through Western States Stone Company of Ash Fork ($1.29/foot); 550 cubic yards of topsoil, available from a pit 3/4 mile west and miles north of the south entrance station; and seeding and planting labor. At the visitor center, the parking project would include walks and placement of square feet of flagstone in front of the building, available from the same Ash Fork stone company at $23.00/ton (a ton would cover 130 square feet).

The BPR called for bids for the entire project in Spring 195 6 and USDI awarded the contract to Rogers Construction Company of San Diego, California in May The contractor made the modifications to South Entrance Road as noted above within the larger East Rim Project, which ran from 25 f~\ May to 28 June Work included the parking lot (beside ." road stations and flagstone and drinking fountains at the visitor center, and traffic channelization islands at the Yavapai spur road (Stations to and East Rim Drive (Stations to 15 Day labor forces within this project erected the south entrance sign built by the Yosemite National Park sign shop, and guardrails at Mather Point.

They also planted "thousands of native plant, shrubs 43 and bushes" upon the traffic islands at a cost of Coincident with the above work, the BPR put together plans and specifications to repair and surface South Entrance Road from beginning to end, and included this work within a contract to resurface the roadVay south of the park boundary as far as the national forest boundary west-southwest of Red Butte. USDI awarded the contract to Sorensen Construction Company of Murray, Utah, in Summer 195 6.

The contractor completed the project during October through August Exact lengths of the project included the entire South Entrance Road from Station through miles), the Yavapai spur road from Station through miles), and the south approach road from Station through miles), for a total project length of miles. There may also have been a slight realignment44at the south end of the park entrance road within this project. (^ Work consisted of placing of bituminous plant-mix (Type F- 1 dense graded) bottom course, and of bituminous mix finish SOUTH ENTRANCE ROAD HAER No. AZ-45 (Page 33) (Class F pavement) surface course on all segments of the 30'-wide South Entrance Road, with only a 1" bottom course and surface course placed on the 34'-wide approach.

An emulsified asphalt grade spread at an average rate of gallons per square yard was applied to the existing prime base and bottom surface course as a tack coat. Liquid asphalt penetration was mixed at an average rate of percent of the weight of aggregate to produce the bottom and finish surface courses. An Asphalt grade 15 0-2 00 penetration was applied as a flush coat at an average rate of gallons per square yard.

This project also included placing crushed gravel shoulder material, topsoil, and seed along the roadway.45 Escalating traffic congestion at the visitor center and nearby commercial services area by the late prompted the NPS to undertake miscellaneous improvements to South Entrance Road and the visitor center parking area in Most work went into the business area, however, including the lovely masonry wall south of that parking area, walks, masonry curbing, a paved roadway from South Entrance Road to the Yavapai Lodge, and a curbed traffic island at the turn to Babbitt's Store. Work along South Entrance Road included substantial roadway modifications, two concrete drop inlets, 42 0 linear feet of stone curbing, and a bituminous sidewalk and trail at the visitor center and amphitheater.

Bish Contracting Company, Inc. won the contract for only of which was for work associated with the entrance road and visitor center parking area. The project ran from 22 May through 31 August The brief completion report for this project is unclear as to exactly what work was done to the entrance road. It suggests that the entire roadway segment fronting the visitor center and parking lot was regraded and surfaced, and clearly mentions that traffic channelization islands were installed (probably as seen today). Tasks mentioned included subgrade preparation, grading, base course, paving stone curbs and wall, and topsoil and seeding along shoulders. The report suggests that the roadVay may have been entirely realigned in this section.

Mention is made of removing an old asphalt mat and lowering of the grade to prevent excessive tree clearing, and project tasks do suggest new roadway construction (subgrade, grade, base course,...). Today, an old road alignment is noticed immediately east of the NFS parking lot east of the visitor center. It may have been a road segment bypassed in this project An interesting facet of this project entailed the immediate erosion of the asphalt surfacing, which was traced by laboratory tests to the use of aggregate from the Little Colorado River. f"^ Technicians determined that Little Colorado aggregate contains bentonite clay particles which disintegrate under traffic stress WliMlg'"WL SOUTH ENTRANCE ROAD HAER No. AZ-45 . ^ (Page 34) when wet, and is also subject to stripping.

To correct the problem, all project road surfaces were overlaid to a depth of one inch using basaltic aggregate from the Tanner Pit at Williams. All surfaces were then given a final chip seal." Most work along South Entrance Road since has consisted of standard maintenance activities, including striping, resurfacing as required, overlays, chip-sealing, patching, and culvert cleaning. According to Joe Bice, Roads Supervisor, the park tried something different by doing a white-shaded chip seal with red cinder shoulders along the roadway in the This was not continued, as it is difficult to match colors when patching, but the roadway color still fades over time as black bituminous oil wears away to the white lime aggregate beneath.

Today, South Entrance Road requires progressively more attention the closer it gets to Village Loop Drive as vehicles enter from East Rim Drive and traffic coagulates around the visitor center toward the village Loop intersection. During the course of this study, it was noted that this last segment of roadway is badly cracked, patched, and deteriorating. Road crews were busily at work excavating deeply beneath the subgrade near the Fred Harvey f"^ garage on one project, while a cursory surfacing project was completed on another occasion time. These are stop gap measures as the road is due for resurfacing in the near future.

8 One final major alteration to South Entrance Road consisted of the new entrance station, constructed at its present location in which replaced the 195 8 station near the Center Road intersection. This beautiful example of "rustic revival" architecture was designed at the western regional office and constructed by Ron Lewis Construction of Moapa, Nevada. The initial entrance roadway was reconstructed within this project, extending from the new entrance sign and entrance parking area at the boundary through the 3-booth, 3-lane station, and beyond several hundred feet to the north. Description The South Entrance Road as constructed in 195 4 begins at Station at the intersection with Village Loop Drive between the old superintendents' residence and the Fred Harvey garage.

Traffic between the two roads is channeled by the landscaped traffic island at this point which dates to the earliest automotive version of East Rim Drive (late . The island today, as sixty years ago, is landscaped with native grasses and several old ponderosa pines. The roadway just east of the intersection ^l is 26' wide with 12' lanes. Placed monolithic boulders line the garage on the south to keep vehicles from parking next to the ' .i. 'Hwat * ! ." . ,( - "i "i'i> > , i ^H"J..,I w "' ' ' ; : ,'j-vi~T"F." ' -; Tfi"--j"."^mii."j'.LswM SOUTH ENTRANCE ROAD HAER No. AZ-45 (Page 35) building. Drainage at the intersection is directed into a double culvert on the south side of the roadway which funnels storm water beneath Village Loop into Bright Angel Wash on the south side of the RR tracks.

This double culvert boasts a CCC masonry headwall, the only masonry structure along the entire entrance road dating to the It is 12' long x 5' high x 2' thick with 36" CMP culverts.49 The road climbs eastward from the intersection along a gentle grade through ponderosa pines on the south and pinon-juniper on the north, the disparity in life zones caused by the north and south facing slopes of Bright Angel Wash. Landscape transitions to all ponderosa pine as the roadway passes out of the drainage and approaches the visitor center area. Within this approximate 0.9 mile road segment there are few culverts. Three noted consist of bare CMP draining north to south under the roaoVay with metal apron end sections on the south side.

Two of these have an earthen berm catch basin on the north side which stops water flow long enough to funnel it through the culvert under the road. There are no walks along the road, but a wide, informal path runs parallel from the Harvey garage area to the visitor center area about forty feet south of the road. The few tourists f^ who walk between the village and the visitor center (most hop back in their cars and drive it or catch the shuttle) use this path, or the developed trail along the Canyon rim. There is no curbing along this segment of road, although there are a few boulders at points on the south side to prevent motorists from striking out cross country.

This 0.9 mile road segment is in the worst condition of any along the entire 7+ mile entrance road, evidencing potholes, cracks, and generally rough surfacing (though road crews keep after it). Part of the problem is the grade, which is not inordinately steep but is nonetheless the steepest along the entire route. Another problem is traffic, which is heaviest here between the two developed areas. Despite a free shuttle which runs between the two points and is heavily used, all manner of commercial and private vehicles incessantly ply this route during daylight hours. Joe Bice indicates that the shuttle trams do indeed help relieve congestion, but the weight of these fully-loaded vehicles may cause more road damage than if each passenger drove their own vehicles. Solutions beget problems.

As one approaches the developed area, the roadway broadens to 30' across, but lanes remain 12' wide. A directional sign indicates that the visitor center is on the left and backcountry services on the right. At this point a left turn brings the visitor into the west end of the long parking lot, just as the entrance road f is divided by a traffic channelization island. 7 """ -^.'IJU'Wi1" SOUTH ENTRANCE ROAD HAER No. A2-45 ^ (Page 36) The parking area has standard features of park road pullouts, including the 1950s-style masonry curbing on both north and south sides of the lot. The rock is larger than- standard, however, measuring 24" to 30" long.

A 5'-wide bituminous walkway fronts the north side of the lot from the west side all the way to the visitor center, and is itself fronted by a 3-rounded-rail wooden fence, painted brown. Visitors along the walkway access points to the north, including the pioneer cemetery, Shrine of Ages, campfire talk amphitheater,, rim trail paths, and at the east end of the lot, the visitor center and administrative offices. At the east end of the visitor center the road curves back to the entrance road and forms one arm of the intersection which allows access to the business district (Yavapai Lodge, Babbitts Store...). The parking lot and entrance road are separated by an island about 35 feet in width, landscaped with grasses, 3age, ponderosa, and juniper.

In the late morning of the day these observations were made, every parking space was filled and vehicles paused throughout the lot waiting for someone to leave. Returning to the beginning (west end) of the visitor center area, the first road structure encountered is the channelization island which divides the road. This island is initially 4' wide with an unusual river-rock cobblestone surface, then broadens to about 9' wide with grass and sage landscaping. The island is entirely bordered by masonry curbing. The north lane, one way west, is 18' wide curb to curb. The south lane, one way east, is only 13' wide and lacks curbing on the south side. Up the road a little, the center island narrows in order to channel traffic into a second left turn into the parking lot.

At this same intersection, vehicles moving west in the north lane are channelled by the island (which continues after the break at the intersection) into a left turn lane to the backcountry services area. Traffic seems to flow fairly well in this immediate area, as relatively few people turn here. At this same intersection, masonry curbing lines all four rounded roadway corners, with the curbing continuing north into the parking area. At the east side of the intersection a culvert runs south to north under the roadway with a common metal apron on the north side. There is a drop inlet in the south lane at this point. The culvert pipe is distorted from the weight of traffic.

The entrance road continues divided by the center island for another yards to the intersection for the south side business district. This island is at first 4' wide (to accommodate the turn lane) with a cobblestone surface, then broadens to eleven feet with grass and shrub vegetation. Masonry r^ curbing surrounds the island, but there is no curbing along the roadway on either the north or south sides through this entire SOUTH ENTRANCE ROAD HAER No. AZ-45 (Page 37) segment. Placed boulders and an occasional horizontal log on both sides take the place of masonry curbing, and seem to keep motorists from parking along the roadway.

About thirty yards west of the business intersection, a walk painted on the pavement allows pedestrians to cross between the business district and the visitor center. The center island forms left turn lanes at this intersection, then dissipates to the east having served its purpose to channel traffic through this heavily-congested area. The south lane between the intersection and the service station on the south side of the roadway is channeling (sinking) badly, indicating subgrade damage from the weight of vehicles. Prior to the middle nothing existed in this area other than the pioneer cemetery and the lonesome East Rim Drive on its way from the village to Desert View.

Most of the developed area described dates to initial construction in the and to modifications of the reconstruction project. It is very possible, however, that minor changes and improvements have been made in subsequent years, since the quantity of materials described in the project completion report do not add up to the myriad masonry curbs and walks. It is also likely that all roadway and parking areas have been resurfaced or chip sealed in f^\ the intervening 2 3 years. Visitors experience relief as they emerge east of the developed area with an open road ahead. Just beyond the service station, the surfaced roadway measures 30' across with 12' lanes and 3' shoulders.

The speed limit 25 miles per hour through the developed area returns to 35 miles per hour while the landscape transitions from ponderosa pines to a more open pinon-juniper forest. The pavement is smoother and motorists accelerate more toward 45 mph than the posted limit. Not far up the road, one comes to the Yavapai Point turnoff on the left. Another traffic island, that constructed in rises from the asphalt to direct vehicles into a left turn lane. This island has masonry curbing all around and continues on the east side of the intersection to channel traffic from the other direction. Both segments are landscaped with agave, grasses, sage, and other shrubs.

The spur road to Yavapai Point and museum is several hundred yards long, masonry-curbed on both sides, and measures 25' curb to curb with 11' lanes. At the end of the spur is a broad loop with plentiful parking, especially on the east side where long lanes accommodate buses. A broad walkway begins on the east and runs around to the shuttle bus stop and museum footpath on the north end. The walk is separated from the parking surface by modern masonry curbing and is fronted ^^^ by a 3~rounded-rail fence, painted brown. This is the loveliest i* and largest parking loop in the park with a "rustic revival" shuttle bus shelter and long central island, heavily landscaped 7^ W, SOUTH ENTRANCE ROAD HAER No.

AZ-45 (Page 38) and surrounded by another masonry-curbed, 9'-wide walk and wooden rail fence. The entrance road continues east and southeast from the Yavapai spur through an area of rounded slopes naked of vegetation. The white Kaibab limestone earth is striking at this point, so much so that it seems to attract motorists who pullover and parallel park along the roadway. This road segment is near the Canyon rim so people get out and saunter over to take a peek. It is unknown if the park administration encourages this parking, but no signs nor obstructions discourage it. Not far east of this point is the Mather Point pullout. A landscaped island varying from thirty to fifty feet wide separates the parking area from the entrance road, with exits/entrances on the west and east ends.

These entrances are hazardous because the long scenic pullout is popular as the first Canyon-view pullout for visitors entering the park from the south. Vehicles travelling from 40 mph to 50 mph along the broad sweeping curve of the entrance road (despite the 35 mph limit) decelerate quickly to enter the pullout, while exiting vehicles turn east and west in equal proportions. The painted lanes at ,0\ these two intersections are awkward, and entirely ignored. The pullout itself offers perpendicular parking on the Canyon (north) side and parallel parking for larger vehicles on the roadway (south) side, both sides masonry-curbed the entire length of the pullout.

The Canyon-side parking area is fronted by a bituminous walkway, but the Canyon rim is another few dozen feet to the north with lovely natural landscaping intervening. The rim is lined by the interesting metal guardrail described for other park scenic drives (see Haer No. AZ-42, West Rim Drive) the entire length of the parking area and a little farther to the east. An asphaltic walkway leads out to the actual point and is surrounded by the metal guardrailing. From Mather Point, the entrance road begins a very broad curve toward the southeast until heading almost due south, at which point the intersection with East Rim Drive is reached.

This intersection used to be a few hundred feet farther to the south and was moved and reconstructed as part of a realignment project after the Masonry-curbed and landscaped islands on the entrance road channel traffic at the intersection. South bound traffic continues unimpeded while a left turn lane formed by the island allows access to East Rim Drive; north bound traffic flows along the island, with a right turn lane offered to access East Rim Drive. Vehicles turning left (south) from East ^^ Rim Drive cross the north bound lane between the islands before (^ entering the south bound lane. Vehicles turning right (north) .' 'J JU*..Bfc* SOUTH ENTRANCE ROAD HAER No. A2-45 (Page 39) from East Rim Drive have an acceleration lane before merging with north bound traffic.

From this intersection, the entrance road continues in a fairly straight line almost due south to the park's south boundary, and remains 30' wide with 12'-wide lanes, 3'-wide paved shoulders, and a speed limit of 45 Leaving the rim area, the landscape returns to mostly ponderosa pine forest, laced with live oak, juniper, and pin on. A few hundred feet south of the intersection one passes the old East Rim Drive alignment which is revealed by the power lines crossing the entrance road, a mule crossing, and an absent-tree line to the east and west. The roacfc/ay remains broad with a few gentle dips, rises, and curves to the intersection with Center Road.

The Center Road intersection has masonry-curbed and shrub- landscaped islands in the center of the entrance road on the north and south sides. One can turn left (east) here, although there is no left turn lane, and access the old entrance road alignment (obliterated in 195 4) along a modern gravel road. Traffic may also turn right (west) onto Center Road. Vehicles travelling north along the entrance road are provided a left turn lane formed by the traffic island. Vehicles turning right (south) from Center Road enjoy an acceleration lane before merging with south bound traffic. This intersection was configured in 195 4 when the entrance road was first built, and the entrance station until stood just a few yards to the south.

From Center Road, South Entrance Road continues due south through increasingly thicker stands of ponderosa pine. There are a few moderate cuts and fills, but the roadway is designed with dips and rises to break up an otherwise monotonous tangent. Culverts at the bottom of cuts are of bare CMP with metal apron end sections dating to original construction in the The speed limit continues at 45 but the road is so well-engineered that many motorists do 55 mph or better through this straightaway segment.

The condition of the roadway from the visitor center area to the south boundary is excellent, and except for the intersections with East Rim Drive, Center Road, and the south entrance, appear untouched by reconstruction or realignment since the The south entrance station, constructed in consists of three masonry and wood toll booths covered by two peaked roofs of shake shingles.

The "rustic revival" architecture and fine craftsmanship of these structures are best described by the professional large format photographs which accompanied this C^ project, the field photographs submitted with this study, and construction drawings available at Professional Services." SOUTH ENTRANCE ROAD HAER No, AZ-45 ^k (Page 40) The roadway itself is well thought out and engineered as entering traffic splits easily into three lanes to pass to the east side of each entry booth, then merges easily ba'ck into one northbound lane. The west two lanes are 11' wide, the east lane 13' wide, and the single exit lane, which is separated from entrance structures by landscaped islands, is 15' wide.

The roadway on which the entry booths are situated is of concrete rather than the standard roadway asphalt. The park entrance sign and adjacent parking area is approximately 0.2 mile south of the entrance station, on the east side of the roadway. The masonry sign foundation is built atop a broad, irregularly shaped concrete pad, and the entire area is intricately landscaped with ponderosa and pinon pine, gambel oaks, Apache plum, sage, squawberry, yucca, and native grasses. CONCLUSIONS/

Significance

Visitors to Grand Canyon National Park have for more than one hundred years entered the park in the greatest numbers from the south. In the earliest years, parties rode stages operated by r^\ private tourism entrepreneurs along dirt wagon roads of their own creation to small camps and hotels at Bass Camp and Grandview. With the Grand Canyon Railway's arrival at the head of the Bright Angel Trail in visitors immediately abandoned the bumpy all day stage experience for a three hour Pullman ride, thereby hastening the birth and steady growth of Grand Canyon Village surrounding the depot. When motorists began to arrive in numbers during the they found the best accommodations and services at the village, and by their patronage further stimulated its growth.

By the time automotive travel eclipsed that of the railway in it had become a foregone conclusion that any road approaching the park from the south would terminate at Grand Canyon Village. Superintendent Peters in succinctly framed with a few words the automotive challenge at Grand Canyon National Park within the context of early overall NPS strategy. Congress would never set aside significant amounts of land and money for the national parks unless voters pressured them to do so. Voters would not have reason to pressure their legislators until they experienced the majesty of existing parks, and could not do so until they had convenient means to visit the parks.

The number of motorists had exceeded railway passengers (or nearly so) by the early and since the trend was irrefutable, NPS strategists, especially Stephen Mather and Horace Albright, focused on construction of modern automotive roads and alliance with the era's premier road <0 building agency, the Bureau of Public Roads. The number of quality roads built by this partnership in the and SOUTH ENTRANCE ROAD HAER No. AZ-45 (Page 41) alone many of which still follow original alignments is simply staggering.

It is within this overall strategy and partnership that Grand Canyon's South Entrance Road achieves significance as one of the earliest of automotive roads planned and constructed by the BPR and As noted in this report, BPR Engineer Donald Evans came to Grand Canyon and surveyed five new roads even before the two government agencies formalized their agreement in Since Superintendents Peters and Eakin consistently agitated for a better road entering the park from the south, it is likely Evans surveyed South Entrance Road first.

In any event, the and contractor James Vallandingham completed it first, and the results in combination with progress on the approach road from Williams during (also built by the fulfilled Peters' hopes of capturing more of the transcontinental traffic along the new United States Route 66. Unfortunate historical aspects of the entrance road are that it no longer exists for its original purpose as an entrance road, less than half its length is extant, and it has lost nearly all of its associated historic structures. The alignment from Moqui Lodge to Center Road can easily be traced, but contractors and boy scouts obliterated the nearly four mile long segment in the and no structures remain.

Center Road until this year boasted some fine examples of CCC culvert heacfoalls, but most if not all (save one) are gone as of this writing. It may be that by next year, nothing of the old roadway will remain but the mile alignment that is Center Road and the stone curbing fronting Ranger Ops. Although the road's slow disappearance is regrettable, it is eminently understandable since all roads change over time and some alignments are abandoned to service the needs of changing automotive patterns. South Entrance Road reflects this evolution perfectly with its changing purpose, total realignment in 195 3-5 4 and construction to automotive standards. This new roadway achieves significance as a representation of how roads have evolved at Grand Canyon National Park.

Even before World War II, a few among planners began to consider the growth of Grand Canyon Village and the wisdom of funneling a steady stream of visitors directly to its heart. During the war, as park administrators began to plan for postwar improvements, the thought of directing visitors first to the East Rim Drive then to the rim at Mather and Yavapai points before approaching the village seemed one possible means to distribute park traffic which they felt sure would explode. As the park entered the the need for a new alignment also became a function of planning for the new visitor and commercial zones SO UTH ENTRANC E ROAD HAER No. AZ-45 (Page 42) between Yavapai Point and the village.

Thus, the reason for an entrance road--to funnel visitors to available services and sites remained the same, but the purpose-required a new alignment. While the entrance road was the first automotive road completed at the park, the 195 4 entrance road was the first built or reconstructed after the war to address changing infrastructure and visitation patterns. It also for the first time reflected changing ideas concerning visitors' appreciation of the park, and trends within NPS architectural schools of thought. The two forms of change are to same degree the same, as utility, economy, and sheer numbers of visitors have influenced both.

Although this study did not consider the terrain through which the road passed in any depth, nor the physical qualities of the road other than what was found in the single completion report, it is evident by observation today that the old road was built like many other NPS roads of the and to handle perhaps light to moderate weight vehicles per year. With obliteration, the roadway may have been regraded to natural contours, but today's topography and vestiges of the alignment suggest that vehicle speeds were limited to At these speeds, visitors had more time to appreciate associated road structures such as a masonry portal, masonry culvert headwalls and retaining walls.

The NPS and BPR designed these early roads with fewer cuts and fills, steeper grades, sharper curves, scenic vistas, and aesthetic constructions with slower speeds in mind. By the vehicles entering the park numbered in the hundreds of thousands, not the tens of thousands, and again the trends were even scarier than the figures. Annual visitation approached one million while superintendents wailed at conditions prosperity had wrought (while dreaming for better facilities to accommodate more).

The new entrance road with its greater width, more gentle grades, longer tangents, and no rustic-style aesthetic features reflects this escalating traffic pattern, and a new capability to move visitors from Points A to B with fewer stops, greater efficiency, and speed, thus run them through the park quicker. Although limits increased to only 45 South Entrance Road was designed to easily handle mph speeds and park personnel well understood that the postwar generation of motorists, who were in a hurry whatever their destination, were already doing better than that. A faster, wider, sleeker south entrance road with few distracting aesthetic features also reflected the postwar economy, which favored more roadway for the dollar and fewer frills.

The beauty of early BPR roads is owed the labor that went into them when laborers worked diligently for 50 cents per hour. In the SOUTH ENTRANCE ROAD HAER No. AZ-45 (Page 43) and beautiful ashlar masonry structures of weathered stone of varied hues actually cost less than the.same structures built of concrete. Too, Grand Canyon like all national parks benefitted in from the young men of the CCC who worked even cheaper and built many of these roadside structures. After the war with labor unions, minimum wage laws, and mandatory 40-hour work weeks in place, labor-intensive projects gave way to fewer skilled workmen operating more powerful machines. Roads as well as buildings succumbed to these economies.

Architectural trends which favored the utilitarian look and honest use of building materials also had some effect on design and construction of South Entrance Road. Writers say more of buildings when they discuss architecture, but there is no doubt that early NPS landscape architects viewed roads in the same artistic light. Chief Landscape Architect Thcmas Vint and others of his staff were immersed in the rustic style through the and dominated design of NPS roads as well as buildings. By the end of the however, Vint's staff had grown from 16 to more than and most of the newcomers viewed the rustic style as a romantic affectation.

As these men and women came onto positions of power following the war, there was little trouble convincing o them that economies called for streamlined structures of modern materials. They had already been sold in school. South Entrance Road as completed in 195 4 is significant because it mirrors the visitational, economic, and architectural changes which emerged at Grand Canyon National Park and other western parks after World War II. It was the first road to so evolve, and set the pattern for others over the following ten years. r^ SOUTH ENTRANCE ROAD HAER No. AZ-45 (Page 44) ENDNOTES 1. GRCA Map Grand Canyon Study Collection .. 2. "Excerpts from Report Made Jan. 25, to Forest Supervisor F.C .W.

Pooler, Forest Supervisor, On Roads and Trails in Grand Canyon Division," brief synopsis of roads, Misc Old Roads & Trails in the Park. Grand Canyon National Park Library 3. Tillotson, Assistant Engineer, to Superintendent Crosby, memorandum, 3 September 192 3, Misc Old Roads & Trails in the Park. File, James Shirley, interview by author, 2 February Tape Recording. 4. "Road Map to Points of Interest from Flagstaff, Arizona," March Reference File Roads. This map depicts the Williams and Maine approach roads and the beginning portion of the Flagstaff approach, already falling out of use by 192 7. See also Superintendent's Annual Report, 5. Portions of the old roads mentioned can still be followed today. In June the author and Mr.

Thomas Carmony of Phoenix, AZ, traced major portions of Bass's road from Bass Camp south as far as his overnight camp, "The Caves"; The author has also driven small segments of the Williams road along the RR tracks, and the entire length of the old Maine Road. 6. Superintendent's Annual Report, 7. Superintendent's Annual Reports, James Shirley interview. 8. Superintendents' Annual Reports, 7. 9. Superintendents' Annual Reports, 192 See also Eakin, superintendent, to E.B. Wheeler, BPR di strict engineer, letter, 15 May Reference File Roads. The new approach road also had to await decision on where the new road would originate Flagstaff or Williams.

Superintendent Eakin rather neatly sidestepped the hotly-debated issue (which had begun in the over all southern approaches to Grand Canyon) when engineer Wheeler asked him to help with the new road's reconnai 3 san ce. 10. NPS Landscape Engineering Division, "Grand Canyon National Park i"-^ General Plan for Community Development, " sketch map, 2 4 June 192 4, copy in Professional Services, ^waw^^w SOUTH ENTRANCE ROAD HAER No. AZ-45 (Page 45) 11. Superintendents' Annual Reports, Wallace, Associate Highway Engineer, "Final Construction Report on Grand Canyon National Park Highway System, Sections' 1A1,. Rectification and Surfacing, 1A2, 2A1, 2B Grading and Surfacing,* 2A2 Surfacing and 1C2 Grading," Grand Canyon National Park Construction Reports, 4 Folder, Accession #35 94, Box 1 of 2, 12.

USDI, "As Constructed Plans for Project 2-A1 (Por.), (Por.) Grading, Base Course & Bit. Treat., Route No. 2 South Entrance," GRCA 113/60209A, copy in Professional Services, Wallace, "Final Construction Report, 13. GRCA Image photograph of the entrance arch, November 14. GRCA Image #s and show the old and newer entrance stations located on Center Road and later on the new entrance road. See also Superintendent's Annual Report, The new station is spec'd out in detail in USDI, Architectural Division, "Checking Station, South Rim," construction drawing, 19 July copy in f~\ Professional Services, 15 . C .M. Carrel, park engineer, "Avenue 'A' Grading, Drainage, Gutters, and Surfacing," project report with photographs, [ca.

Tillotson, Superintendent, "Final Construction Report on Service Roads," report, 28 March both reports in Grand Canyon National Park Construction Reports. 192 4. 16 . Alfred C. Kuehl, "Summary Report E.C .W. Work Projects C .C. Camp Number 819 June 1 - Oct report with photographs, Accession Box #4, Folder #4, Superintendent's Annual Report, 17. Superintendent's Annual Report, 193 7-3 8; USDI, "As Constructed Plans, 18. GRCA Image photo of old service station, Superintendent's Annual Report, with attached photo of station. 19. Superintendents' Annual Reports, . 20. "Road Routes, Grand Canyon National Park (Appendix to Chart of Accounts)," 27 October Reference File Roads, _^ 21.

GRCA Image Boy Scouts planting seeds, December 195 4, '; "^ Anderson, field photographs, May - June show the old alignment in 4-5 exposures. SOUTH ENTRANCE ROAD HAER No, AZ-45 (Page 46) 22 . The author spoke to the masons on this project while they were at work. They all live in Mexico and do the same kind of work at home. They are a subcontracting crew on this project, completing all curbing and culvert heacValls cutting, chiselling, shaping, and fitting the local sandstone blocks at the work site. 2 3. GRCA Image #2 photograph of the two-story store and traffic island, 24. USDI, "Grand Canyon National Park Minor Roads Headquarters Area," construction sketch map of plaza area, GRCA (microfiche), copy in Professional Services, RR depot annex. 25.

GRCA is and many other photos of the intersection depict its uncluttered appearance. See also the many CCC reports in the study collection, some of which include snapshots of public works crews landscaping the area. 26. GRCA Image *s photographs of roadside landscape, and photographs attached to CCC reports, f"> 27. Author's observations, notes, and field photographs, May - August These materials serve for the following paragraphs' description as well. 28. See HAER No. AZ-35 and associated reports for the history, appearance, measurements, etc. of five of these CCC headwalls at the intersections with Apache and Boulder streets. 29. Superintendent's Annual Report, 30.

USDI, "Current Road Proposals, South Entrance Road Relocation, Grand Canyon National Park," sketch map, 13 February 22 45, copy in Professional Services, 31. USDI, "Approach Road, Grand Canyon National Park, sketch map, July WODC-GC copy in Professional Services, This map covers a broad area and is actually concerned with depicting a new approach road through Kaibab National Forest, but seems to indicate the "T" intersection without a loop. 32. Superintendent's Annual Report, 33. USDI, "As Constructed Plans for Project 2-A1 (Por.), B, D (Por.), Sheet 1 of 20; GRCA Image photo of Fisher Contracting Company shovel at work near Yavapai Point, ^^ "Reconnaissance Report, East Rim Drive, Grand Canyon Route 1," . ' 1, D30 East Rim Drive 195 "Wflf^^IjBp SOUTH ENTRANCE ROAD HAER No. A2-45 . .

(Page 47) 34. Department of Commerce (DOC), "Final Construction Report, Grand Canyon National Park Highway Project- 2-A1 (Por), B, D (Por) and South Approach to Grand Canyon National Park A (Por)," GRCA Box 2, 35. DOC, "Final Construction^ Report. . . Project 2-A1 (Por), B, D (Por), USDI, "As Constructed Plans For Project 2-A1 (Por.), B, D (Por.)." 36. USDI, "As Constructed Plans for Project 2-Al (Por.)/ B, D (Por.), Sheet 14. 37. USDI, "Entrance Station, South Rim, Grand Canyon National. Park, Contract No. completion report with attached photographs, 20 September GRCA Box 1, GRCA Image and photographs of Center Road entrance building as constructed and being moved to the new entrance road (22 September 195 4), 38.

USDI, "Entrance Station, GRCA, Image 15 July photo of two buildings at entrance station, 39. USDI, "As Constructed Plans for Project 2-Al (por.) B, D (Por.)," Sheet 13. 40. GRCA Image 9 June entrance signs, 41. Robert G. Hall, landscape architect, to Chief, Western Region, memorandum relating field reconnaissance, 28 April D30 East Rim Drive 195 6. 42. Bonnickson, engineer, to Sanford J. Hill, Chief, Western Office, letter, 25 July James S. McLaughlin, Superintendent to Chief, Western Office, memorandum, 12 October Paul C. Thomas, landscape architect* to Superintendent, memorandum, 30 September French, BPR district engineer, "Notice to Bidders," 6 ]; Thomas J.

Allen, NPS assistant director, to USDI Assistant Secretary, memorandum, 1 May 195 6; all in D30 East Rim Drive See also DOC, "Final Construction Report, Grand Canyon National Park Project 1-A (Por) and 2-D Por), East Rim Drive & South Entrance Road," GRCA Box 5, 43. USDI, "Final Construction Report... East Rim Drive and South Entrance Road, 195 7." 44. GRCA Image photo of south entrance road, 12 June has a caption which reads "Looking north... a short distance within boundary at nearly completed realigned road showing typical SOUTH ENTRANCE ROAD HAER No. AZ-45 (Page 48) MISSION 66 sign." This looks like the road segment immediately north of today's entrance station. 45. DOC, "Final Construction Report, Grand Canyon 2-A1 (Por.), B, D, E, and South Approach A (Por.)," GRCA Box 5, 46.

USD I, "Completion Report, Business Zone Parking & Roads, Access Road, Parking Area & Walks at Administration R- GRCA Box 2, 47. USDI, "Completion Report, Business Zone Parking & Roads, 48. Joe Bice, Roads Supervisor, interview with author, 28 July tape recording; author's field observations, May-August 49. This description is from the author's field notes, observations and photographs of May-June Allusions to historical data are from sources already noted in this report. 50. The as constructed drawings are GRCA "South Rim Entrance Road, Entrance Station," a copy obtained from the DSC-TIC and now held by Professional Services. These include detailed landscaping and construction drawings for the roadway, entrance structures, and entrance sign area. o SOUTH ENTRANCE ROAD HAER No.

AZ-45 (Page 49) SOURCES CONSULTED Anderson, Michael F. Field observations, notes, and photographs, May - August Bice, Joe, Roads Supervisor. Interview by author, 28 July Grand Canyon National Park. Tape Recording. Carmony, Thomas and Michael F. Anderson. Field observations, June Carrel, "Avenue 'A' Grading, Drainage, Gutters, and Surfacing, [ca. Grand Canyon National Park Construction Reports.

4, Department of Commerce (DOC), "Final Construction Report, Grand Canyon National Park Highway Project 2-A1 (Por), B, D (Por) and South Approach Road to Grand Canyon National Park- -A (Por), 195 4." DOC, "Final Construction Report, Grand Canyon National Park 1-A (Por) and 2-D (Por), East Rim Drive and South Entrance f^s Road, DOC, "Final Construction Report, Grand Canyon 2-Al (Por,), B, D, E and South Approach A (Por.), 195 "Excerpts from Report Made Jan. 25, to Forest Supervisor Pooler, Forest Supervisor, On Roads and Trails in Grand Canyon Division, Misc Old Roads & Trails in the Park. GRCA Image #s Kuehl, Alfred C. "Summary Report E.C.W. Work Projects C .C. Camp Number 819 June 1-Oct 15, NPS Landscape Engineering Division.

"Grand Canyon National Park General Plan for Community Development, 2 4 June 192 4." Professional Services, "Reconnaissance Report, East Rim Drive, Grand Canyon Route 1, D30 East Rim Drive "Road Map to Points of Interest from Flagstaff, Arizona, March _ Reference File Roads. SOUTH ENTRANCE ROAD HAER No. AZ-45 (Page 50) "Road Routes, Grand Canyon National Park, 27 October 195 8." Reference File Roads. Superintendents' Annual Reports, 3. Tillotson, "Final Construction Report on Service Roads, 28 March Grand Canvon National Park Construction Reports. USDI, "Approach Road, Grand Canyon National Park, July ." Professional Services, USDI, "As Constructed Plans for Project 2-A1 (Por.), B, D (Por.) Grading, Base Course & Bit. Treat., Route No.

2 South Entrance, 195 3-5 6." Professional Services, USDI, "Checking Station, South Rim, 19 July Professional Services, USDI, "Completion Report, Business Zone Parking & Roads, R- Access Road, Parking Area & Walks at Administration USDI, "Current Road Proposals, South Entrance Road Relocation, Grand Canyon National Park, 13 February Professional Services, . USDI, "Entrance Station, South Rim, Grand Canyon National Park, Contract No.

20 September USDI, "Grand Canyon National Park Minor Roads Headquarters Area, Professional Services, USDI, "South Rim Entrance Road, Entrance Station, Professional Services, Wallace, "Final Construction Report on Grand Canyon National Park Highway System, Sections 1-A1, Rectification and Surfacing, 1A2, 2A1, 2B Grading and Surfacing, 2A2 Surfacing and 1C2 Grading, fi ajld Canyon National Park Construction Reports. 4. Minor reports, letters, and memoranda identified in the notes were taken from the following files at Grand Canyon Library: Misc Old Roads & Trails in the Park. 192 Reference File Roads. r^ D30 East Rim Drive