During the the Department of Interior s National Park Service prepared the first comprehensive master plan for South Mountain Park, and the Civilian Conservation Corps was responsible for all of the construction there from to The National Park Service designed the roads and structures in the park, and the CCC built them. The South Mountain Park Entry Complex was the first phase of work completed at the park by the CCC under the New Deal legislation. As the first work to focus on natural materials and recognizing the importance of the local environment, the CCC Entry Complex is a worthy example of erasing the line between manmade structure and natural forms. NPS architects used the regional themes and motifs from the native peoples and pioneers of Arizona.
1 Many Hopi and other Southwest Native American pueblo buildings and adobe structures were stylistic inspirations for materials and designs. The materials used were all found locally, such as schist and granite stone (Figure 1). The original Entry Complex buildings were built under architect Herbert Maier s direction. These stone buildings illustrate most of the philosophies that were guiding the CCC and the NPS during the New Deal era. 2 The only other Park Service pueblo style building in Arizona is at the Grand Canyon National Park. Maier was highly influenced by Mary Elizabeth Jane Colter, the architect and interior designer for the Fred Harvey Company at Grand Canyon.
3 Her work was a synthesis of West Coast and Midwestern influences and her study of the indigenous architecture of the Southwest. She was particularly inspired by the pueblo constructions, cliff dwellings, and temples found in the Mesa Verde ruins and living Hopi communities such as Oraibi, Arizona. 4 Maier had special 1 New Deal Architecture in South Mountain Park , pg. 4 2 New Deal Architecture in South Mountain Park , pg. 6 3 McClelland, pg. 62 4 McClelland, pg. 62 SOUTH MOUNTAIN PARK, ENTRY COMPLEX HALS NO. AZ-16 PAGE 2 interest in Colter's ability to site buildings on the edge of natural canyons and to harmoniously blend masonry of native stone with the natural rock formations.
A respect for Colter's work is suggested by his design for the administration building at South Mountain Park 5 Entry Complex. It is this style that relates South Mountain Park with the Grand Canyon National Park. Description: Central Avenue directly connects South Mountain Park to downtown Phoenix. The main road leads into the Entry Complex and then ends at Dobbins Lookout. Figure 2 shows the current boundaries of South Mountain Park. Figure 3.1 shows the location of the Entry Complex as well as other major CCC structure locations including the maintenance yard. Soon after you enter the park, you will see a cluster of stone and adobe structures to the right of the modern gatehouse in the middle of the road.
This group of buildings was constructed by the CCC between and They served as the original gateway for visitors to the Park. Although the buildings are connected, they each served a different function. 6 By creating a more environmentally responsive design, the Entry Complex is itself an interpretive exhibit for the desert landscape. Figure 3.3 shows the overall layout of the complex. It now functions as a gateway that welcomes guests visiting for outdoor recreational and educational purposes. In the past, the Entry Complex area functioned almost like a town s main street where many social activities took place. The building on the far left is the Concessionaire s House, located adjacent to the administration complex (Figure 4).
It was built of adobe like the Papago-Pima adobe in suite with the NPS and CCC style. In front of the building is a one car carport. This building is 25 5 x23 and has its own back patio. The Museum/Administration building is a pueblo style example (Figure 5 and Figure 6). Standing to the right of the Concessionaire s House, it contains a museum space that is currently used as office space, one bathroom, and four office spaces. The museum space is 22 6 x10 4 and is being prepped to become a museum space once again. The first office to the left of entering the building is 11 11 x10 5 . There is a constant flood problem in this office area and the back patio area due to poor drainage. The patio area, 22 8 x12 , contains four picnic tables and a 3 4 x3 outside fireplace (Figure 7).
The courtyard in the front of the building has been planted with natural vegetation and includes a beautiful Palo Verde tree that provides substantial shade for the bench and pathway underneath it (Figure 8 and Figure 9). 5 McClelland, pg. 64 6 New Deal Architecture in South Mountain Park , pg. 5 SOUTH MOUNTAIN PARK, ENTRY COMPLEX HALS NO. AZ-16 PAGE 3 In the restroom building was added. The 16 11 x5 9 addition is used by many of the recreational users of the site as a rest stop to refill water and take a break in the shade from the harsh weather (Figure The far right building was originally constructed for the South Mountain Park Caretaker.
While the Caretaker s Quarters now contains park administrative offices, the building still maintains its rustic appeal 7 (Figure 12 and Figure There are current plans to make this 32 10 x30 8 building more accessible. The location of the buildings is at the foot of a very steep hill. Upon this hill stands the original source of water, the Water Tower which stands with a 15 5 diameter. It is located at an approximate elevation of 470 (Figure 14 and Figure South of the main roadway is the Entry Complex maintenance yard. There are horse stables located in this fenced off area (Figure They were built around by the rangers to give ease of access to their horses. Unfortunately, due to lack of funds, they are no longer in use.
Only a few years after the stables were built, newer buildings were built for storage to replace the older wooden sheds that were there originally (Figure 17 and Figure Southwest of the maintenance yard stands a house that was used for personal quarters for previous rangers (Figure 19 and Figure All the buildings were designed to follow the original CCC style using adobe and brick materials. The maintenance yard is accessed from the main roadway. At the first public stop along Central Avenue is the original flag post monument of the South Mountain Park CCC Camp. These features are the only remnants of the CCC camp. 8 The star is the base of the flag post (Figure 20 and Figure It is the center of three large rings of cemented stones. The largest circular ring is 20 in diameter.
The second ring is 11 in diameter and the smallest ring is 3.5 in diameter. The star has a length of 5.5 for each point measured from the center point of all three rings, which is 14 from the main roadway pavement edge. The structure of the embedded pieces range from rock size of to pebble size of 1 (Figure 22 and Figure Only away stand the columns of another original CCC structure (Figure The posts, 2 x2 , stand 6.6 apart from one another and away from the street edge. They still have the original wooden supports between them. In the center of the columns facing the roadway, stands the CCC original water fountain. The ramada shown in the picture is not a CCC original structure, and is 270 7 New Deal Architecture in South Mountain Park , pg.
5 8 New Deal Architecture in South Mountain Park , pg. 7 SOUTH MOUNTAIN PARK, ENTRY COMPLEX HALS NO. AZ-16 PAGE 4 away from the center of the star and its rings (Figure In between the CCC columns and the ramada stand two smaller CCC posts (Figure The left one closer to the columns measures 21 x21 and the other post closer to the ramada measures 20 x20 . It has a offset from the main roadway pavement edge and distance from the closest column. One of the major qualities of the site is the preservation of the natural vegetation and the efforts to re-vegetate areas that were damaged in the past due to heavy use (Figure 27 and Figure The park as a whole preserves numerous desert inhabitants, many of which exist at the Entry Complex.
The desert inhabitants have been the basis of park education and interpretive programs. History: In the late s Arizona was a mining and farming territory. South of the Salt River lived the only residents at that time, Mexican grain farmers. May Prescott merchant Michael Wormser made arrangements to supply the Mexican farmers, and required them to obtain legal title to their land. When they ended up falling into debt, he took possession of their land, acquiring acres of land in South Phoenix and Tempe. After Wormser's death on April 25, most of his real estate holdings were purchased on January 9, by land and cattle magnate Dwight B.
Heard, who also ran The Arizona Republican (now The Arizona Republic) newspaper from until his death in This land, which includes most of the northeast part of South Phoenix, became the Bartlett-Heard Ranch, which began being subdivided and sold for home sites on March 20, 9 Although the Bartlett-Heard Ranch was not in the same location, for the development of the Ranch prompted Mr. Heard s later actions involving South Mountain. In February of there were many miners that traveled to the South Mountain area. It was this new trend that brought George and Norah McClarty to file the earliest known claim within South Mountain, the Richmond, along the northern face of the range. 10 Only nine years later the Max Delta Claims produced over in gold and thousands more in other precious metals.
11 During the Highline and Western canals were built to supply water from the Salt River to the South Mountain area, which led to further agricultural development. In addition to raising cattle, the land was used for raising alfalfa, cotton, oranges and other citrus trees, canaigre (a plant that produces tannin used for tanning leather), and even Louis Janssens' Belgian-American Ostrich Farm, which operated on 230 acres of Bartlett-Heard subdivided land until World War 9 Ryden, pg. 16, 18, 10 www.examiner.com, May 11 www.examiner.com, May SOUTH MOUNTAIN PARK, ENTRY COMPLEX HALS NO. AZ-16 PAGE 5 I. 12 It wasn t until that South Mountain became more than just a mountain owned by the federal government. Two avid hikers, one being Mr. Dwight B. Heard and the other Mr.
Hartranft, concluded that the land they loved so much must be protected. It was through the foresight of these early Phoenix civic leaders that South Mountain was preserved for our enjoyment today. 13 As they watched private owners encroach upon South Mountain by buying surrounding tracts of land, they banded together with Mr. Steven Mathers, the City of Phoenix Planning Board, and other concerned citizens to propose in that South Mountain be bought and set aside as a city park. As a result of their efforts, in June of President Coolidge sold some acres of mountain-scape to Phoenix for a total of 14 At this time the city s population was at Establishing a desert mountain park just 7 and miles from the heart of Phoenix in was a dramatic achievement.
15 After the land was successfully saved and placed aside for residents use, it became a perfect candidate for CCC work, because the main task of the CCC was the improvement of the nation s natural environment for the purposes of conservation and public recreation. 16 The were a significant time for South Mountain Park. The Department of Interior s National Park Service wrote the first comprehensive master plan during this time. In March Congress approved funding for the New Deal to bring the 3 R s to the United States: Relief, Recovery, and Reform. The New Deal was a series of domestic programs 17 to help the country recover from the economic depression, and to reform the economic system to prevent similar circumstances in the future.
One of these programs, initiated by Secretary of Agriculture Henry A. Wallace, was the Civilian Conservation Corps It was signed into law April 5, notably within the first 100 days of President Franklin D. Roosevelt s Administration. The South Mountain Park Entry Complex is significant as only the beginning of the CCC work at South Mountain Park. A little over ten years later, in there was visitation of around people during the summer and that number swelled by thousands during the winter. Although the New Deal ended in the CCC continued working on nationwide projects until From to CCC men participated 12 Ryden, pg. 33, 13 New Deal Architecture in South Mountain Park , pg. 1 14 South Mountain Park Master Plan , pg. 54 15 South Mountain Park Master Plan , pg.
54 16 New Deal Architecture in South Mountain Park , pg. 1-2 17 www.loc.gov, May SOUTH MOUNTAIN PARK, ENTRY COMPLEX HALS NO. AZ-16 PAGE 6 in the South Mountain project. They completed 26 miles of roads, 40 miles of hiking and bridle trails, 18 buildings, 15 picnic ramadas and a host of other improvements 18 including the Entry Complex. In the city revisited the thought of creating a master plan for the site to enhance its recreational and educational value (Figure The year brought the Second World War and the permanent end of the CCC program. Today, anyone can visit South Mountain Park and explore the trails and lookouts that are there, in large part due to the work of the the and to the support of the City of Phoenix.
In addition to the educational opportunities, South Mountain Park Entry Complex provides the community an opening into a vast desert landscape minutes away from the busy urban life of the Phoenix area. In recent years, the park has been lacking in sufficient budgets for maintenance and programming. Only recently has the City of Phoenix realized the need for rehabilitation and importance of the site to its citizens. The latest Master Plan (Figure from recommended adding South Mountain Park to the Historic Property Register as a nonresidential historic district and sought to improve the site for visitors use.
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