They rise along the south rim of the Grand Canyon, rough-hewn structures built mostly of stone and timber, so elemental, so rooted in their surroundings, that many visitors have mistaken them for remnants of pioneer days or prehistory. This was the intent of their creator, Mary Elizabeth Jane Colter (1869-1958), one of America's earliest women architects and one of the first architects to give American buildings a site-specific sense of place. Yet few of the nearly five million people who visit Grand Canyon National Park every year are aware of Colter. No wonder she's been called "the best-known unknown architect in the national parks."
Meet Colter and behold her work >>
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