Description
The El Tovar was built from local limestone and Oregon pine. The lower portions of the building are mainly of log construction, yielding to lighter, smoother framed construction sheathed with planking for the upper levels. The roof is covered in shingles. The hotel is of variable height, with a two story central portion, a north wing three stories tall, and a four story south wing, the result of sloping land. A basement underlies the complex. The central section is 218 feet (66 m) long with a basement and main floor, with the long axis running roughly parallel with the canyon rim. The lobby, behind a broad entry veranda, extends to four stories topped with a turret with a pyramidal roof. The guest room wings extend from this central section at a shallow angle, with their top floors extending only partway, creating roof decks. The third floor exterior is treated as a mansard, with projecting dormers with shallow gables. The hotel's entrance is on the side away from the canyon, at a right angle to the railroad terminal directly across the street. The north wing runs toward the canyon, almost to its edge, ending in a porch overlooking the canyon. The south wing runs away from the canyon, ending in a semi-octagonal space once called the "grotto.". The dining room is to the rear of the lobby, with views of the canyon through its windows. Additions to this section of the building for kitchen and service areas have gradually expanded its footprint.
The eclectic character of the El Tovar's exterior is magnified on the interior, where the rustic Western-Swiss theme collides with elements of the Mission style, accented with Arts and Crafts Movement furnishings and southwestern Indian accents and motifs. The central "rotunda" of the lobby features Swiss-inspired cutout wood railings framed by peeled log posts, all varnished a dark brown, set against Southwestern-pattern carpets. A breakfast room was described in early promotional literature as "tastefully decorated in fifteenth-century style" while other areas had "trophies of the chase." Relatively few of these original decorations remain, with a greater present emphasis on Southwestern themes. Many of the original Arts and Crafts furniture pieces have been replaced or dispersed.
There were originally 103 guest rooms and 21 guest bathrooms, now 78 guest rooms, all with private bath. Rooms arranged on either side of central corridors through the wings. A large-scale renovation was completed in 1983, in which the original paired wood casement windows were replaced with dark brown anodized aluminum units, with decorative mullions on the single-light units.
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Sign at the main entrance.
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Rear of the El Tovar on the edge of the Grand Canyon.
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El Tovar lobby.
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