El Tovar is a large hotel built twenty feet from the very edge of the south rim of the Grand Canyon.
The building's foundation is rubble masonry and concrete. The
superstructure is of wood frame construction. The first floor is
sheathed with log slab siding complete with finely-honed corner
notching that gives the appearance of log construction. The upper
stories have rough weatherboards. Log-slab moldings surround the
windows on the first floor; those on the upper stories have heavy,
milled moldings.
The building has multiple roofs at several different levels that add to
its architectural interest, visual appeal, and spatial experience. At
the uppermost level is the wood turret, wrapped in shingles and serving
as the most important element of the identifiable silhouette of El
Tovar. Directly below that is the hip roof with bracketed eaves that
shelters the central portion of the building, including the lobby and
mezzanine lounge. The three-story wings to the north and south that
flank that central portion have mansard roofs pierced by dormers.
On
the north and south ends the roofs step down to two and one-story
terraces. The main entrance on the east side of the building has a
gable roof with a hipped end covering the large entrance porch. Further
architectural emphasis on the main entrance includes the L-shaped walls
of stone masonry bordering the outside edges of the entrance porch. The
original sign identifying the building as El Tovar and bearing the
Tovar coat of arms hangs above the entrance stairs, supported by a
peeled log framework.
Porches on the canyon end have peeled log posts. The railings along all
of the terraces and porches have jigsawn balusters cut in patterns
reminiscent of Swiss chalet detailing. The upper terraces have tapered
posts approximately 10 feet in height and topped with trefoils that
separate the sections of low railing and provide additional interest to
the building's silhouette. The large porch on the north end of the
building has two attached gazebos at the east and west.
The porch's
lintel contains a quote from C.A. Higgins' "The Titan of Chasms" in
wrought-iron letters reading:"Dreams of mountains, as in their sleep
they brood on things eternal." An access ramp for wheelchairs was added
to this north end of the building.
At the southernmost end of the building the surrounding grade drops
down to the hotel's basement level. The coursed rubble masonry walls of
this end of the building contain arched openings similar to those in
the stone corner wall of the entrance porch.
The dining room, kitchen, and utility wing stretches out from the west
end of the building. This wing has stone foundations, log- slab siding,
and wood shingle roofs. The two stone chimneys on the north and south
sides of this wing are flanked by large picture windows. The porch on
the north side is not original and probably dates from the 1950s when
the dining room expansion and small cocktail lounge were added.
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