Mary Colter: Builder Upon the Red Earth

Mary Elizabeth Jane Colter broke ground as the chief designer and decorator for the Fred Harvey Company from 1902 to 1948. She created remarkable buildings that blended into the natural landscape and paid homage to ancient structures of American Indian tribes of the Southwest. Such iconic structures as the Desert View Watchtower, Bright Angel Lodge, Lookout Studio, Hermits Rest, and Phantom Ranch display Colter’s enduring mark on Grand Canyon National Park.

A strong-willed woman who knew what she wanted and wasn’t afraid to go after it, Colter left an enduring mark on Grand Canyon National Park. Virginia Grattan’s Mary Colter: Builder Upon the Red Earth is an unforgettable biography of an extraordinary woman.