The Canyon Watch Tower
by David Blank
Title
The Canyon Watch Tower
Artist
David Blank
Medium
Digital Art - Reimagined From An Original Photograph
Description
The Indian Watchtower at Desert View (1932)
The Watchtower stands at the eastern end of the South Rim of the Grand Canyon. From a distance the building's silhouette looks like the Anasazi watchtower it was meant to mimic. Designed by Mary Elizabeth Jane Colter who is often referred to as the "architect of the southwest". Colter traveled throughout the southwest to find inspiration and authenticity for her buildings. The Desert View tower was patterned after those found at Hovenweep and the Round Tower of Mesa Verde. Colter indicated that it was not a copy of any that she had seen, but rather modeled from several.
It stands 70 feet tall with a 30-foot base. The ground level of the tower was a large, round observation room with a spectacular view of the Grand Canyon. An outdoor observation deck is directly above the observation room.
The largest circle and the arced portions are the sections of that building that are just one story in height. The smaller circular plan is for the tower itself, more than five stories high. The building sits out on a promontory overlooking the Grand Canyon.
The most noteworthy aspect of the exterior is the stonework. Colter's use of texture in the masonry creates a visual depth. Large walls sections of the tower, for instance, have a relatively smooth finish that in places is broken up by slightly larger stones protruding from the wall surface. Fenestration in the tower is irregular--tiny windows or those with irregular shapes--with the exception of the observation area at the top of the structure where large trapezoids of plate glass allow the viewer to see the surrounding countryside in all directions. Colter's careful massing of forms added more architectural emphasis to the tower.
The building has changed very little since construction. Some of the small exterior staircases have been closed to the public. "Coyote" fences--vertical saplings held in place by wire woven around them--close off those areas. Radio telemetry has been added to the roof. For the most part the building retains its integrity and image Colter wanted to create.
Uploaded
March 26th, 2014
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