Casa Grande Ruins Administrative History

APPENDIX F: CASA GRANDE RUINS NATIONAL MONUMENT
NATIONAL PARK SERVICE BUILDINGS

Construction programs at Casa Grande were a sometimes thing. Development under the General Land Office administration was almost non-existent. That agency's only expenditure was to place a roof over the Great House in 1903. The General Land Office commissioner even told Frank Pinkley that he would have to build a residence at his own expense. Money to provide for employee and visitor facilities did not become available until after the National Park Service acquired the property in August 1918. Even then, construction funds were rarely available in the 1920s. Onky two structures, a museum and a residence, were built in that decade. These buildings have since been removed. Most of the construction funds came during the depression era of the 1930s. The last development period, in the early 1960s, came from the National Park Service Mission 66 program (figure 28).

Construction at Casa Grande Ruins National Monument has, for the most part, been accomplished by following a plan developed by Thomas Vint and Frank Pinkley in 1928. Vint thought that buildings should be grouped together on a functional basis. Consequently, a picnic area with ramadas was developed in a separate location from the administration/museum building (visitor center). Employee residences were built in another area, and the maintenance facilities were developed in a third compound. Convenience dictated the location of utility structures such as the pumphouse and the wall around the electric transformer. The decision to erect a protective roof over the Great House followed a ruins preservation plan. All of the buildings had the same Southwest architectural design of a modified Pueblo style. Except for the protective roof over the Great House, each grouping or compound of buildings will be considered as an entity when considering their historical significance for the purpose of nominating them to the National Register of Historic Places. Changes to the picnic area, administration/museum building, pumphouse now monument library, and the employee residence compound have resulted in alterations that detract from their historic appearance. As a result, only the maintenance grouping, and electric transformer enclosure have retained their historic integrity and will be nominated to the National Register. These structures were constructed by the Civilian Conservation Corps between 1938 and 1940. In addition the 1932 protective roof over the Great House will be nominated to that listing.

Figure 28: Present Day Park Map
(click on the above image for an enlargement in a new window)

The Picnic Facility

A picnic facility has been located on the site of the current picnic area since late 1918. Until 1956, the location also contained a campground. In both 1932 and 1933 the picnic area was expanded with ramadas, tables, and fireplaces (see figure 24). By 1956, because of a desire by regional personnel to discourage picnicking, the picnic site was drastically reduced in size. It remained in that reduced condition until the 1976-77 period. At that time, it was remodeled with new ramadas set over concrete slabs. Consequently, the current picnic site with its modern-day facilities has no historic integrity. [1]