In 1948 Painted Desert Inn was the park's northern headquarters, featuring a shop and restaurant operated by the Fred Harvey Company. Mary Colter, the company's architect and interior designer, was tasked with remodeling the Inn. She hired Fred Kabotie, a Hopi Indian artist, to paint murals in the lunch room and dining room. His work reflects the Hopi ties to this region.

The lunch room features a Buffalo Dance mural. This ceremony is performed by the Hopi in January to pray for good hunting and snow. A similar dance may have taken place in the plaza at the ancient Puerco Pueblo within the park.

The mood changes in the dining room. Several murals are similar in style to those found in kivas (ceremonial rooms). They feature important Hopi symbols, such as corn, rain, eagles, and the sacred peaks near Flagstaff.

The Salt Lake mural tells the story of two young Hopi men as they walk 230 miles round trip from their home to the Zuni mesas, passing through what is now Petrified Forest National Park, on a salt collecting journey. It was not only a physical journey; it was also a sacred journey.

The murals tie the ancestral Puebloan people of the region to the Hopi people of the 1940s and today. While Painted Desert Inn gained status as a National Historic Landmark primarily due to its architecture, the murals of Fred Kabotie made a significant impact on the nomination. The murals offer life within the quiet rooms of the Inn.