Photo by Marge Post/NPS
Salt Lake mural on the eastern dining room wall.
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.