Audio
Full Steam Ahead: Stop 5 Kachina and Thunderbird Lodges
Transcript
Tourism boomed with the arrival of the railway but tapered away during World War I and World War II, during which, Americans were traveling much less. As tensions started to lessen, the emphasis went from railways to automobiles [old time car engine starting up]. Middle class families were hitting the roads and seeing new sights. During this time period, National Parks were impacted due to the high volume of visitation, suffering from overuse and deterioration in many cases. Additionally, restrictions and lack of funds made it hard to expand the National Parks during WWII. As a result, the National Park Service wanted to provide a new way for the American public to experience the National Parks after the war.
This spawned a movement called the Mission 66 project, which ended up being the largest construction program within the agency. The goal of the project was to build more infrastructure to accommodate for the influx of people visiting these parks. The project was intended to start in 1956 and end in 1966 but was ultimately extended till 1973 since many projects hadn’t been completed and new parks were still being planned, designed, and built. Through Mission 66, 70 new National Park units were created, in addition to 2700 miles of road and 900 miles of trails.
Look at the buildings before you, Kachina and Thunderbird Lodges. Take a moment to pause the audio and consider the following: what is the first word that comes to mind when you see these buildings?
These lodges, built in 1971 and 1968 respectively, look a whole lot different than the last few buildings that we saw here in the village. Many people walk right past these two lodges and don’t give them a second thought. For that reason, it’s important to understand the intention behind the construction of each of these buildings. As with other post-WWII construction, their design trended towards modernism, concrete, and an overall industrial style. They were built this way to keep the construction costs down and therefore accommodate for the middle-class family, compared to what the El Tovar offered the upper class. The Kachina and Thunderbird feel very much like a motel style room, which keeps things simple and therefore more affordable to American Families. Today, these lodges are fully operational and still accommodate visitors from all over the world.
Description
After WWII, National Parks saw a big boom in visitation leading to the Mission 66 project. Mission 66 helped fund new construction to accommodate all these visitors. The Kachina and Thunderbird Lodges were built like a motel style room, which keeps things simple and therefore more affordable to American Families.
Credit
Grand Canyon National Park
Date Created
09/09/2021
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