Mary Elizabeth Jane Colter
Personal Information
Born: 1869
Died: 1958
Country of Birth: USA
Nationality: USA
Ethnicity: White
Education
California School of Design (now San Francisco Art Institute 1886-1891
"Of the El Navajo Hotel in Gallup, New Mexico (1923), she mused, “I have always longed to carry out the true Indian idea, to plan a hotel strictly Indian with none of the conventional modern motifs.” ((pioneeringwomen.bwaf.org)"
— Mary Elizabeth Jane Colter
Professional Life
Field of Study: Architecture
Institution/Corporation: National Park Service
Degrees & Memberships: Member: Art Workers' Guild of St. Paul (1903), New Century Club (1899)
Awards & Achievements
Awards: 1994 Arizona Women's Hall of Fame
Achievements: one of very few women American architects in her time (per census 22 female architects in US); 4 of her 8 buildings in the Grand Canyon National Park have become a National Historic Landmark; worked for the Santa Fe Railroad (through Fred Harvey Company) on the La Fonda Hotel, which opened in 1922, helped create the popular local Santa Fe Style; she considered the 1930 La Posada Hotel at Winslow Station in Arizona to be her masterpiece, it featured many characteristic elements of her distinctive style, such as red clay tile roofing, beautiful courtyards and garden spaces, and decorative ironwork; among her most famous buildings are: Hopi House (1905), The Lookout (1914), Hermit's Rest (1914), Phantom Ranch (1922), the Desert View Watchtower (1932), Bright Angel Lodge (1935), & La Fonda; decorated El Tovar Hotel; designed the 1936 Victor Hall for men & 1937 Colter Hall, a dormitory for Harvey female employees; designed 1925 El Navajo Hotel in Gallup NM which fused Native American design with Art Deco; designed 1939 Harvey House restaurant in Los Angeles Union Station; 1947 renovated Painted Desert Inn in Arizona's Petrified Forest National Park
was a perfectionist who advocated & defended her aesthetic vision in a male-dominated field
became fascinated by Native American art after receiving some drawings of Sioux art (some say she was given the drawings by a family friend while others note they were given to her by an uncle & were drawn by Sioux prisoners
she donated the drawings to the Little Bighorn Battlefield Monument in 1956 noting they were her most prized & cherished possession
graduated high school in 1883 at age 14
taught art, drafting & architecture for several years including 15 years at Mechanic Arts High School
began doing interior design for the Fred Harvey Company in 1902 on a freelance basis, becoming a full-time employee in 1910 & retiring from the company in 1948
was a chain smoker
donated her collection of Native American pottery & relics to the Mesa Verde National Park
4 of her Grand Canyon buildings are protected within the Mary Jane Colter Historic Landmark district
was also a book reviewer, editor for the Saint Paul Daily globe, a student of archaeology & history, a metal craft practitioner & expert on Native American art
some characteristics of her designs included tiny windows allowing shafts of light to accent red sandstone walls, low ceilings of saplings & twigs resting on peeled log beams, a hacienda enclosing an intimate courtyard, & rough boulder structures built into the earth as if a part of a natural rock formation
she employed indigenous builders, demanded the use of local materials whenever possible & attended to minute historical details she got from touring Native American ruins
some of the grand openings of her buildings were attended by Native Americans & had blessings by tribal elders & shamans
her El Navajo was demolished in 1957 & other buidings of hers fell into disrepair however there have been recent movements to restore them
hired Hopi artist Fred Kabotie to paint designs on the interior of Desert Watchtower