Remembering the Grand Canyon Lodge

 As many of you have heard, the iconic Grand Canyon Lodge on the North Rim has been lost to the Dragon Bravo Fire. This lodge wasn’t just a building — it was a beloved landmark woven into the memories of countless visitors from around the world. For those in the Grand Canyon community and beyond, it held a special place in our hearts.

Today, I want to take a moment to honor the incredible history of this place we have lost.

In 1928, then-director of Grand Canyon National Park, Steven Mather, commissioned renowned architect Gilbert Underwood to design a lodge worthy of its surroundings. Designing a building to stand beside one of the Seven Wonders of the World is no small task — but Underwood rose to the challenge.

What he created was a masterwork of harmony between architecture and nature. The original lodge featured stonework made from local Kaibab Limestone and massive beams of ponderosa pine harvested from the surrounding forest. The design didn’t compete with the Canyon — it celebrated it. Guests would enter the lodge, pass through the lobby, and descend a short staircase to a breathtaking sunroom lined with towering windows that perfectly framed the canyon beyond. From there, a patio invited visitors to sit in rocking chairs and take in the vast, awe-inspiring view.

The lodge was luxurious, yet it remained grounded in the wildness and beauty of the North Rim.

However, that original structure did not survive long. In 1932, a fire that started in the fireplace quickly consumed the lodge. All that remained was the resilient stonework.

But the spirit of the place endured. In 1937, the lodge was rebuilt — still following Underwood’s original floor plan, though with some thoughtful updates. The lookout tower was removed, more stone was added to what had survived, and the roofs were redesigned to withstand heavy winter snowfall. Importantly, Underwood’s vision — especially the grand view of the canyon — was preserved.

That rebuilt lodge is the one we have now lost to the Dragon Bravo Fire.

As we grieve this loss — of history, of memories, of a sacred gathering place — we can take comfort in the story it leaves behind. It was rebuilt once, and it can be rebuilt again. Its heart — the Grand Canyon itself — remains. And with it, the possibility of new memories, new stories, and new connections.

This place may be gone, but the spirit of the Grand Canyon Lodge lives on in all of us who loved it.

You can read more about the lodge here