Rim Trail: Rock Wall - Grand Canyon Village AZ

City:: Grand Canyon Village, AZ
Site Type:: Rock Walls, Parks and Recreation
New Deal Agencies:: Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC), Work Relief Programs
Started:: 1934
Completed:: 1935
Quality of Information:: Very Good
Marked:: No
Site Survival:: Extant

Description

The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) conducted extensive development work at Grand Canyon Village, including reconstruction of an approximately 0.4-mile stretch of wall along the central portion of the Rim Trail, roughly between Bright Angel Lodge and El Tovar Hotel.

The National Park Service’s CCC Walking Tour says this: “Civilian Conservation Corps crews completely rebuilt the rock wall along the rim from Verkamps Curios to Lookout Studio in 1934–35, replacing a deteriorated, poorly constructed dry-laid wall and a section of wooden fence. Project planners standardized dimensions at 27 inches (69 cm) high and 18 inches (46 cm) wide.”

The most famous feature of the wall is a heart-shaped rock, located between Kachina Lodge and El Tovar, popularly known as Matrimony Rock. It is unclear to this day whether there is a particular meaning associated with its shape and placement, though it attracts visitors and selfie-takers to this day.

Source notes

CCC Walking Tour:
"The Civilian Conservation Corps: A Legacy Preserved at Grand Canyon Village," by the National Park Service. https://www.nps.gov/grca/planyourvisit/upload/CCC-Walking-Tour-GRCA.pdf

Site originally submitted by Evan Kalish on April 28, 2022.