Painted Desert Inn CCC

The Stone Tree Inn
1924-193

Herbert David Lore was a visionary. He built his Stone Tree Inn two years before the famous Route 66 was commissioned, only a mile and a half away from the Mother Road.

He built his Inn on the edge of the Painted Desert Rim, overlooking the colorful badlands of clay and volcanic tuff. Unfortunately, it was the geology that was his downfall. Lore had built his Inn over a seam of bentonite clay that ran through the basalt of the Rim. During the wet season, the clay can swell up to eight times its original size, only to shrink back again. This created cracks in the walls of the Inn, which can still be seen today.

Whether he made the choice to sell because of the structural instability or his inability to protect the local petrified wood, Lore sold the Stone Tree Inn and its land to the National Park Service, Petrified Forest National Monument, in 1936.

Painted Desert Inn Menu

The Civilian Conservation Corp
1936-1940

Please note that all text and photographs, except where otherwise noted, are copywrited.
Copyright 2001 Hallie Larse

Please contact me with any questions or comments

Notes:
Skylight drawings based on originals by the CCC
Historic photo from Petrified Forest NP,
National Park Service

Hosted by www.Geocities.ws