YOLONDA YOUNGS ON GRAND CANYON POSTCARDS

Figure 1, "Hotel El Tovar, Grand Canyon of Arizona" (1905), is a postcard representation manufactured shortly after the hotel was built on the south rim of the canyon.4 To advertise its inaugural venture in canyon hospitality, the Santa Fe Railroad and Fred Harvey Company created and distributed a diverse array of popular representations of their lodging, dining, shopping, and recreational facilities.5 Figure 1 is an example of this promotional device at work. During this early frontier stage in the cultural evolution of the Grand Canyon landscape, the canyon's nature seen in the green trees and blue skyline serves as a backdrop to recreational activities that are placed in the foreground.\n While the earlier postcards produced at the turn of the century aimed to define and introduce this relatively unknown and remote site into the popular geographic imagination, by the 1930s the El Tovar and the Grand Canyon were established tourist destinations in a national park; automobile driving visitors were well aware of the various lodging, dining, and touring amenities available along the south rim.9 Through postcards, promoters created a distinctive image of this destination, however, one that blended the comforts of hospitality and recreation seamlessly with wild and scenic nature.