About this property
The Painted Desert Community Complex is the administrative center of Petrified Forest National Park. The community center includes administrative facilities, utility structures and National Park Service employee housing, planned by architects Richard Neutra and Robert Alexander as part of the Mission 66 park facilities improvement program. Work on the community began in 1961 and was completed by 1965. The complex contrasts with earlier Park Service architecture that sought to blend with the environment. The Painted Desert community used straight manufactured materials that deliberately draw a contrast with the natural environment. The most significant building is the Painted Desert Visitor Center, designed as a severely modernist structure that includes administrative offices., a visitor center, an auditorium, a clinic and staff apartments. Other structures include a community center, school and a Fred Harvey Company concession building. Neutra and Alexander paid particular attention to the division of the complex into public and private areas, using low walls to divide the Park Service service area from the central zone, and setting the inward-facing residential areas at a distance. Pedestrian circulation paths are used as defining organizing elements. The original landscape design used non-native plants that required regular watering. Removal of irrigation caused these plants to die, altering the landscape. The complex was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2005, and was designated a National Historic Landmark District in 2016.
Location
Categories
Property data from the National Register of Historic Places, National Park Service (public domain).
Description adapted from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Everything a full report reveals about Painted Desert Community Complex Historic District
This page lists Painted Desert Community Complex Historic District. A full Aubrey report for an address near it pulls together this listing alongside battlefield records, land patents, and every other historical record within a chosen radius:
Every location is different. Not every section appears for every place, only what the historical record actually holds turns up in a report.
Questions about this property
When was Painted Desert Community Complex Historic District listed on the National Register?
Painted Desert Community Complex Historic District was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on April 14, 2005.
What type of historic resource is Painted Desert Community Complex Historic District?
Painted Desert Community Complex Historic District is classified as a district in the National Register of Historic Places.
What is the period of significance for Painted Desert Community Complex Historic District?
The period of significance for Painted Desert Community Complex Historic District is recorded as the colonial era.
Can I research the history near Painted Desert Community Complex Historic District?
Yes. Aubrey Research reports search National Register listings, battlefield records, land patents, and other primary historical sources within any radius of a US address. A report for an address near Painted Desert Community Complex Historic District will include this listing and all other historical records in the area.
More in Apache County
Historic places, battles, and census history across Apache County.
Explore ApacheCounty ›Research the history near this site
An Aubrey US report for an address near Painted Desert Community Complex Historic District will include this listing alongside battlefield records and other historical sources within your chosen radius.