Colorado National Monument Visitor Center Complex
Mesa County
The complex, which includes the Visitor Center, Canyon Rim Trail, and Bookcliff Shelter, was constructed between 1963 and 1965 as part of the National Park Service’s Mission 66 program and designed to highlight the spectacular surrounding scenery by placing the visitor in the middle.
Colorado National Monument Visitor Center Complex (2002 photograph.)
The trail leads up to the fan-like Bookcliff Shelter perched atop Wedding Canyon, providing visitors with an outdoor experience and an excellent view of the vistas and monoliths that comprise the monument. The building is also an excellent representation of the modern architecture that was starting to proliferate in the National Parks - using low, horizontal building profiles to blend with the landscape.