Buckey O’Neill Cabin

Location

Grand Canyon National Park, AZ

This project was honored with the 2019 Governor’s Heritage Preservation Honor Award, as presented by the Arizona State Historic Preservation Office, and a 2019 ENR Award of Merit for Renovation/Restoration, as presented by Engineering News Record. 

The Buckey O’Neill Cabin is individually listed on the National Register of Historic Places and is located just feet from the South Rim at the Grand Canyon National Park. Built circa 1890 by a key figure in both Arizona State and U.S. National history, the Buckey O’Neill Cabin is one of the earliest examples of adaptive reuse of a historic structure.

A multi-disciplinary partnership, including Loven Contracting’s Historic Preservation Team, was formed with the following goals:

  • To ensure the integrity of the cabin for the next 129 years and beyond;
  • To return the cabin to a condition reflective of its appearance in 1935, when it was purchased by the Fred Harvey Company and incorporated into the Mary Colter-designed Historic Bright Angel Cabins and Lodge Complex;
  • To complete this preservation in a manner worthy of an important state and national landmark, utilizing best-in-class information, analysis, and construction techniques, while adhering to NPS Historic Preservation guidelines.

The team undertook an extensive preservation process, including painstaking materials matching, modification of contemporary tools to more accurately replicate the marks made by Buckey O’Neill during the original construction, and diligent documentation of every step to ensure accuracy. The result is truly exceptional. Loven Contracting is honored to share in the stewardship of this national icon and preserve it for future visitors to this UNESCO World Heritage Site and National Park.