Photo courtesy of Petrified Forest National ParkThe Painted Desert Community Center was recently designated as a National Historic Landmark, along with 23 other sites in the country.
Photo courtesy of Petrified Forest National ParkThe Painted Desert Community Center was recently designated as a National Historic Landmark, along with 23 other sites in the country.

The Painted Desert Community Complex will receive designation as a new National Historic Landmark, according to a Jan. 10 announcement by Congressman Tom O’Halleran. The iconic Painted Desert Community Complex is home to administrative offices, maintenance facilities, employee housing and, most importantly, a welcome center that welcomes visitors to the beautiful Petrified Forest National Park. “I celebrate the news that the Painted Desert Community Complex has been named a National Historic Landmark,” said Rep. O’Halleran. “The complex serves a vital role in the National Park Service’s mission to preserve the natural and cultural resources and values of the National Park System for the enjoyment, education, and inspiration of this and future generations.” According to an Interior Department press release, the Painted Desert Community Complex is the largest and the most fully articulated expression of the decade-long Mission 66 program, which addressed postwar national park needs for up-to-date facilities and improved visitor experiences, while limiting impacts to natural resources. Mission 66 was an agency-wide building effort to help parks better handle increased visitor numbers by the NPS 50th anniversary in 1966. Designed by Richard J. Neutra and Robert E. Alexander in the International Style, the complex encompasses 23 buildings, sites and structures. At the time of its construction, the Painted Desert Community Complex was the National Park Service’s most ambitious visitor center.