CASA GRANDE RUINS NATIONAL MONUMENT
Click on photos for larger view
No ticket or pamphlet
March or April 1994
Casa Grande Ruins, Coolidge, AZ
We went by the Casa Grande Ruins
several times while living in Arizona as it was on the way to Phoenix and the
Outlet Malls we'd visit. We stopped by once. Casa
Grande means "Big House". It's just about the oldest and largest
prehistoric structure in North America. The main complex is 60 feet by 40
feet wide at the base and has walls over a metre thick. Visitors are not allowed
into the building. You see the construction with wooden beams supporting clay
walls, and various internal features such as stairways and windows. It is
thought that the Casa Grande may have been some kind of astronomical observatory
because the four walls face the points of the compass, and some of the windows
are aligned to the positions of the sun and moon at specific times. There are
several other ruins in the complex, some of which has not yet been excavated.
The metal roof over it (supported by 4 pillars) is imposing and not part of the
original structure. It's a shield, to protect the building from the extreme
temperatures. The ruins are in the middle of nowhere per se...the are
located between the Gila and Santa Cruz rivers, close to
Coolidge and about 15 miles from the
town of Casa Grande. The structure is part of a complex of four buildings;
it was made by the Hohokam Indians in the 1300's. When we went it was free to
get in. Now it's 3.00. There is a small gift shop in the visitors
center now which also contains restrooms and a water fountain. There are no food
or drinks available on the grounds or near it.
Left to Right: 1) Casa Grande Ruins 2) Postcard depiction of what the settlement would look like in it's time
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