Verkamp’s Visitor Center

Verkamp’s Visitor Center is a two-story Craftsman-style building in the Village Historic District, just east of El Tovar and Hopi House. It pairs a staffed information desk and Grand Canyon Conservancy museum store with exhibits about the people who lived and worked on the South Rim. If you want a break from overlooks that tells you something about the Village itself, this is a worthwhile short stop.

A walking timeline set into the floor moves through local, national and international milestones, alongside displays about the Verkamp family and the Grand Canyon community. Visitors often single out the timeline and the local history. Give it a little time instead of treating the building as only a shop.

John Verkamp first came to the South Rim in 1898 and sold souvenirs from a tent. After the railroad spur reached the rim in 1901, he returned in 1905 and built the current store with supplies shipped from Los Angeles. The first day’s ledger entry, January 31, 1906, records $4.98 in sales. His family ran Verkamp’s Curios for more than a century; after the concession ended, the park reopened the building as a visitor center in November 2008.

Some of the family’s supplier relationships with Native American artisans lasted 25 to 50 years, and employees were trained to explain the history and meaning of the items. The family also supported local institutions, including the Grand Canyon School and community library. That connection to everyday life on the rim is what makes the exhibits more than a story about an old shop.