Land's End Observatory

{{Use mdy dates|date=February 2025}}

{{Infobox NRHP

| name = Land's End Observatory

| nrhp_type =

| image = Land%27s_End_Observatory%2C_July_2012.jpg

| caption = Land's End Observatory, West side, July 2012

| nearest_city = Whitewater, Colorado

| coordinates = {{coord|39|1|30|N|108|13|25|W|display=inline,title}}

| locmapin = Colorado#USA

| architect = US Forest Service, et al; Anderson, Ivan

| architecture = Late 19th And Early 20th Century American Movements, rustic

| added = February 28, 1997

| area = {{convert|3.7|acre|ha}}

| refnum = 97000124

{{NRISref|version=2009a}}

}}

Land's End Observatory is a ranger observatory on the rim of Grand Mesa in Colorado. It is accessible from the Grand Mesa Scenic and Historic Byway via Land's End Road,{{cite web |url=http://www.fs.fed.us/r2/gmug/recreation/gmesa_desc.shtml |title=Grand Mesa, Uncompahgre and Gunnison National Forests |accessdate=2007-08-23 |publisher=National Forest Service }}

which is about half paved and half gravel. The observatory is about 10 miles west of Colorado State Highway 65.

Land's End Road descends as an all-gravel road from the observatory down to U.S. Route 50,

and the observatory can be accessed from that direction as well.

The observatory was built by the United States Forest Service

and the Works Progress Administration in 1936-37,{{cite web |url=http://www.coloradohistory-oahp.org/publications/pubs/1622.pdf |title=New Deal in Colorado 1933-1942 |accessdate=2007-08-23 |author=Office of Archaeology and Historic Preservation |date=June 2006 |publisher=Colorado Historical Society }} with some assistance from two

Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) side camps.

A large viewing area outside the building provides a panoramic view of western Colorado and eastern Utah. As of 2022, the observatory building itself is closed and boarded up.

From the U. S. Forest Service sign outside the building:

You have reached Land's End Observatory

on Colorado's highest mesa, the Grand

Mesa, 10,500 feet above sea level. Built in

1936-37 by the United States Forest Service

and the Works Progress Administration

(WPA), the observatory reflects the rustic

style of architecture found in public

buildings throughout the national parks and

forests. It is marked by simplicity and

craftsmanship, appearing to grow out of the

earth rather than intrude upon it. Basalt

stones were selected from the mesa and

carefully fitted together to form the walls

and terrace. Wood shingles were hand-

sawn. The original, handcrafted woodwork

can still be found inside. Most of the WPA

workers who toiled here during the Great

Depression are unknown, the observatory

remains their legacy.

Land's End Road was once known as the

Veterans' Road. When the Great Depression

left many World War I veterans unemployed,

President Roosevelt responded by opening

the already created Civilian Conservation

Corps (CCC) to include them. Thus, between

June 1933 and May 1934, the 200 veterans

who were brought to Land's End camp

completed 9.2 miles of road. They were paid

a dollar a day for their work. Ranging in age

from thirty-three to fifty-five, the veterans

were hailed as "a remarkable group of men,

skilled in almost every imaginable trade."

They lived in army tents roughly eleven

miles below the mesa rim while clearing the

brush for the road. The toughest part of the

Land's Ends Road, from the Wild Road

Picnic Area to the rim, was completed over

the next two summers by Civil Service

machine operators and a few civilian

workers hired by the United States Forest

Service. "Built the whole road," said the

project engineer, "blasting and all, without

injuries."

File:Land's End Observatory viewing area, looking towards the north..jpgFile:Land's End Road descending from Land's End Observatory to U. S. Route 40..jpg