Back in the early ‘60s, the National Park Service had a program dubbed Mission 66, dedicated to bringing modern facilities to the national parks. One of the earliest examples of this, the Painted Desert Community Complex designed by Richard Neutra and Robert Alexander, has just been restored in a joint effort between the Park Service and the National Trust for Historic Preservation.

A 22-acre self-contained park community, the Complex is the last surviving Neutral-Designed structure in the Park Service system. It’s design was inspired by Puebloan Native American buildings as well as the dramatic landscape of its site, the Petrified Forest National Park. Comprising 36 steel, glass and masonry buildings with flat roofs, low silhouettes, primary colors and native plantings.

The buildings have been in a state of depredation for some time, ravaged by neglect, a lack of maintenance funding and the harsh desert climate. The restoration mainly focused on the glass Oasis Building storefront, made possible in part by a $150,000 grant from American Express. A further $7M has been allocated towards the full rehab of the site, slated to be complete by the end of 2022.