page_title: Land's End Observatory
hierarchical_section_title: Land's End Observatory
caption_attribution_description: English: Land's End Road descending from Land's End Observatory to U. S. Route 50.
context_page_description: 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,
  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, with some assistance from two
  Civilian Conservation Corps side camps.
  A large viewing area outside the building provides a panoramic view of western Colorado and eastern Utah. As of 2014, 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
  , the observatory reflects the rustic
  style of architecture found in public
  buildings throughout the national parks and
  forests.
context_section_description: 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,
  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, 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 2014, 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 l 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."
caption: Land's End Road descending from Land's End Observatory to U. S. Route 50.
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