Verkamp's Curios Store

Inspired by Grand Canyon's burgeoning tourism trade, John Verkamp established a small tent shop on the South Rim in 1898, selling American Indian arts and crafts. Profits proved meager, so he sold his inventory to the Bright Angel Hotel and closed the shop. Returning in 1905, he built the permanent store that prospered and became his only business to survive the Great Depression. Verkamp traded flour, sugar, and other items to local tribes in exchange for hand-made jewelry, rugs, and pottery for sale, and he hired El Tovar architect Charles F. Whittlesey to design the new store. In 1936, John, his wife, and their four children moved into the apartment above the store. He managed it until his death in 1944, after which his children and eventually his grandchildren operated it. When it closed in 2008, it was the last echo of the canyon's pioneer businesses.

Grand Canyon Village, Arizona · United States