This National Park Service designed Rustic Style building was originally configured as an L-shaped, two-story, wood-framed structure. The building was converted to the Superintendent's Residence in 1931, with a wing added in 1938. The final composition is a large-scaled residence with many of the elements that would later be refined in other park administration structures at the Grand Canyon and elsewhere in western national parks.

Rows of windows set in the dark, stained lower and upper walls read as shadowed planes in contrast with the lighter-colored stone masses. Low-pitched roofs add a horizontal emphasis, and wide overhangs cast shadows on the already dark walls. Even the choice of dark brown paint for logs and siding and green trim for the doors and windows were decisions made with the utmost care, helping the building blend into it natural environment.³⁴