The 40-room Riordan Mansion was built in 1904 for two families who ran a logging business called the Arizona Lumber and Timber Co. The home was designed by Charles Whittlesey, creator of the Grand Canyon ’s El Tovar Hotel. It uses the Arts and Crafts-style architecture popular at the time and features local materials – ponderosa pine-slab siding and shingles and volcanic stone arches.
Timothy and Michael Riordan had married the Metz sisters, Caroline and Elizabeth, who were first cousins of the Babbitt brothers, part of another prominent Flagstaff family. The Riordans built their mansion near downtown Flagstaff on the edge of what would become the Northern Arizona University campus. The mansion really was two homes for two families – separate 6,000-square-foot living areas for each family connected by a 1,000-square-foot common area known as the billiard room. Tim and Caroline had two daughters, and Mike and Elizabeth had six children.
The Riordans also were community leaders, starting a hospital, three Catholic churches, what became the Monte Vista Hotel, and nearby Lake Mary and aiding in the development of the university and the Lowell Observatory.
Details: 409 West Riordan Rd. Flagstaff, AZ 86001 (928) 779-4395
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