4. The Casa Grande—Northeast Corner.
The Casa Grande was first seen by a European on November 27, 1694, when Father Kino, a Jesuit missionary and explorer, visited the area. He called the building the Casa Grande, or Big House, because it was the biggest structure he had seen in southern Arizona.
The large steel canopy was erected in 1932 to protect the Casa Grande from rain. This building has not been restored, but to keep it from crumbling further, the ruin was stabilized in 1891. The undercut base of the ruin was filled with bricks and cement, two-by-fours were placed over the doorways, and two steel rods were inserted to brace the south wall.
Living Room
The Casa Grande, Northeast Corner
5. The North Side.
The wood over the doorway is not original. There is no original wood remaining in the Casa Grande. Father Kino reported it as burned out prior to his 1694 visit.
Though four stories high, only the upper three stories of the Casa Grande were used. The five ground-story rooms were filled with earth to form a platform foundation, and a ladder was used to gain access to the second story through the doorway seen here.