Museum

The CCC built the one-story museum of handmade, sun-dried adobe brick in the Pueblo Revival style—rarely seen in Nevada but used here to complement the two reconstructions. The flat stepped roof is enclosed by a sand-stone-capped parapet 18 inches high. Wooden and ceramic canales extend from the roof through the parapet. Exposed vigas are supported by vertical posts along the recessed wall at the southeast end of the building, forming a small porch. The roof located over the southwest entrance to the original rest rooms also has vigas supported in this way, creating another small porch. The original museum measured 1,990 square feet and contained two exhibit rooms as well as work space. Three additions since 1973 have quadrupled the size, adding more exhibit space and offices, a laboratory, and rest rooms.

The museum building itself reflects the early twentieth-century interest in Native American art and culture and the popularity of the Pueblo Revival style, whose rounded edges and rough surfaces emphasized the architectural craftsmanship favored in earlier movements such as the Arts and Crafts. The museum is significant not only as an attempt to capture the feeling of the pueblos at the Lost City but also as an excellent example of the style. Unfortunately the museum recently stuccoed over the original adobe brick, drastically altering the building's appearance.