Mertie West at Scotty's Castle, Death Valley National Park, 1947

Description: NRHP reference # 78000297
Photograph of Mertie West and other sightseers standing in the drive outside Scotty's Castle at Death Valley National Monument. A flat area of gravel stretches across the foreground and into the near distance. In the lower right corner, a rock juts into frame. Beyond it, cars are parked with their noses facing right. Behind and to the left of the near car at right, Mertie West stands and looks to the camera. Other visitors to the castle stand in a group to the left of her. A man stands by himself at far left. In the distance, the Spanish and Mediterranean-styled Scotty's Castle stands, right-of-center. It is viewed from the front and extends beyond the frame at right. An entrance gate at the center of the building is obscured by parked cars in the foreground. Two-story sections of the castle flank the gate and stretch back. A polygonal tower stands atop the leftmost section of the castle and a clock tower stands behind the gateway. Mountains rise in the far distance.
Caption: Text from negative sleeve: 2263. Death Valley trip March 1947. Death Valley Scotty castle at Grapevine Creek. Mertie West before the arch Zetta Witherby walking toward her. L to R Zetta Witherby. Wes Witherby. Mertie West Dde [sic] Witherby. Mertie facing camera. The sun dial on the wall. The guest house. Dogs tackling a burro. W W Witherby getting a drink at one of the springs. 7 films

Genre: cellulose nitrate film
black-and-white photographs
Names: Scotty’s Castle (Calif.)
West, Mertie Whitaker, 1875-1972
Location: Death Valley National Park (Calif. and Nev.)
Longitude: 37.032402
Latitude: -117.340977
Resource type: still image
Subjects: Sightseers--California--Death Valley National Park
Death Valley National Park (Calif. and Nev.)

Repository: University of California, Los Angeles. Library. Department of Special Collections
Local Identifier: uclamss_1998_2263_007
ARK: ark:/21198/zz002j363h
Manifest url

Rights statement: copyrighted
Funding Note: Access to this collection is generously supported by Arcadia funds.