Two Families, One Extraordinary Home: Exploring Flagstaff’s Historic Riordan Mansion
Someone’s home can tell you a lot about who they are and what they value. At Riordan Mansion State Historic Park, you’ll step into the lives of two of Flagstaff’s most influential families. Built in 1904, this impressive dwelling was home to brothers Tim and Michael Riordan and their wives, sisters Caroline and Elizabeth Metz.
The Riordan brothers cherished northern Arizona’s natural beauty, as evident in their home’s rustic exterior with pine log-slab siding, basalt stone arches, and hand-split wooden shingles. Through their successful logging company, they helped establish early Flagstaff and even advocated for forest management, leading to the region’s first U.S. Forest Service research facility in 1908.
This appreciation for nature extends throughout their home in the Arts and Crafts architectural style. Designed by Charles Whittlesey, who also created the Grand Canyon’s El Tovar Hotel, the mansion showcases simplicity and exquisite craftsmanship.
What makes this home unique is its design for two families who valued togetherness. The mansion consists of mirror-image houses connected by a grand common room where family members gathered around the volcanic rock fireplace on maple floors. Outside, a spacious garden offered fresh air and family bonding.
The Riordans’ values are reflected throughout their home—libraries showing their commitment to education and modern conveniences like indoor plumbing, central heat, and electricity demonstrating their prosperity. While other Arizona towns boomed from copper mining, Flagstaff thrived through the lumber industry.
Each room contains authentic artifacts, clothing, and original furnishings donated by the family, preserving their story as if they might return at any moment.
Ready for a journey into Arizona’s past? Begin your adventure at the family’s converted automotive garage, now serving as the park’s welcoming Visitor Center, where interpretive exhibits introduce you to the Riordan family’s legacy and lasting contributions to the Flagstaff community. Wander freely through the picturesque grounds on a self-guided tour, or for a truly immersive experience, book a guided tour of the home’s interior for an additional fee. You’ll arrive as a curious visitor with just a hint of this family’s extraordinary life, but leave the park feeling like an old friend of the Riordans. Plan your visit at AZStateParks.com/Riordan-Mansion.
Board member, Adam Marsh, and lead paleontologist at Petrified National Forest, works with a team of scientists to uncover an approximately 300 million-year-old fossil skeleton discovered at Canyonlands National Park in Utah (June 2024)