Say you owned a million acres of world-class real estate with to-die-for views.
But access - such a headache!
And the tourists you craved were already happy going to another, less out-of-the-way, vista point.
What would you have done?
The Hualapai tribe in Arizona found themselves in this exact conundrum.
Their land, part of the Grand Canyon, couldn't attract enough diehards willing to navigate its scenic yet butt-busting unpaved road.
So they came up with a novel idea. Let people walk over the canyon!
A highly controversial yet fascinating case of 'if you build it, they will come'.
The Grand Canyon Skywalk, built at a cost of $30 million, is a slender and see-through glass horseshoe bridge
jutting out from solid ground and levitating over a 4000-foot chasm.
The Skywalk extends 70 feet beyond the canyon’s edge with no visible supports above or below.
To prevent scuffing of the 5-layer glass floor, everyone must wear surgical overshoes.
Mark Johnson, architect of the Skywalk, says the structure can support the weight of a few hundred people
and will withstand winds up to 100 mph.
the observation deck has a 3-inch-thick glass bottom and has been equipped with shock absorbers
to keep it from bouncing like a diving board as people walk on it.
There's canyon ahead, behind and unspeakably far below.
The terror-stricken prefer shuffling along near the handrail, though a fair number plonk down their sizeable admission,
sashay up, peer down and decide to call it a day.
Studying the abyss, one's mortality feels fragile, and the Skywalk's shadow appears like a partial halo.
“Just like an eagle can fly into the Grand Canyon, my vision was for the visitors to walk the path of the eagle,
and become surrounded by the Grand Canyon…My dream was to find a balance between form, function and nature.”
–David Jin, Hualapai Tribe
It took two years to build the Skywalk.
Steel anchors were drilled 46 feet into the limestone rim to hold the deck in place.
Then the Skywalk was welded to the anchors, after pushing it past the edge using tractor-trailers and an elaborate system of pulleys.
The Skywalk was officially opened to the public on March 28th, 2007
with Buzz Aldrin taking the inaugural Skywalk.
The Horseshoe shaped skywalk is constructed of glass walls 4 inches thick and
visitors must don special scratch-proof socks as they partake in the view.
The work is a true engineering feat that can hold up to 70 tons (roughly 14 African Elephants) and withstands winds of 100mph. The Skywalk extends 65ft beyond the edge of the Grand Canyon and offers an unprecedented view from 4,000 ft above the ground!
It is towering way above the other man-made skyscrapers.
All great things have to face oppression
Opponents from other tribes argue that this is disturbing Sacred ground.
Arizona environmentalists claim that the Skywalk is a defacement of a National Treasure,
and there are serious Water Rights issues at work here
(the Hualapai truck in water to support the site).
The Hualapai have plans to build more in the area including hotels, movie theaters, museums etc.
The question comes down to: Can the Hualapai support their tribe without destroying the land?
David Jin, of Hualapai tribe, is walking a tight rope while juggling what he calls “Form, function and nature.”
However, there is some real good ole’ (Native) American ingenuity going on here.
The experience is unparalleled and unprecedented in the world, and he is potentially improving life for his impoverished tribe.
FAST FACTS ABOUT SKYWALK:
Location: Arizona, USA
Length Extending: 65 ft
Viewing Height: 4000 ft
World Title: World' Highest View
It just homes the fact that with technology know-how, NOTHING is IMPOSSIBLE to CREATE by MAN ONCE he puts his HEART into it.
