Ellsworth and Emery Kolb arrived at Grand Canyon in 1902. The enterprising and energetic brothers bought out a photographic studio in Williams, Arizona, and moved the equipment to Grand Canyon, setting up their new business in a canvas tent. They photographed mule riders descending the Bright Angel toll trail owned by Ralph Cameron. Nearby, Cameron had fashioned a hotel out of the Red Horse stage station (now a part of Bright Angel Lodge), which he’d moved to the canyon’s rim.

The Kolbs, Ralph Cameron, and Cameron’s Bright Angel Trail were stiff competition for the Fred Harvey Company and the Santa Fe Railway, which answered with Hermit Trail and Hermit Camp.

At the time, the rim’s water supply was limited, so the Kolbs set up a developing lab 4.5 miles down Bright Angel Trail at Indian Garden, the nearest source of clear running water. They photographed tourists descending the trail in the morning, then ran ahead to process the glass plates. They returned to the rim in time to sell the mule riders their souvenir portraits.

A dashing pair, the Kolb brothers also hiked and explored, taking photos of their cliff-dangling exploits (and off-duty Harvey Girls).

The Kolbs began building their wood-frame studio in 1904. In 1911–1912, they ran the Colorado River through Grand Canyon, filming the expedition. Very few parties had successfully navigated the Colorado since Powell’s journeys, and the Kolbs were the first to make a moving picture of the trip. For decades, Grand Canyon visitors gathered to watch the film in the studio’s auditorium.

Emery married a Harvey Girl, Blanche Bender, in 1905, and Ellsworth moved to Los Angeles in 1924. Construction on their studio continued through 1926 as business — and Emery’s family — expanded. Blanche and Emery’s daughter Edith often accompanied her father on his photographic explorations.

In later years, some people considered Kolb Studio an eyesore and lobbied the Park Service to oust Emery. But feisty Emery prevailed, showing his movie until his death at age 95.

The Park Service acquired the studio in 1976, after Emery’s death, and decided to preserve it. The Grand Canyon Association (GCA) funded the building’s restoration.

The Kolbs’ vast photo collection is archived at Northern Arizona University’s Cline Library. The library and the GCA prepared the interactive video on display in the studio’s projection room, showing clips of the Kolb brothers running the Colorado River.