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Fire lookout · Coconino County, Arizona

Promontory Lookout

Also known as Promontory Butte Lookout, Promontory Point

Standing 1924 Aermotor fire lookout on Promontory Butte, Apache-Sitgreaves National Forest, Arizona; replaced a 1913 wooden tower; NRHP 1988, NHLR 2002.

Visit & stay

Not rentable. As far as we know, this lookout cannot be booked for overnight stays.

Access

Access unknown

We do not know the access rules. Check with the land manager before you go.

Can you climb it?
Unknown
Road to the top?
Unknown
Staffing
Unknown

Facts

Status
Standing
Type
Cab on a tower110-foot Aermotor tower with 7-by-7-foot metal cab (LS-40 model per Forest Lookouts)The design: Aermotor LS-40
Built of
SteelGoing by its design; no source says so in words.
Built
1913
Height
110 ft (33.5 m)
Elevation
7,874 ft (2,400 m)
Agency
U.S. Forest Service
Land
Federal land
Location
Coconino County, Arizona
Coordinates
34.36717, −111.01275 sources disagree
This entry
VerifiedResearched, then checked independently. Updated 8 Oct 2026.
Firefinder id
us-az-promontory

View from the cab

What you see from the cab: every ridge out to about 93 miles, the named peaks in sight, and other fire lookouts within view, worked out from terrain data in your browser.

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Or see what it could see on the map: the ground in its line of sight.

History

Then and now

  1. 1913 BuiltWooden log tower built by Forest Service rangers; newspapers give 115 to 116 ft, the register gives 121 ftSources: nhlr.org, westlookouts.weebly.com
  2. 1921 EventForest Service decided in November 1921 to abandon and destroy the wooden tower; a December 1921 report says it was being wreckedSource: westlookouts.weebly.com
  3. 1924 Replaced by a new structure110-foot Aermotor tower with 7x7 cab erected in place of the wooden towerSources: nhlr.org, westlookouts.weebly.com
  4. 1925 StaffedNewspaper report says a fire lookout stays in the tower all daySource: westlookouts.weebly.com
  5. 1938 AlteredStairs replaced the original ladderSources: nhlr.org, westlookouts.weebly.com
  6. 1944 StaffedNewspaper names Wanda M. Turley, an 18-year-old co-ed, watching from the towerSource: westlookouts.weebly.com
  7. 1951 StaffedCharles Rapson acting as relief lookout; stationed for several weeks in 1952Source: westlookouts.weebly.com
  8. No record between 1951 and 1988
  9. 1988 Listed on the National Register of Historic PlacesAdded to the National Register as Promontory Butte Lookout Complex, NRHP 87002455; NPGallery record dated 1/28/1988Sources: westlookouts.weebly.com, npgallery.nps.gov
  10. 2002 Added to the National Historic Lookout RegisterRegistered March 4, 2002 as US 422, AZ 29; nominated by Dave LorenzSource: nhlr.org
  11. 2010 Condition assessmentVisit report dated October 13, 2010: stairs OK, glass intactSource: nhlr.org
  12. TodayStandingIt still stands, as far as our sources know.

Old maps of this spot

USGS topographic maps from the years a lookout stood may show it, often as a small symbol labelled “Lookout”. See the old topo maps around it on the Firefinder map, or find every scanned sheet of this spot on USGS TopoView (click the spot there to list them, with dates and downloads).

Story

Researched 8 Oct 2026, fact-checked.

Promontory Lookout stands on Promontory Butte in the Apache-Sitgreaves National Forest, in Coconino County, Arizona, and the U.S. Forest Service administers it.1 The first tower on the butte was made of logs.1,2 Forest rangers built it in 1913 using only ropes and tackle blocks for lifting, and newspapers of the time called the work an engineering feat.2 A 1921 Winslow Mail report credits Deputy Supervisor Kissam, then of the Manzano forest, with designing and building it.2

Reports disagree on how tall that wooden tower was. Newspapers from 1913 and 1921 give 115 to 116 feet, while the register says it was 121 feet.1,2

In November 1921 the Forest Service decided to give up the wooden tower and tear it down.2 A December 1921 report said the tower was still in good shape, but the service had ordered it demolished.2

Its replacement went up in 1924 as a 110-foot Aermotor tower with a metal cab measuring 7 by 7 feet.1,2 The Forest Lookouts page gives the model as an LS-40.2

A June 1925 newspaper report says a fire lookout is posted in the tower all day.2 Stairs took the place of the original ladder in 1938.1,2 In 1944 a newspaper reported on Wanda M. Turley, an 18-year-old college student who watched a third of a million acres from the tower.2 Charles Rapson of Winslow served as relief lookout in 1951, and a 1952 item says he had been stationed there for several weeks.2

In 1988 the site entered the National Register of Historic Places as the Promontory Butte Lookout Complex, listing number 87002455.2,3 The National Historic Lookout Register accepted the tower on March 4, 2002, on a nomination from Dave Lorenz, director for AZ/NM FFLA.1

A condition visit recorded on October 13, 2010 found the stairs in order and the glass intact.1 Today the register lists the tower as staffed sometimes, and during emergencies, with no volunteer openings.1 Its own sign is not posted, and the directions to the tower are not signed.1 The sources read do not say whether the public may climb the tower or whether it is rented now, and the only condition note on the register page is from 2010.1 Anyone planning a visit should check with the Apache-Sitgreaves National Forest first.

  1. Promontory Lookout, National Historic Lookout Register (nhlr.org), http://nhlr.org/lookouts/us/az/promontory-lookout/ (accessed 2026-10-08). ↩
  2. Promontory Butte, Forest Lookouts (westlookouts.weebly.com), https://westlookouts.weebly.com/promontory-butte.html (accessed 2026-10-08). ↩
  3. Promontory Butte Lookout Complex, National Register of Historic Places record 87002455, NPGallery (npgallery.nps.gov), https://npgallery.nps.gov/AssetDetail/NRIS/87002455 (accessed 2026-10-08). ↩

Photos

Photo of Promontory Lookout
Photo: National Historic Lookout Register (nhlr.org) · All rights reserved · source
Photo of Promontory Lookout
Photo: James Nuti, via National Historic Lookout Register (nhlr.org) · All rights reserved · source

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Where sources disagree

We show disagreements between sources instead of quietly picking one. If you know which is right, please tell us.

  • Sources disagree on the location by 1.4 km (0.9 mi).

    • FFLA: 34.36717, −111.01275
    • NHLR: 34.37700, −111.02225

    They share a register number.

    The map uses the position from FFLA.

Sources

  1. National Historic Lookout Register (NHLR) Gave us: name, county, elevation, register numbers, agency, ownership, dates, photos, links National Historic Lookout Register (nhlr.org) · All rights reserved (American Resources, Inc.); facts extracted only, no prose copied. · retrieved 4 Oct 2026
  2. Forest Fire Lookout Association (FFLA) - US lookout lists Gave us: location, type, status, register numbers, links Forest Fire Lookout Association (firelookout.org) · No licence stated; facts extracted only, no prose copied. · retrieved 8 Oct 2026
  3. OpenStreetMap -- fire lookout structures Gave us: register numbers, links © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL 1.0. (c) OpenStreetMap contributors. · retrieved 4 Oct 2026
  4. FOREST LOOKOUTS -- western US (Ron Kemnow's weebly sites) Gave us: what it is built of, design, height, links Ron Kemnow's Forest Lookouts sites (westlookouts, californialookouts, idaholookouts, montanalookouts, oregonlookouts and washingtonlookouts .weebly.com) · No licence stated; facts only (county, land manager, status word, coordinates where the page's own map widget gives them, township-range-section, height and design hints, links). The site's own newspaper quotes, citations and narrative are not reproduced. · retrieved 8 Oct 2026
  5. Firefinder research Gave us: summary, design, height, status, agency, dates, links, fact-check Firefinder research (sources cited in the story footnotes) · Our own research notes; each fact cites its source in the lookout's story

More about this lookout elsewhere

Firefinder takes facts (places, dates, numbers) from these sources and writes its own words. See all sources and licences.