Day Tripping – Barstow Harvey House
Woman in the Middle | March 2, 2017Whenever we go to Las Vegas, we pass a sign as we drive on the freeway passed Barstow, California, that mentions a historic site, the Harvey House. Every time I see it, I say, “I want to go there!” This has been going on for decades, folks. Well, on President’s Day weekend my wish was granted! I got to visit the Barstow Harvey House!
Harvey Houses were a chain of hotels and restaurants, begun in 1879 by Fred Harvey. He saw a need for quality food and lodging for those traveling on trains. The Harvey Houses were famous for the Harvey Girls, who served the customers, and for being able to feed a customer a full meal in the short 20 minute stop the trains would make. I have never visited a Harvey House before, so I was excited to finally get to see the one whose sign has been taunting me for so many years.
Our partners in crime for our expedition were are friends Bill and Sue. They live in Apple Valley, which is on the way to Barstow. So we drove to their house and piled in their truck for the trip to Barstow.
The front of the Harvey House faces the railroad tracks. I couldn’t get a good photo of the whole place without going out on the tracks. I didn’t think that was a smart thing to do, given all the trains that were coming and going!
I found out that the Harvey House in Barstow, was built in 1911, replacing a previous Harvey House that had burned. It was not just a restaurant, it was a full fledged resort with a library, swimming pool, pool room, etc…. It had a fancy restaurant at one end and a large, horseshoe shaped lunch counter at the other. Its architectural style brought together elements of the southwest, Native American, and Moorish designs to create a very distinctive building. Harvey Houses were usually gen names, and this Harvey house was called Casa Del Desierto or House of the Desert.
The front of the Harvey House displays its name.
Looking out from a second floor window at the still very active railroad tracks.
Just another shot showing some of the architectural details of the Harvey House.
The Harvey House houses a variety of businesses and such, but it also houses two museums of interest to people interested in the history of the greater Barstow area. One is the Western American Railroad Museum, which consists of several rooms full of railroading paraphernalia, including an extensive collection of date nails and many examples of the distinctive dishware used on the various southwest train routes. Outside there were a number of historic locomotives and other railroad rolling stock. This museum is a must see for anyone interested in railroad history. For someone like me, who is not necessarily a railroad enthusiast, it was still a very enjoyable stop. I do wish they had more tags explaining what we were seeing, But Hubby and Bill got a kick out of trying to figure out what some of the more obscure pieces of equipment in the museum were used for. Tags would have entirely ruined their game!
The other museum in the Harvey House is the Route 66 Mother Road Museum. It displays a collection of historic photographs and artifacts related to Route 66 and the Mojave Desert communities. Unfortunately, we didn’t manage to get to that museum, but Route 66 runs right next to the Harvey House, which is very cool.
According to the National Park Service, “At its creation in 1926, the alignment of Route 66 ran adjacent to the Harvey House Railroad Depot. It is not coincidental that Route 66 is in close proximity to the railroad along most of its length. The railroads did extensive surveys across the country to locate the most efficient path according to the topography. Because the route the railroads chose moved through the landscape in harmony with local topography, Route 66 runs parallel to the railroad for most of its length. Today, motorists along Route 66 will find many places where the railroad tracks and interstate highway parallel each other. “
After we left the Harvey House,and to give us a different view on the way back to Apple Valley. Bill and Sue took us on old Route 66. Unlike some areas of the Mother Road, this stretch between Barstow and Victorville is well maintained. It probably looks much like it did back in the day when so many people took Route 66 out west. The mountains and desert landscape were beautiful. On a Sunday afternoon the traffic was light.
Visit http://www.barstowharveyhouse.com/ for more information and a short video about the Barstow Harvey House.
It is is located at 681 North First Ave. in Barstow, CA. The Route 66 Museum and WARM Railroad Museum are open Friday, Saturday and Sunday from 11 am to 4 pm PST. I recommend you contact the museum(s) to confirm hours before visiting.
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