Fred Harvey Company
Encyclopedia
The origin of the Fred Harvey Company can be traced to the 1875 opening of two railroad eating houses located at Wallace, Kansas
and Hugo, Colorado
on the Kansas Pacific Railway
. These cafés were opened by Fred Harvey, then a freight agent for the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad
. The café operation ended within a year, but Fred Harvey had been convinced of the potential profits from providing a high quality food and service at railroad eating houses. His longtime employer, the Burlington Railroad, declined his offer of establishing a system-wide eating house operation at all railroad meal stops, but the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway
subsequently contracted with Harvey for several eating houses on an experimental basis.
In 1878 Harvey started the first
of his eating house-hotel establishments along the AT&SF tracks in Florence, Kansas
. The rapid growth of the Harvey House chain soon followed.
Fred Harvey is credited with creating the first restaurant chain in the United States. Harvey and his company also became leaders in promoting tourism in the American Southwest in the late 19th century. The company and its employees, including the famous waitresses who came to be known as "Harvey Girls", successfully brought new higher standards of both civility and dining to a region widely regarded in the era as "the Wild West". The popularity of the Harvey Girls grew even stronger in 1946, when Judy Garland
starred in the film version of Samuel Hopkins Adams’ novel The Harvey Girls
.
Despite the decline of passenger train patronage in the United States in the 20th century with the advent of the automobile, the company survived and prospered, by marketing its services to the motoring public. After 1926, Harvey Cars were used in the provision of "Indian Detours" services offered from a number of Harvey hotel locations. The company continued to adjust to the trends, in the late 1950s operating for the first 15 years the then-new landmark Illinois Tollway "Oases"
which were built above the Interstate 294
highway in the Chicago
suburbs by the Standard Oil of Indiana (Amoco)
.
The Fred Harvey legacy was continued in the family until the death of a grandson in 1965. Even then, portions of the Fred Harvey Company outlived them all, and have continued to operate since 1968 as part of a larger hospitality industry
conglomerate.
s in passenger trains became common practice, a rail passenger's only option for meal service in transit was to patronize one of the roadhouses often located near the railroad's water stop
s. Fare typically consisted of nothing more than rancid meat, cold beans, and week-old coffee. Such poor conditions understandably discouraged many Americans from making the journey westward.
The subsequent growth and development of the Fred Harvey Company was closely related to that of the Santa Fe Railway. Under the terms of an oral agreement, Harvey opened his first depot restaurant in Topeka, Kansas
in January 1876. Railroad officials and passengers alike were impressed with Fred Harvey's strict standards for high quality food and first class service. As a result, the Santa Fe entered into subsequent contracts with Harvey wherein he was given a "blank check" to set up a series of "eating houses" along almost the entire route. At more prominent locations, these eating houses evolved into hotels, many of which survive today. By the late 1880s, there was a Fred Harvey dining facility located every 100 miles along the Santa Fe line.
The Santa Fe agreed to convey fresh meat and produce free-of-charge to any Harvey House via its own private line of refrigerator car
s, the Santa Fe Refrigerator Despatch
, and in them food was shipped from every corner of the United States. The company maintained two dairy facilities (the larger of the two was situated in Las Vegas, New Mexico
) to ensure a consistent and adequate supply of fresh milk. When dining cars began to appear on trains, Santa Fe contracted with the Fred Harvey Company to operate the food service on the diners, and all Santa Fe advertising proclaimed "Fred Harvey Meals all the Way".
Harvey's meals were served in sumptuous portions that provided a good value for the traveling public; for instance, pies were cut into fourths, rather than sixths, which was the industry standard at the time. The Harvey Company and the railroad established a series of signals that allowed the dining room staff to make the necessary preparations to feed an entire train in just thirty minutes. Harvey Houses served their meals on fine China and Irish linens. Fred Harvey, a fastidious innkeeper, set high standards for efficiency and cleanliness in his establishments, personally inspecting them as often as possible. It was said that nothing escaped his notice, and he was even known to completely overturn a poorly-set table. Male customers were even required to wear a coat and tie in many of Harvey's dining rooms. Fulfilling their patriotic duty, the Harvey Houses served many a meal to GIs
traveling on troop trains
during World War II
.
This mutually-beneficial relationship, characterized as one of the most successful and influential business partnerships in the early American West, endured until 1963.
to design influential landmark hotels in Santa Fe
and Gallup, New Mexico
, Winslow, Arizona
, and at the South Rim and the bottom of the Grand Canyon
in the 1910s and 1920s. The rugged, landscape-integrated design principles of their work influenced a generation of subsequent western American architecture through the U.S. National Park Service
and Civilian Conservation Corps
structures built in the Depression. Harvey and his architects created an entire set of cultural images.
It has been suggested that the Harvey Houses originated the "blue-plate special", a daily low-priced complete meal served on a blue-patterned china plate; an 1892 Harvey menu mentions them, some thirty years before the term became widespread. In addition to the Santa Fe, the Harvey Company operated dining facilities for the Gulf Coast and Santa Fe Railway, the Kansas Pacific Railway
, the St. Louis-San Francisco Railway
, and the Terminal Railroad Association of St. Louis
.
The Santa Fe maintained and operated a fleet of three passenger ferry
boats that connected the railroad with San Francisco by water. Ships traveled the eight miles between the San Francisco Ferry Terminal and the railroad's Point Richmond
terminal across the Bay. The service was originally established as a continuation of the company's named passenger train runs such as the Angel and the Saint. The larger two ships, the San Pablo and the San Pedro, each featured a newsstand-lunch counter located on the main deck, and a dining room on the upper deck. Meals, sandwiches, sweet rolls, pastries, and coffee were served. Santa Fe discontinued ferry service in 1933 due to the effects of the Great Depression
.
In 1883, unhappy with his predominantly black service staff (who often carried firearm
s to intimidate customers), and the employees' deplorable behavior toward his customers and the business it cost him, Harvey implemented a policy of employing a female white only serving staff. He sought out single, well-mannered, and educated American ladies, and placed ads in newspapers throughout the east coast and midwest for "white, young women, 18 to 30 years of age, of good character, attractive and intelligent". The girls were paid $17.50 a month (approximately $ in today's terms) to start, plus room, board, and tips, a generous income by the standards of the time.
The women were subjected to a strict 10:00 p.m. curfew, administered by a senior Harvey Girl who assumed the role and responsibilities of house mother. The official starched black and white uniform (which was designed to diminish the female physique) consisted of a skirt that hung no more than eight inches off the floor, "Elsie" collars, opaque black stockings, and black shoes. The hair was restrained in a net and tied with a regulation white ribbon. Makeup of any sort was absolutely prohibited, as was chewing gum while on duty. Harvey Girls (as they soon came to be known) were required into a one-year employment contract, and forfeit half their base pay should they fail to complete the term of service. Marriage was the most common reason for a girl to terminate her employment.
In a mythology that has grown around the Harvey Houses, these female employees are said to have helped to "civilize the American Southwest". This legend found its highest expression in The Harvey Girls
, a 1942 novel by Samuel Hopkins Adams
, and, more notably, the 1946 MGM
musical
which was inspired by it. The film stars Judy Garland
and Angela Lansbury
, and it was directed by George Sidney
. It introduced the Johnny Mercer
song "On the Atchison, Topeka and the Santa Fe
".
became the first of Santa Fe's name trains to feature Harvey Company meal service en route. Later trains, such as the vaunted Super Chief
, included dining cars (staffed by Fred Harvey Company personnel) as part of the standard passenger car complement right from the outset.
(the largest facility operated by Harvey), San Diego Union Station
, the San Francisco Bus Terminal, and the Albuquerque International Airport
; the last of these was established at the Los Angeles Union Passenger Terminal
in 1939, and could accommodate nearly 300 diners.
From about 1959 until about 1975, the Fred Harvey organization operated a series of restaurants in the Illinois Tollway "Oases"
, a set of highway rest stops built on bridges over the tollway. The original Fred Harvey company, as well as the company's very close affiliation with the Santa Fe Railway lasted until 1968 when it was purchased by the Amfac Corporation
of Hawaii. Amfac was renamed Xanterra Parks & Resorts in 2002. In 2006, Xanterra purchased the Grand Canyon Railway
and its properties, including the El Tovar Hotel
.
Wallace, Kansas
Wallace is a city in Wallace County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 57.-History:The city began with the establishment of Fort Wallace, ordered built by General William Sherman.-Geography:...
and Hugo, Colorado
Hugo, Colorado
The Town of Hugo is a Statutory Town that is the county seat of Lincoln County, Colorado, United States. The town population was 885 at the U.S...
on the Kansas Pacific Railway
Kansas Pacific Railway
The Kansas Pacific Railway was a historic railroad company that operated in the western United States in the late 19th century. It was a federally chartered railroad, backed with government land grants. It operated many of the first long-distance lines in the state of Kansas in the 1870s,...
. These cafés were opened by Fred Harvey, then a freight agent for the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad
Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad
The Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad was a railroad that operated in the Midwestern United States. Commonly referred to as the Burlington or as the Q, the Burlington Route served a large area, including extensive trackage in the states of Colorado, Illinois, Iowa, Kentucky, Missouri,...
. The café operation ended within a year, but Fred Harvey had been convinced of the potential profits from providing a high quality food and service at railroad eating houses. His longtime employer, the Burlington Railroad, declined his offer of establishing a system-wide eating house operation at all railroad meal stops, but the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway
Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway
The Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway , often abbreviated as Santa Fe, was one of the larger railroads in the United States. The company was first chartered in February 1859...
subsequently contracted with Harvey for several eating houses on an experimental basis.
In 1878 Harvey started the first
Harvey House (Florence, Kansas)
Harvey House of Florence, Kansas, also known under the older name of Clifton Hotel, was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1973.-History:...
of his eating house-hotel establishments along the AT&SF tracks in Florence, Kansas
Florence, Kansas
Florence is a city in Marion County, Kansas, United States. The city was named after the daughter of former Kansas Governor Samuel J. Crawford. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 465.-19th century:...
. The rapid growth of the Harvey House chain soon followed.
Fred Harvey is credited with creating the first restaurant chain in the United States. Harvey and his company also became leaders in promoting tourism in the American Southwest in the late 19th century. The company and its employees, including the famous waitresses who came to be known as "Harvey Girls", successfully brought new higher standards of both civility and dining to a region widely regarded in the era as "the Wild West". The popularity of the Harvey Girls grew even stronger in 1946, when Judy Garland
Judy Garland
Judy Garland was an American actress and singer. Through a career that spanned 45 of her 47 years and for her renowned contralto voice, she attained international stardom as an actress in musical and dramatic roles, as a recording artist and on the concert stage...
starred in the film version of Samuel Hopkins Adams’ novel The Harvey Girls
The Harvey Girls
The Harvey Girls is a 1946 MGM musical film based on a 1942 novel by Samuel Hopkins Adams about Fred Harvey's famous Harvey House restaurants. Directed by George Sidney, the film stars Judy Garland, John Hodiak, Angela Lansbury, Virginia O'Brien, Ray Bolger, and Marjorie Main...
.
Despite the decline of passenger train patronage in the United States in the 20th century with the advent of the automobile, the company survived and prospered, by marketing its services to the motoring public. After 1926, Harvey Cars were used in the provision of "Indian Detours" services offered from a number of Harvey hotel locations. The company continued to adjust to the trends, in the late 1950s operating for the first 15 years the then-new landmark Illinois Tollway "Oases"
Illinois Tollway oasis
An Illinois Tollway oasis is a type of commercialized rest area sited along interstate highways that are toll roads in Illinois, United States. The seven oases offer food and gasoline vendors and are found in the Chicago Metropolitan Area, DeKalb, and Belvidere...
which were built above the Interstate 294
Interstate 294
Interstate 294 is a tolled Interstate Highway in northeastern Illinois, U.S.A.. It forms the southern portion of the Tri-State Tollway in Illinois. I-294 runs from South Holland at Interstates 80 and 94, and Illinois Route 394 to Northbrook at I-94. Interstate 294 is long; are shared with I-80....
highway in the Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
suburbs by the Standard Oil of Indiana (Amoco)
Amoco
Amoco Corporation, originally Standard Oil Company , was a global chemical and oil company, founded in 1889 around a refinery located in Whiting, Indiana, United States....
.
The Fred Harvey legacy was continued in the family until the death of a grandson in 1965. Even then, portions of the Fred Harvey Company outlived them all, and have continued to operate since 1968 as part of a larger hospitality industry
Hospitality industry
The hospitality industry consists of broad category of fields within the service industry that includes lodging, restaurants, event planning, theme parks, transportation, cruise line, and additional fields within the tourism industry. The hospitality industry is a several billion dollar industry...
conglomerate.
History
Before the inclusion of dining carDining car
A dining car or restaurant carriage , also diner, is a railroad passenger car that serves meals in the manner of a full-service, sit-down restaurant....
s in passenger trains became common practice, a rail passenger's only option for meal service in transit was to patronize one of the roadhouses often located near the railroad's water stop
Water stop
A water stop or water station on a railroad is a place where trains stop to replenish water. The stopping of the train itself is also referred to as "water stop". The term originates from the times of steam engines, when large amounts of water were essential...
s. Fare typically consisted of nothing more than rancid meat, cold beans, and week-old coffee. Such poor conditions understandably discouraged many Americans from making the journey westward.
The subsequent growth and development of the Fred Harvey Company was closely related to that of the Santa Fe Railway. Under the terms of an oral agreement, Harvey opened his first depot restaurant in Topeka, Kansas
Topeka, Kansas
Topeka |Kansa]]: Tó Pee Kuh) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Kansas and the county seat of Shawnee County. It is situated along the Kansas River in the central part of Shawnee County, located in northeast Kansas, in the Central United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was...
in January 1876. Railroad officials and passengers alike were impressed with Fred Harvey's strict standards for high quality food and first class service. As a result, the Santa Fe entered into subsequent contracts with Harvey wherein he was given a "blank check" to set up a series of "eating houses" along almost the entire route. At more prominent locations, these eating houses evolved into hotels, many of which survive today. By the late 1880s, there was a Fred Harvey dining facility located every 100 miles along the Santa Fe line.
The Santa Fe agreed to convey fresh meat and produce free-of-charge to any Harvey House via its own private line of refrigerator car
Refrigerator car
A refrigerator car is a refrigerated boxcar , a piece of railroad rolling stock designed to carry perishable freight at specific temperatures. Refrigerator cars differ from simple insulated boxcars and ventilated boxcars , neither of which are fitted with cooling apparatus...
s, the Santa Fe Refrigerator Despatch
Santa Fe Refrigerator Despatch
The Santa Fe Refrigerator Despatch was a railroad refrigerator car line established as a subsidiary of the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway in 1884 to carry perishable commodities...
, and in them food was shipped from every corner of the United States. The company maintained two dairy facilities (the larger of the two was situated in Las Vegas, New Mexico
Las Vegas, New Mexico
Las Vegas is a city in San Miguel County, New Mexico, United States. Once two separate municipalities both named Las Vegas, west Las Vegas and east Las Vegas , divided by the Gallinas River, retain distinct characters and separate, rival school districts. The population was 14,565 at the 2000...
) to ensure a consistent and adequate supply of fresh milk. When dining cars began to appear on trains, Santa Fe contracted with the Fred Harvey Company to operate the food service on the diners, and all Santa Fe advertising proclaimed "Fred Harvey Meals all the Way".
Harvey's meals were served in sumptuous portions that provided a good value for the traveling public; for instance, pies were cut into fourths, rather than sixths, which was the industry standard at the time. The Harvey Company and the railroad established a series of signals that allowed the dining room staff to make the necessary preparations to feed an entire train in just thirty minutes. Harvey Houses served their meals on fine China and Irish linens. Fred Harvey, a fastidious innkeeper, set high standards for efficiency and cleanliness in his establishments, personally inspecting them as often as possible. It was said that nothing escaped his notice, and he was even known to completely overturn a poorly-set table. Male customers were even required to wear a coat and tie in many of Harvey's dining rooms. Fulfilling their patriotic duty, the Harvey Houses served many a meal to GIs
GI (term)
G.I. is a noun used to describe members of the United States armed forces or items of their equipment. The term is now used as an initialism of "Government Issue" , but originally referred to galvanized iron....
traveling on troop trains
Troop sleeper
In United States railroad terminology, a troop sleeper was a railroad passenger car which had been constructed to serve as something of a mobile barracks for transporting troops over distances sufficient to require overnight accommodations...
during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
.
This mutually-beneficial relationship, characterized as one of the most successful and influential business partnerships in the early American West, endured until 1963.
Facilities
For the Southwest, Fred Harvey hired architects Charles Whittlesey and Mary ColterMary Colter
Mary Elizabeth Jane Colter was an American architect and designer. As a child, Mary Colter traveled with her family through frontier Minnesota, Colorado and Texas in the years after the American Civil War. After her father died in 1886, Colter attended the California School of Design in San...
to design influential landmark hotels in Santa Fe
Santa Fe, New Mexico
Santa Fe is the capital of the U.S. state of New Mexico. It is the fourth-largest city in the state and is the seat of . Santa Fe had a population of 67,947 in the 2010 census...
and Gallup, New Mexico
Gallup, New Mexico
- Demographics :As of the census of 2000, there were 20,209 people, 6,810 households, and 4,869 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,513.7 people per square mile...
, Winslow, Arizona
Winslow, Arizona
-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 9,520 people, 2,754 households, and 1,991 families residing in the city. The population density was 773.1 people per square mile . There were 3,198 housing units at an average density of 259.7 per square mile...
, and at the South Rim and the bottom of the Grand Canyon
Grand Canyon
The Grand Canyon is a steep-sided canyon carved by the Colorado River in the United States in the state of Arizona. It is largely contained within the Grand Canyon National Park, the 15th national park in the United States...
in the 1910s and 1920s. The rugged, landscape-integrated design principles of their work influenced a generation of subsequent western American architecture through the U.S. National Park Service
National Park Service
The National Park Service is the U.S. federal agency that manages all national parks, many national monuments, and other conservation and historical properties with various title designations...
and Civilian Conservation Corps
Civilian Conservation Corps
The Civilian Conservation Corps was a public work relief program that operated from 1933 to 1942 in the United States for unemployed, unmarried men from relief families, ages 18–25. A part of the New Deal of President Franklin D...
structures built in the Depression. Harvey and his architects created an entire set of cultural images.
It has been suggested that the Harvey Houses originated the "blue-plate special", a daily low-priced complete meal served on a blue-patterned china plate; an 1892 Harvey menu mentions them, some thirty years before the term became widespread. In addition to the Santa Fe, the Harvey Company operated dining facilities for the Gulf Coast and Santa Fe Railway, the Kansas Pacific Railway
Kansas Pacific Railway
The Kansas Pacific Railway was a historic railroad company that operated in the western United States in the late 19th century. It was a federally chartered railroad, backed with government land grants. It operated many of the first long-distance lines in the state of Kansas in the 1870s,...
, the St. Louis-San Francisco Railway
St. Louis-San Francisco Railway
The St. Louis – San Francisco Railway , also known as the Frisco, was a railroad that operated in the Midwest and South Central U.S. from 1876 to 1980.-History:...
, and the Terminal Railroad Association of St. Louis
Terminal Railroad Association of St. Louis
The Terminal Railroad Association of St. Louis is a terminal railroad owned by railroads in St. Louis, Missouri which handles traffic through its metropolitan area.-Components:It was founded in 1889 in a deal orchestrated by Jay Gould by:...
.
The Santa Fe maintained and operated a fleet of three passenger ferry
Ferry
A ferry is a form of transportation, usually a boat, but sometimes a ship, used to carry primarily passengers, and sometimes vehicles and cargo as well, across a body of water. Most ferries operate on regular, frequent, return services...
boats that connected the railroad with San Francisco by water. Ships traveled the eight miles between the San Francisco Ferry Terminal and the railroad's Point Richmond
Richmond, California
Richmond is a city in western Contra Costa County, California, United States. The city was incorporated on August 7, 1905. It is located in the East Bay, part of the San Francisco Bay Area. It is a residential inner suburb of San Francisco, as well as the site of heavy industry, which has been...
terminal across the Bay. The service was originally established as a continuation of the company's named passenger train runs such as the Angel and the Saint. The larger two ships, the San Pablo and the San Pedro, each featured a newsstand-lunch counter located on the main deck, and a dining room on the upper deck. Meals, sandwiches, sweet rolls, pastries, and coffee were served. Santa Fe discontinued ferry service in 1933 due to the effects of the Great Depression
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
.
Harvey Girls
Firearm
A firearm is a weapon that launches one, or many, projectile at high velocity through confined burning of a propellant. This subsonic burning process is technically known as deflagration, as opposed to supersonic combustion known as a detonation. In older firearms, the propellant was typically...
s to intimidate customers), and the employees' deplorable behavior toward his customers and the business it cost him, Harvey implemented a policy of employing a female white only serving staff. He sought out single, well-mannered, and educated American ladies, and placed ads in newspapers throughout the east coast and midwest for "white, young women, 18 to 30 years of age, of good character, attractive and intelligent". The girls were paid $17.50 a month (approximately $ in today's terms) to start, plus room, board, and tips, a generous income by the standards of the time.
The women were subjected to a strict 10:00 p.m. curfew, administered by a senior Harvey Girl who assumed the role and responsibilities of house mother. The official starched black and white uniform (which was designed to diminish the female physique) consisted of a skirt that hung no more than eight inches off the floor, "Elsie" collars, opaque black stockings, and black shoes. The hair was restrained in a net and tied with a regulation white ribbon. Makeup of any sort was absolutely prohibited, as was chewing gum while on duty. Harvey Girls (as they soon came to be known) were required into a one-year employment contract, and forfeit half their base pay should they fail to complete the term of service. Marriage was the most common reason for a girl to terminate her employment.
In a mythology that has grown around the Harvey Houses, these female employees are said to have helped to "civilize the American Southwest". This legend found its highest expression in The Harvey Girls
The Harvey Girls (novel)
The Harvey Girls is a novel published in 1942 by Samuel Hopkins Adams. In 1946 it was adapted for an MGM musical film starring Judy Garland....
, a 1942 novel by Samuel Hopkins Adams
Samuel Hopkins Adams
Samuel Hopkins Adams was an American writer, best known for his investigative journalism.-Biography:Adams was born in Dunkirk, New York...
, and, more notably, the 1946 MGM
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc. is an American media company, involved primarily in the production and distribution of films and television programs. MGM was founded in 1924 when the entertainment entrepreneur Marcus Loew gained control of Metro Pictures, Goldwyn Pictures Corporation and Louis B. Mayer...
musical
Musical film
The musical film is a film genre in which songs sung by the characters are interwoven into the narrative, sometimes accompanied by dancing. The songs usually advance the plot or develop the film's characters, though in some cases they serve merely as breaks in the storyline, often as elaborate...
which was inspired by it. The film stars Judy Garland
Judy Garland
Judy Garland was an American actress and singer. Through a career that spanned 45 of her 47 years and for her renowned contralto voice, she attained international stardom as an actress in musical and dramatic roles, as a recording artist and on the concert stage...
and Angela Lansbury
Angela Lansbury
Angela Brigid Lansbury CBE is an English actress and singer in theatre, television and motion pictures, whose career has spanned eight decades and earned her more performance Tony Awards than any other individual , with five wins...
, and it was directed by George Sidney
George Sidney
George Sidney was an American film director and film producer who worked primarily at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer.-Career:...
. It introduced the Johnny Mercer
Johnny Mercer
John Herndon "Johnny" Mercer was an American lyricist, songwriter and singer. He is best known as a lyricist, but he also composed music. He was also a popular singer who recorded his own songs as well as those written by others...
song "On the Atchison, Topeka and the Santa Fe
On the Atchison, Topeka and the Santa Fe
"On the Atchison, Topeka and the Santa Fe" is a popular song which refers to the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway. It was written for the 1946 film, The Harvey Girls, where it was sung by Judy Garland. It won the Academy Award for Best Original Song that year.The music was written by Harry...
".
Dining car service
Harvey initially balked at the suggestion that in-transit dining facilities be added to all Santa Fe trains operating west of Kansas City. Eventually, Harvey agreed to support the railroad in this endeavor, and the California LimitedCalifornia Limited
The California Limited was one of the named passenger trains of the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway and a true "workhorse" of the railroad. It was assigned train Nos. 3 & 4, and its route ran from Chicago, Illinois to Los Angeles, California...
became the first of Santa Fe's name trains to feature Harvey Company meal service en route. Later trains, such as the vaunted Super Chief
Super Chief
The Super Chief was one of the named passenger trains and the flagship of the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway. It was often referred to as "The Train of the Stars" because of the many celebrities who traveled on the streamliner between Chicago, Illinois and Los Angeles, California.The Super...
, included dining cars (staffed by Fred Harvey Company personnel) as part of the standard passenger car complement right from the outset.
Notable Fred Harvey Hotels
Of the eighty-four Fred Harvey facilities, some of the more notable include:- The Alvarado — Albuquerque, New MexicoAlbuquerque, New MexicoAlbuquerque is the largest city in the state of New Mexico, United States. It is the county seat of Bernalillo County and is situated in the central part of the state, straddling the Rio Grande. The city population was 545,852 as of the 2010 Census and ranks as the 32nd-largest city in the U.S. As...
; closed in 1969. Demolished. Exhibit at the Albuquerque Museum of Art and History (March 8- June 7, 2009.) - The Bisonte — Hutchinson, KansasHutchinson, KansasHutchinson is the largest city in and the county seat of Reno County, Kansas, United States, northwest of Wichita, on the Arkansas River. It has been home to salt mines since 1887, thus its nickname of "Salt City", but locals call it "Hutch"...
; closed in 1946 - The Casa del DesiertoHarvey House Railroad DepotThe Harvey House Railroad Depot, known as the Casa del Desierto - its original name, is a former Fred Harvey Harvey House located in Barstow, in the Mojave Desert within San Bernardino County, California...
— Barstow, CaliforniaBarstow, CaliforniaBarstow is a city in San Bernardino County, California, United States. The population was 22,639 at the 2010 census, up from 21,119 at the 2000 census. Barstow is located north of San Bernardino....
; closed in 1959. Refurbished 1999; operating as two museums and city offices. - Castañeda — Las Vegas, New MexicoLas Vegas, New MexicoLas Vegas is a city in San Miguel County, New Mexico, United States. Once two separate municipalities both named Las Vegas, west Las Vegas and east Las Vegas , divided by the Gallinas River, retain distinct characters and separate, rival school districts. The population was 14,565 at the 2000...
; closed in 1948, used in the film Red DawnRed DawnRed Dawn is a 1984 American war film directed by John Milius and co-written by Milius and Kevin Reynolds. It stars Patrick Swayze, C. Thomas Howell, Lea Thompson, Charlie Sheen and Jennifer Grey.... - El Garces — Needles, CaliforniaNeedles, CaliforniaNeedles is a city located in the Mojave Desert on the western banks of the Colorado River in San Bernardino County, California. It is located in the Mohave Valley, which straddles the California–Arizona border. The city is accessible via Interstate 40 and U.S. Route 95...
; closed in 1958. Undergoing restoration (2008). - El Navajo — Gallup, New MexicoGallup, New Mexico- Demographics :As of the census of 2000, there were 20,209 people, 6,810 households, and 4,869 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,513.7 people per square mile...
; closed in 1957. - El Ortiz — Lamy, New MexicoLamy, New MexicoLamy is a census-designated place in Santa Fe County, New Mexico, United States, to the south of the city of Sante Fe. The community was named for Archbishop Jean-Baptiste Lamy, and lies within the Bishop John Lamy Spanish Land Grant, which dates back to the eighteenth century.Lamy is part of the...
; closed in 1938. - El Otero — La Junta, ColoradoLa Junta, ColoradoThe City of La Junta is a Home Rule Municipality that is the county seat and the most populous city of Otero County, Colorado, United States. The city population was 7,568 at the U.S. Census 2000. La Junta is located on the Arkansas River in southeastern Colorado east of Pueblo.-History:During...
; closed in 1948. - El TovarEl Tovar HotelThe El Tovar Hotel, also known simply as El Tovar, is a former Harvey House hotel situated directly on the south rim of the Grand Canyon in Arizona, USA...
— Grand Canyon, ArizonaGrand CanyonThe Grand Canyon is a steep-sided canyon carved by the Colorado River in the United States in the state of Arizona. It is largely contained within the Grand Canyon National Park, the 15th national park in the United States...
; still in operation. - El Vaquero — Dodge City, KansasDodge City, KansasDodge City is a city in, and the county seat of, Ford County, Kansas, United States. Named after nearby Fort Dodge, the city is famous in American culture for its history as a wild frontier town of the Old West. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 27,340.-History:The first settlement of...
; closed in 1948. - The Havasu House — Seligman, ArizonaSeligman, ArizonaSeligman is a census-designated place in Yavapai County, Arizona, United States. The population was 456 at the 2000 census.-History:Between 1889-1891, Seligman was established by the Theut and Moultrie families. Both were prosperous slaughterhouse owners in Southern antebellum families who lost...
; closed in 1955. Demolished 2008. - The Escalante — Ash Fork, ArizonaAsh Fork, ArizonaAsh Fork is a census-designated place in Yavapai County, Arizona, United States. The population was 457 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Ash Fork is located at ....
; closed in 1948, demolished in the 1970s - The Fray Marcos — Williams, ArizonaWilliams, ArizonaWilliams is a city in Coconino County, Arizona, United States west of Flagstaff. Its population was 2,842 at the 2000 census; according to 2006 Census Bureau estimates, the population of the city is 3,094. It lies on the route of Historic Route 66, Interstate 40, and the Southwest Chief Amtrak...
; restored and reopened as a historic hotel and train depot for the Grand Canyon RailwayGrand Canyon RailwayThe Grand Canyon Railway , is a passenger railroad which operates between Williams, Arizona, and Grand Canyon National Park South Rim.-Santa Fe Ownership:... - La Fonda — Santa Fe, New MexicoSanta Fe, New MexicoSanta Fe is the capital of the U.S. state of New Mexico. It is the fourth-largest city in the state and is the seat of . Santa Fe had a population of 67,947 in the 2010 census...
; still in operation - Las Chavez — Vaughn, New MexicoVaughn, New MexicoVaughn is a town in Guadalupe County, New Mexico, United States. The population was 539 at the 2000 census.Vaughn is located at an intersection of the Burlington Northern Santa Fe and Union Pacific railroad lines.-History:...
; closed in 1936 - La PosadaLa Posada Historic DistrictThe La Posada Historic District at 200 E. Second St. in Winslow, Arizona, dates from 1930. It was listed as an historic district in 1992.It includes the Winslow Santa Fe station and La Posada Hotel and Gardens, which includes the Fred Harvey Company hotel desgined by Mary Jane Colter in 1929.The...
— Winslow, ArizonaWinslow, Arizona-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 9,520 people, 2,754 households, and 1,991 families residing in the city. The population density was 773.1 people per square mile . There were 3,198 housing units at an average density of 259.7 per square mile...
; closed in 1957; restored and reopened as a historic hotel - The Sequoyah — Syracuse, KansasSyracuse, KansasSyracuse is a city in and the county seat of Hamilton County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 1,812.-Geography:...
; closed in 1936
Separation from the Santa Fe Railway
Beginning in the 1930s, the Fred Harvey Company began expanding into other locations beyond the reach of the Santa Fe Railroad, and often away from rail passenger routes altogether. Restaurants were opened in such locations as the Chicago Union StationUnion Station (Chicago)
Union Station is a major train station that opened in 1925 in Chicago, replacing an earlier 1881 station. It is now the only intercity rail terminal in Chicago, as well as being the city's primary terminal for commuter trains. The station stands on the west side of the Chicago River between Adams...
(the largest facility operated by Harvey), San Diego Union Station
Union Station (San Diego)
Union Station in San Diego, California, also known as the Santa Fe Depot, is a train station built by the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway to replace the small Victorian-style structure erected in 1887 for the California Southern Railroad Company. The Spanish Colonial Revival style station is...
, the San Francisco Bus Terminal, and the Albuquerque International Airport
Albuquerque International Sunport
Albuquerque International Sunport is a public airport located 3 miles southeast of the central business district of Albuquerque, a city in Bernalillo County, New Mexico, United States. It is the largest commercial airport in the state, handling 5,888,811 passengers in 2009...
; the last of these was established at the Los Angeles Union Passenger Terminal
Union Station (Los Angeles)
Los Angeles Union Station is the main railway station in Los Angeles, California. The station has rail services by Amtrak and Amtrak California and Metrolink; light rail/subways are the Metro Rail Red Line, Purple Line, Gold Line. Bus rapid transport runs on the Silver Line...
in 1939, and could accommodate nearly 300 diners.
From about 1959 until about 1975, the Fred Harvey organization operated a series of restaurants in the Illinois Tollway "Oases"
Illinois Tollway oasis
An Illinois Tollway oasis is a type of commercialized rest area sited along interstate highways that are toll roads in Illinois, United States. The seven oases offer food and gasoline vendors and are found in the Chicago Metropolitan Area, DeKalb, and Belvidere...
, a set of highway rest stops built on bridges over the tollway. The original Fred Harvey company, as well as the company's very close affiliation with the Santa Fe Railway lasted until 1968 when it was purchased by the Amfac Corporation
Amfac (Hawaii)
Amfac, Inc. formerly known as American Factors and originally H. Hackfeld and Company was a land development company in Hawaii. Founded in 1849 as a retail and sugar business, it was considered one of the so-called Big Five companies in the Territory of Hawaii...
of Hawaii. Amfac was renamed Xanterra Parks & Resorts in 2002. In 2006, Xanterra purchased the Grand Canyon Railway
Grand Canyon Railway
The Grand Canyon Railway , is a passenger railroad which operates between Williams, Arizona, and Grand Canyon National Park South Rim.-Santa Fe Ownership:...
and its properties, including the El Tovar Hotel
El Tovar Hotel
The El Tovar Hotel, also known simply as El Tovar, is a former Harvey House hotel situated directly on the south rim of the Grand Canyon in Arizona, USA...
.
See also
- Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe RailwayAtchison, Topeka and Santa Fe RailwayThe Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway , often abbreviated as Santa Fe, was one of the larger railroads in the United States. The company was first chartered in February 1859...
and its Passenger train service - Dining aboard the Super Chief
- Blue-plate specialBlue-plate specialBlue-plate special or blue plate special is a term used in the United States by restaurants, particularly diners and cafes. It refers to a specially low-priced meal, usually changing daily. It typically consists of a "meat and three" , presented on a single plate, often a divided plate...
- Van Noy Railway News and Hotel CompanyVan Noy Railway News and Hotel CompanyThe Van Noy Railway News and Hotel Company was a business which developed at the beginning of the twentieth century to provide services to travelers aboard passenger trains...
- Harvey HouseHarvey House (Florence, Kansas)Harvey House of Florence, Kansas, also known under the older name of Clifton Hotel, was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1973.-History:...
in Florence, KansasFlorence, KansasFlorence is a city in Marion County, Kansas, United States. The city was named after the daughter of former Kansas Governor Samuel J. Crawford. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 465.-19th century:...