The Barstow Harvey House, also known as Harvey House Railroad Depot and Barstow station, is a historic building in

Barstow, California Barstow is a city in San Bernardino County, California, in the Mojave Desert of Southern California. Located in the Inland Empire region of California, the population was 25,415 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Barstow is an impor ...

. Originally built in 1911 as Casa del Desierto, a Harvey House hotel and

Santa Fe Railroad The Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway , often referred to as the Santa Fe or AT&SF, was one of the largest Class 1 railroads in the United States between 1859 and 1996. The Santa Fe was a pioneer in intermodal freight transport; at variou ...

depot, it currently serves as an

Amtrak The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, Trade name, doing business as Amtrak (; ), is the national Passenger train, passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates intercity rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous United Stat ...

station and government building housing city offices, the Barstow Chamber of Commerce and Visitor Center, and two

museum A museum is an institution dedicated to displaying or Preservation (library and archive), preserving culturally or scientifically significant objects. Many museums have exhibitions of these objects on public display, and some have private colle ...

History and architecture

The Casa del Desierto station and hotel was built in 1911 by the

Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway The Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway , often referred to as the Santa Fe or AT&SF, was one of the largest Class 1 railroads in the United States between 1859 and 1996. The Santa Fe was a pioneer in intermodal freight transport; at vario ...

to replace an earlier one built in 1885 that burned in 1908. The building is a synthesis of

Spanish Renaissance The Spanish Renaissance was a movement in Spain, emerging from the Italian Renaissance in Italy during the 14th century, that spread to Spain during the 15th and 16th centuries. This new focus in art, literature, Quotation, quotes and scienc ...

and

Classical Revival architecture Neoclassical architecture, sometimes referred to as Classical Revival architecture, is an architectural style produced by the Neoclassical movement that began in the mid-18th century in Italy, France and Germany. It became one of the most promin ...

styles, with a Moorish feeling as well. The concrete frame is faced with red tapestry brick and beige artificial stone. Majestic arcades and

colonnade In classical architecture, a colonnade is a long sequence of columns joined by their entablature, often free-standing, or part of a building. Paired or multiple pairs of columns are normally employed in a colonnade which can be straight or curv ...

s line the facade, providing shade from the desert sun. Red clay barrel tiles are used to cover the roof. Towers at the building's corners, and those of the central projecting bay facing the tracks, are capped with pointed roofs or painted domes. Francis W. Wilson is the architect credited by the

Historic American Buildings Survey The asterisk ( ), from Late Latin , from Ancient Greek , , "little star", is a Typography, typographical symbol. It is so called because it resembles a conventional image of a star (heraldry), heraldic star. Computer scientists and Mathematici ...

of the

National Park Service The National Park Service (NPS) is an List of federal agencies in the United States, agency of the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government, within the US Department of the Interior. The service manages all List ...

. Amtrak's Great American Stations site says that "according to contemporary accounts, the Casa del Desierto ... was designed by Francis W. Wilson of Santa Barbara, Calif." Earlier Wilson had designed the Fray Marcos hotel in

Williams, Arizona Williams () is a city in Coconino County, Arizona, Coconino County, Arizona, United States, located west of Flagstaff, Arizona, Flagstaff. Its population was 3,023 at the 2010 census. It lies on the routes of U.S. Route 66 in Arizona#Historic Ro ...

, and El Garces in Needles for the Santa Fe and Fred Harvey. The historic structure is the finest remaining depot-hotel in California, an elegant presence in the Mojave Desert beside the intermittent

Mojave River The Mojave River is an intermittent river in the eastern San Bernardino Mountains and the Mojave Desert in San Bernardino County, California, United States. Most of its flow is underground, while its surface channels remain dry most of the ti ...

. In the 1950s, the Barstow Harvey House was listed in the '' Green Book'' guide of business establishments that were friendly to African-American motorists. The Santa Fe closed the station in 1973. Casa del Desierto was added to the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

in 1975, and designated as a

California Historical Landmark A California Historical Landmark (CHL) is a building, structure, site, or place in the U.S. state of California that has been determined to have statewide historical landmark significance. Criteria Historical significance is determined by meetin ...

in 1976. It became derelict until bought in 1990 by the City of Barstow, then restored and repaired for more than $8 million following heavy damage in a 1992 earthquake. After completion of the repairs, several city offices moved into the building. The Barstow Area Chamber of Commerce & Visitor Center also operates out of the former Harvey House. Other public institutions located here are the Western America Railroad Museum on the east side and the Route 66 "Mother Road" Museum on the north side. , Amtrak plans to modify the platform for accessibility by 2026.

References

External links

Barstow station USA Rail Guide (TrainWeb)Barstow Route 66 "Mother Road" MuseumBarstow Area Chamber of Commerce
{{authority control Fred Harvey Company Barstow, California Museums in San Bernardino County, California Railroad museums in California Tourist attractions along U.S. Route 66 Amtrak stations in San Bernardino County, California Amtrak Thruway Motorcoach stations in San Bernardino County, California Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway hotels Former Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway stations Defunct hotels in California History of the Mojave Desert region History of San Bernardino County, California California Historical Landmarks National Register of Historic Places in San Bernardino County, California Railway stations in the United States opened in 1911 1911 establishments in California Railway stations on the National Register of Historic Places in California Neoclassical architecture in California Spanish Revival architecture in California

History and architecture

See also

References

External links