The Barstow Harvey House

On the way to Vegas, I saw a sign along the highway for the Harvey House in Barstow. What?!? Having grown up watching Judy Garland in “The Harvey Girls” and playing my mom’s original sheet music for “On The Atchison, Topeka, and the Santa Fe” on the piano, it was a no-brainer that I would need to pull over!

Originally built in 1911 as Casa del Desierto, a Harvey House hotel, and Santa Fe Railroad depot, the architect credited with the design is Francis W. Wilson of Santa Barbara. He also designed the Fray Marcos hotel in Williams, Arizona, and the El Garces Harvey House in Needles.

Wilson’s station replaced the previous structure that had been damaged by fire in 1908. The front of the building that faces the street seems a bit standard; I wonder if it was a later addition?



Although it looks a bit weathered, I love the Barstow engraved into the stone on the back of the building:



Sunrise looked beautiful as it gave a golden glow to the tracks:



The building was closed when I arrived (it was EARLY!), but I still managed to get a few interior shots through the windows:







An ornate yet somewhat funky copper light fixture; could it be original?!?



The Santa Fe closed the station in 1973 and it went to ruin over the years as you would expect an unoccupied building to do. Casa del Desierto was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1975 and designated as a California Historical Landmark one year later. The City of Barstow obtained the station in 1990 and spent more than $8 million rebuilding/repairing/restoring it following the heavy damage it sustained from a 1992 earthquake. The historic structure is considered the finest remaining depot-hotel in California.

Besides functioning as the Amtrak Station, the building also contains The Barstow Area Chamber of Commerce & Visitor Center, the Western America Railroad Museum (on the east side), and the Route 66 “Mother Road” Museum (on the north).



It was fun to wander around the historic trains that surround the exterior:





A final shot from a bridge that spans over the tracks:



I’ll wrap up today’s post with a clip of Judy Garland singing the hit song from 1946’s “The Harvey Girls.”



See more Barstow, California photos at my main website.

“Get Your Kicks…

…on Route 66!” So go the lyrics of the 1946 song by Bobby Troup, recorded by Nat King Cole. Celebrating the road that went from Chicago to Santa Monica, it became a huge chart-topper. When I moved from Indiana to California in 1999, one of my goals was to explore the remnants of old Route 66. Once I got in my piece-of-s$%t vehicle, all I wanted to do was get to my destination and the original plan went down the toilet.

Driving back from Vegas, I saw a sign for the historic Harvey House in Barstow (coming soon!) and pulled off the freeway to explore. I discovered that part of Route 66 was nearby so of course I sniffed around there as well! I can’t say that I'd get any kicks in Barstow…the place looks more like it’s been kicked. However, there were still a number of interesting things for my camera to document, like the murals that adorn the main street of town (once known as Route 66).



I love the rusted remains of this old neon sign that once touted the Village Cafe and Motel:



Like the old Route 66 itself, the main drag just looks forgotten and neglected:



In even worse shape is the El Rancho Motel:





The Yelp reviews are not encouraging:

DO NOT COME IN HERE — A DRUG AND PROSTITUTION DEN.

One of the worst hotels I've ever seen makes the tenderloin in San Francisco look like Disneyland or the Ritz-Carlton.







The ghosts of a once thriving town do remain, like this tile entryway advertising what was once a drug store:



Good thing Bobby and Nat aren't here to see this place.

See more Barstow, California photos at my main website.