[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 5 (Tuesday, January 29, 2002)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E45]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


       ``CELEBRATING THE 75TH ANNIVERSARY OF FURNACE CREEK INN''

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. JERRY LEWIS

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, January 29, 2002

  Mr. LEWIS of California. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to celebrate the 
75th anniversary of the Furnace Creek Inn, which has provided an oasis 
of hospitality in the midst of one of the most inhospitable places in 
the world: Death Valley National Park. The inn, which among other 
amenities has the first golf course in the California desert, is 
marking its 75th year in February.
  The harsh beauty of Death Valley has been recognized since 1933 when 
it was designated a National Monument. Within its boundaries are 
America's lowest point--280 feet below sea level at Badwater--and 
mountains that rise more than 11,000 feet. While prospectors found gold 
and silver nearby, the real treasure of the area was borax, which is 
still mined in the Mojave Desert today for uses ranging from detergents 
to oven-to-table glass to termite protection for lumber.
  Many Americans are familiar with the 20-mule teams that hauled the 
precious mineral 165 miles to the nearest rail line for the Harmony 
Borax Works, built by W.T. Coleman in 1882. The works were moved in 
1889 to Daggett, but borax mining was resumed in Death Valley in the 
1920s by the Pacific Coast Borax Company.
  Noting the success of Palm Springs Desert Inn as a resort, Pacific 
Coast Borax decided to enter the tourism business, and the Furnace 
Creek Inn opened on February 1, 1927. Los Angeles architect Albert C. 
Martin designed the mission-style structure set into the low ridge 
overlooking Furnace Creek Wash. Adobe bricks were hand made by Paiute 
and Shoshone laborers. A Spanish stonemason named Steve Esteves created 
the Moorish-influenced stonework, while meandering gardens and Deglet 
Noor palm trees were planted. The inn had 66 rooms by the time it was 
completed in 1935, along with a spring-fed swimming pool that has views 
of the surrounding mountains and valley.
  Tourism to Death Valley at the time surged in 1933 with the 
designation as a national monument. This meant that new, paved roads to 
and throughout the monument would be constructed, thus heralding 
automobile and tourist access to the site. In 1994 the area was 
designated a National Park, making it the largest park in the 
continental United States.
  Mr. Speaker, thousands of guests have experienced the stark grandeur 
of Death Valley in elegance at the Furnace Creek Inn. The current 
owner, Amfac Parks and Resorts, Inc., has completely refurbished the 
Inn and its amenities, preserving this unique hotel for future 
generations. Please join me in commending them and congratulating them 
on this historic occasion.

                          ____________________