[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 121 (Friday, August 5, 2011)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1505]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




   ON THE OCCASION OF THE 100TH BIRTHDAY CELEBRATION OF THE CASA DEL 
                        DESIERTO (HARVEY HOUSE)

                                 ______
                                 

                     HON. HOWARD P. ``BUCK'' McKEON

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                         Friday, August 5, 2011

  Mr. McKEON. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the Casa Del 
Desierto, a historical Harvey House located in the city of Barstow, CA, 
on the occasion of its 100th birthday.
  One of eighty four Harvey Houses stretching along the Santa Fe 
Railway from Kansas to California, the Casa Del Desierto was designed 
by Fred Harvey Company architect Mary Colter and was constructed in 
1911 by the Santa Fe Railway. Its distinctive Spanish Renaissance and 
Classical Revival architecture stands as a lasting legacy of America's 
westward expansion in the Mojave Desert.
  Harvey Houses revolutionized the service delivery to railroad 
companies, businessmen, and families making the long journey out west. 
Prior to the development of the Fred Harvey Company establishments, 
travelers were forced to choose from roadside establishments with 
limited options for dining and lodging. The Harvey House model included 
standardized, quality, sizable meals, and eventually lodging at some of 
the larger Houses. At the beginning of the twentieth century there was 
a Harvey House located nearly every 100 miles along the Santa Fe 
Railway.
  In 1975 the Casa Del Desierto was declared a national landmark on the 
National Register of Historic Places and in the 1990s the City of 
Barstow undertook a sizable restoration of the building, ensuring that 
the proud history of the west can be shared with generations to come. 
The building is now the home to the Barstow Chamber of Commerce, the 
Route 66 Museum, and the Western American Railroad Museum.
  I am proud to join with the City of Barstow to recognize the Casa Del 
Desierto on their centennial and trust that because of the great 
efforts of the residents of Barstow to preserve their western heritage, 
our children and grandchildren will be able to enjoy and learn about 
our storied past.

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