Needles, California

 

I have purchased the requisite cheesy tourist hat above.

Needles, California is on the Colorado River, and was served by Steamboats. The photo below is from the Museum, showing the railroad bridge under construction.

The El Garces was a Harvey House.  These combination train station hotels and restaurants enabled train travelers to travel in comfort. 

El Garces Harvey House Hotel & Depot in Needles, California

El Garces, Needles, California by Kathy Alexander.

Early in the 1900s, when trains were the principal means of personal transportation, depots gave travelers the first impression of their local destinations and provided security and comfort for the railroad’s clientele. Design and materials were important to both surrounding communities and railroad companies. 

After the Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe Depot at Needles, California, burned in 1906, the railroad spared no expense on its new facility. Built to suggest a Greek temple and opened in 1908 to great admiration, El Garces was a freight and passenger depot with hotel and restaurant amenities. The depot was named “El Garces” in honor of Father Francisco Garces, a missionary who visited the area in 1776 and was the first known European to cross the Mojave Desert.

Designed by architect Francis S. Wilson, the luxurious depot featured large Mexican Fan Palms native to the site, surrounded by a two-story building with a distinctive symmetrical façade. Tuscan columns were placed in pairs that supported open-air walkways. The interior ceilings were decorative, and intricate egg-and-dart detailing edged the woodwork. Wilson’s use of the Classical Revival style, particularly popular on the East Coast and for civic and residential buildings, was unusual for a Western depot and lent an aura of sophistication to the small town.

One reason for the success of El Garces was its beauty. Another was its management by the Fred Harvey Company. Known as “the civilizer of the West,” Fred Harvey managed an extensive line of cafes and hotels along the Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe Railroad. Motorists also availed themselves of Harvey establishments, including El Garces, after constructing and marking the National Old Trails Highway during the 1910s. This highway often ran parallel to the railroad, providing a continuous automobile route between St. Louis, Missouri, and Los Angeles, California. Later, Route 66 would follow much of this same path.

Whether traveling on the Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe Railroad or along the National Old Trails Highway or, later, Route 66, patrons appreciated the quality of service that Harvey establishments provided. A Harvey-run restaurant or hotel often had the nicest dining facilities and friendliest service in town.