{"nrhp_refnum":"75000458","name":"Harvey House Railroad Depot","other_names":["Casa Del Desierto"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"Santa Fe Depot","address_restricted":false,"city":"Barstow","county":"San Bernardino County","state":"CA","lat":34.90479301900007,"lon":-117.02473549399997,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1975-04-03","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Industry","Engineering","Transportation","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["state"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"Harvey House Railroad Depot, also called Casa del Desierto, is a combined railroad depot, hotel and restaurant in Barstow, San Bernardino County, California, built between 1910 and 1913 for the Santa Fe Railroad.","why_significant":"It is presented as an excellent example of the Santa Fe-style Harvey House, blending Spanish-Indian and Moorish elements, with design credit given to Mary E. J. Coulter. It is tied to Fred Harvey's railroad dining and hotel system and to the railroad history of the Southwest. It is described as one of the last surviving Harvey Houses and survived remarkably intact.","narrative":"Casa del Desierto, the Harvey House Railroad Depot in Barstow, California, is a railroad depot, hotel and restaurant complex built between 1910 and 1913 for the Santa Fe Railroad. It replaced an earlier wooden Harvey House that burned in 1908. Its walls are red cinder stone, its heavy archways are keyed into place, and its roof appears to be Spanish tile. The design reflects the Santa Fe style, combining Spanish-Indian forms with Moorish towers and archways, and credit for the styling and interiors goes to architect Mary E. J. Coulter. Local residents handled the grading and foundations, and Barstow craftsmen made the copper chandeliers and interior cabinetry. The building matters as a surviving example of the Harvey House system, which brought dependable meals and service to rail travelers through the Harvey Girls. It was listed in 1975 as one of the last surviving Harvey Houses, at a time when expansion of Santa Fe rail yards threatened it with demolition.","period_of_significance":"20th Century; built in 1911 (construction dated 1910-1913 in the narrative)","architect_builder":"Mary E. J. Coulter (credited for architectural styling and interior treatment); local grading and foundation work by Walter Alf and Seymour Alf","architectural_style":"Santa Fe style, blending Spanish-Indian architecture with Moorish elements","criteria":[],"status_note":"Form describes it as in excellent condition, unaltered and on its original site, but threatened with demolition for Santa Fe rail yard expansion. A 1979 newspaper editorial in the file says it stands vacant.","vacant_flag":true,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:55:31.298572-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_CA/75000458.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/75000458/ce03e39bc6-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/75000458/ce03e39bc6-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Miskatonic at English Wikipedia","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Harveyhouse3.JPG\" rel=\"noopener\">Miskatonic at English Wikipedia</a>, <a href=\"http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 3.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Harveyhouse3.JPG"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/123860760","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barstow_Harvey_House","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q2474214"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/california/san-bernardino-county/harvey-house-railroad-depot-75000458/"}