Harvey House Los Angeles
by Jenny Revitz Soper
Title
Harvey House Los Angeles
Artist
Jenny Revitz Soper
Medium
Photograph - Photograph
Description
In 1875, a businessman named Fred Harvey opened two restaurants in Kansas and Oklahoma along the Kansas-Pacific Railway. At that time, the railways did not serve food on trains and Harvey's restaurants quickly became popular with travelers. Within a few years, Harvey contracted with the Santa Fe Railway to build and operate restaurants at dozens of stops throughout the Southwest. The Harvey House chain operated until the 1960s and at its height included 84 restaurants stretching from Kansas to California.
This photo shows of the last of the Harvey Houses built in 1939 in Los Angeles by architect Mary Colter next to L.A.'s Union Station. Colter, who built a number of the Fred Harvey restaurants, drew inspiration from Navajo themes and her restaurants and hotels continue to be influential in Southwestern architecture. The glossy red and brown tiled floor of the Los Angeles Harvey House resembles a Navajo rug.
The Los Angeles Harvey House stopped operating as a restaurant in 1967 and the space is now rented out for special events and movie/music video shoots, although there is talk of spirited restaurateurs rekindling its old flame. The central dining room at the Harvey House is dominated by a large U-shaped lunch counter that used to be surrounded by built-in seating and is now used as a bar during events.
Uploaded
August 6th, 2016
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