The Most Famous Hoteliers of All Time, vol. 2

WRITTEN BY

Robert Woliński

COVER DESIGN BY

Robert Woliński

TRANSLATED BY

Joanna Zahorska

Copyright © Robert Woliński, First Edition 2022

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, without the prior written permission of the copyright owner.

ISBN: 978-83-961389-3-4

TYPESETTING AND TEXT MAKEUP

Studio Grafpa, www.grafpa.pl

Table of contents

Foreword

George Pullman | The constructor of the hotel on wheels

Fred Harvey | The gentleman who civilized the Wild West

Foreword

My adventure with the history of the hotel industry started back in 2003, when as a hotel manager with ten years’ of experience I wrote my first article on Kemmons Wilson – the founder of the Holiday Inn brand. It was published in a Polish hotel magazine called Hotelarz under the title of Rewolucyjna podróż (A Revolutionary Journey). Back then, the Polish publishing market did not offer any books about prominent figures of the lodging industry. To fill this gap, I started exploring the Internet and ferreting out all the information on hotelkeepers from different eras and parts of the world, analyzing their contribution to the growth of this profession and the entire hospitality industry. As a result, subsequently, biographies of Ernest Henderson, Ellsworth Statler, Charles Forte and John Willard Marriott were forged.

Eventually, I arrived at the idea of enriching these previous loose articles with more characters that would be then combined into a single comprehensive book. Originally, I intended to present biographies of sixteen famous hoteliers; however, the volume of my work grew progressively reaching up to thirty-six chapters. The ultimate version of the book, which I have titled The Most Famous Hoteliers Of All Time, took nearly fifteen years to write. Although in the course of this process I stopped working in the hotel business, the subject of this study has become my passion. A passion I have given my all heart to by dedicating lots of time to explore it. I wanted to create a valuable compendium of knowledge that would be factually correct, with every mentioned fact backed by a reliable source. Throughout those years, I have collected and read tens of books in foreign languages and thousands of online articles, including many digitalized press excerpts dating as far back as to the first half of the 20th century. Some of the previously written chapters had to be corrected later on after I encountered other significant information or when some of the protagonists passed away. All these efforts allowed me to hone my study to the minutest detail.

Since December 2021, the printed version of the book in Polish Najsławniejsi hotelarze wszech czasów has been available on sale. The release was financed using my own resources exclusively, without the help of any publishing company. Owing to the power of social media and word-of-mouth publicity, the entire first issue sold out within only three months. Good reviews provided mainly by people in the industry encouraged me to take up further steps to promote the knowledge about the illustrious hoteliers around the world. Up until now, Americans used to write about American hotelkeepers only, whereas the Swiss used to write about the Swiss ones; however, now, a Polish man decided to bring together all the stories and achievements of hoteliers of various nationalities in the form of one comprehensive study.

The digital English version of The Most Famous Hoteliers Of All Time comprises two volumes arranged into thirty-six chapters that unravel incredible stories of forty-one hotelkeepers. Among them, one can find builders, constructors, developers, hotel owners and managers, chefs and maîtres d’hôtel, as well as creators of new concepts, hotel brands and entire hotel chains. The study explains the origins of hospitality companies and hotel chains, such as Ritz, Hilton, Marriott, Radisson, Holiday Inn, Oberoi, Sheraton, Accor, Four Seasons, Days Inn, Residence Inn, Howard Johnson’s, Hyatt, Best Western, Trust Houses Forte and many more. Much space has been given to the true pioneers of the trade who have long been forgotten yet had an immense impact on the development of professional hotelkeeping. They raised exceptional buildings in difficult-to-access locations, ran them most skillfully and introduced innovative ideas and standards that are employed to this day, but most of all, they provided travelers with hotel services of good quality. These prominent figures undoubtedly improved the professional status of hoteliers and enhanced the prestige of the industry. I would like the publication The Most Famous Hoteliers Of All Time to serve as a tribute to the legends of the hotel trade worldwide who went down in history. For this reason, I dedicate this unique compendium of knowledge to all hoteliers around the globe eager to explore the roots of their profession and the standards that have been implemented in the industry over the years.

Robert Woliński

P.S. I do realize that my choice of protagonists is based on a subjective judgment and that many believe there are other hoteliers who also deserve a place in the pantheon of hotelkeeping legends. I fully agree with this view, particularly given that the factual resources that I have collected could easily provide the content for more volumes of this book. Will there be the third and fourth tomes of The Most Famous Hoteliers Of All Time? Time will tell.

1

George Pullman

The constructor of the hotel on wheels

This American industrialist and engineer became famous for creating a luxury hotel on wheels. His concept revolutionized long-distance train travel and has become a driving force for ventures such as the Orient-Express, Le Train Bleu and the Golden Arrow. However, he also went down in history as a wealthy capitalist whose pride and desire for total control over everything brought him success in his business, but also ruined his reputation and health. At present, his last name is associated primarily with the luxurious brand of Pullman Hotels.

George Pullman, 1831–1897

(Source: Pullman State Historic Site)

George Mortimer Pullman was born on March 3, 1831, in Brocton, New York. He was the third of the ten children of James Lewis Pullman and Emily Caroline (née Minton). His other siblings were Royal Henry (1826–1900), Albert Benton (1828), Frances Carolan (1833–1834), James Minton (1835–1903), William Eaton (1837–1839), Charles Lewis (1841), Helen Augusta (1843), Emma Caroline (1846) and Frank William (1848).1 Initially, his father ran a farmstead and later, he worked as a carpenter; then, he invented a method for moving buildings (a machine on wheels), which he patented in 1841. Young George grew up on a family farm Budlong; he discontinued his education in fourth grade and in 1845, he took up a job in a small general merchant store “Buck and Minton” for a monthly salary of forty dollars. The co-owner of the store was his mother’s uncle John Minton. At that time, the entire Pullman family relocated to Albion on the Erie Canal, east of Buffalo.2 George did not join them until 1848. First, he helped brothers Henry and Albert make furniture in a manufacture in Orleans County; then, together with his father, he was moving entire buildings situated along the Erie Canal, as it was being widened. When Lewis Pullman died in 1853, it was twenty-two-year-old George who took the responsibility for the business and the family, being his eldest unmarried son at that time.3

In 1856, he left for Chicago seeking new orders, where he managed to sign a contract for raising the Matterson House, one of the more popular local hotels, by five feet. A similar order was placed as regards a hotel named the Briggs House. Founded in a swampy area, Chicago was struggling back then with pervasive mud in the streets and humidity in households. Therefore, the municipal authorities decided to create a comprehensive drainage system and to install water and sewer works, and gas pipelines. To this end, the level of entire quartiers in the city, and thus also that of the buildings located there, had to be lifted by as much as ten feet. This was an excellent challenge for Pullman, who proved that his method made raising the level of entire brick-and-stone buildings possible. However, an endeavor on such a great scale required him to join forces with another entrepreneur of a similar business profile Charles H. Moore. Over the years that followed, the Pullman & Moore company they founded acquired many lucrative contracts in Chicago, executed at a rapid pace and in the very same manner. On a mark, 600 workers, all at once, were turning a jack screw, and once the building was lifted, its foundations were supported. The execution of this task took only five days and did not even call for the people who were inside the building to leave it. This is how in 1861 Pullman & Moore handled also the massive Tremont House, a six-story hotel covering almost one acre.4 George Pullman was proclaimed a genius and a local hero.

When attending to his business activities in Chicago, Pullman would often take a train, experiencing the inconvenience of a long commute (uncomfortable seats, noisy travel, filth, bad odor, hunger and boredom). At one point, he decided that he could offer society something better and started devising a new passenger railcar concept. The first sleeping car was flaunted by the Cumberland Valley Railroad, which in 1836 had already put into service a car with bunks at three levels named the Chambersburg. Two years later, the Philadelphia, Wilmington & Baltimore Railroad introduced convertible seats for use both during the day and in nighttime. In 1857, Pullman entered into cooperation with former senator of the state of New York Benjamin C. Field, who held the rights to build Woodruff’s sleeping cars in Western states. Under the name Field & Pullman, the two partners signed with railroads from Chicago, Alton and St. Louis, a contract for putting a more comfortable sleeping car into service.5 To implement his revolutionary idea, Pullman hired mechanic Leonard Seibert, who started from converting two cars of the Chicago and Alton railroad. Each of them was divided into ten open sleeping sections with top and bottom bunk beds, a blanket closet and two restrooms situated at the ends of the car. The walls and seats were upholstered in plush. The cars were illuminated with candlelight and heated with wood stoves. Back then, there were no porters and beds were made by the brakeman. Both converted cars cost Pullman two thousand dollars each; they linked Chicago and St. Louis, and were approved by the travelers.

Further improvements required much more capital that Pullman did not have. Tempted by the gold rush, he left for Colorado in 1860. There, he committed himself to several different businesses, including a gold mine and an ore crushing mill at Russell Gulch, a store and a bar in Central City, as well as a lodging facility, warehouses and a vehicle rental business for miners at Cold Spring Ranch. At that time, Field purchased and converted several Tremont and Southerner cars, and made them available for the Galena & Chicago Union Railroad. Three years later, Pullman returned to Chicago with a sum of 20 thousand dollars to further implement his plans.6

In July 1863, the partners bought from the Wason Car Co. a brand-new sleeping car for twenty thousand dollars. Christened the Springfield, it was nearly 56 feet long with the maximum capacity of fifty-six passengers. It comprised fourteen sections and two private rooms at the ends. In daytime, it served as a parlor with sofas arranged along the walls, which, once folded out for the night, turned into a comfortable place to sleep. Furthermore, passengers could use top bunk beds that were pulled down from the ceiling. They had mattresses and blankets at their disposal. The first modern car designed from scratch by Field & Pullman was the Pioneer, which rolled off the production line at the end of 1864. Even more luxuriant and convenient than the Springfield, it could accommodate up to forty-eight passengers in twelve open sections. The interior was outstanding owing to its dark chestnut woodwork, French plush upholstery, thick carpeting, velvet drapes, brass fittings and elegant chandeliers. Aside from compartments for the staff and a bed linen closet, there was also a spacious bathroom.

Though the Pioneer turned out to be a “miracle on wheels” of that period, due to nonstandard measurements (it was too wide and tall), no railway company would put it into use, as that would necessitate the raising of bridges and cutting platforms at train stations. Then, unexpectedly, the widow of Abraham Lincoln, shot in April 1865, came to Pullman’s aid, wanting to bring the Pioneer as part of the funeral train carrying the President’s body from Washington, D.C., to his resting place in Springfield, Illinois. The Alton Railroad decided to remove all barriers on the way of the funeral train and, by the end of the thirteen-day-long journey, Pullman’s car earned nationwide acclaim. Later, the Civil War hero General Ulysses Grant decided to use the Pioneer on his way back home to Galena, Illinois; hence, the Chicago & North Western Railroad was forced to make architectural adaptations on their tracks, too. By the end of 1867, there were as many as forty-eight sleeping cars of this kind were in use, operated by seven different railroad companies.7 In January 1867, Benjamin Field withdrew from the partnership and on February 22, the Pullman Palace Car Company was registered in Chicago with a major financial contribution of the steel magnate Andrew Carnegie. The supervisory board appointed George Pullman President of the company, who also handled advertisement. Production aspects were the responsibility of his brother Albert, whereas financial and legal matters were attended to by Charles Angell. Later, the latter embezzled thousands of dollars of the company’s money.8

The Pullman Palace Car Company became the owner of all the sleeping cars of the Michigan Central Railroad, the New York Central Railroad and the Canadian Great Western Railroad with George Pullman’s end goal to establish a single nationwide network of sleeping cars. Riding high on the waves of success, in 1867, he decided to launch the President on the market, the first luxury hotel car with a kitchen and a dining room. When it comes to the cuisine and the service, it could easily compete with the best restaurants in the country. A year later, it was joined by an original dining car the Delmonico, whose menu was devised by chefs from the famous New York Delmonico’s Restaurant. The kitchen, measuring eight by eight feet, was situated in the middle of the car and held a water container, a sink, a pantry and tables for preparing meals. Under the car, there was a refrigerator storing meat, fruit and vegetable supplies. On each end, the kitchen was adjacent to a dining area with six tables for four people each and the maximum capacity of forty-eight boarders who could dine all at once. The dining car was equipped with tablecloths, crystal tableware, silverware and china. Its staff comprised two cooks and four waiters in white suits.9 Subsequently manufactured hotel cars were christened the Western World, the City of Boston and the City of New York. They cost over 30 thousand dollars each.

Interiors of Pullman car (Source: Vintage News)

The interiors of Pullman’s hotels on wheels were designed in various ways. A parlor car comprised a spacious living room with a wide sofa, two mobile armchairs, a private restroom, a storage space for baggage and a closet. Since it offered the possibility to use three bunk beds for the night, it was particularly suitable for traveling families. The bedroom ensured a comfortable place for rest during the day and beds for two, including an upper berth unfolded from the ceiling. The sleeping compartment with a restroom was designed for a single person who wanted some privacy. In turn, a typical sleeping compartment could accommodate four passengers who went to sleep on full-size couchettes by unfolding the upper berths. Each hotel car had its own kitchen where gourmet meals were prepared. It was designed most excellently, with its small space allowing the personnel to bake, fry and cook on its one side, and store kitchen utensils and food products such as meat, fruit and vegetables, wine and spices on the other. A small kitchen like that could provide as many as nearly 250 meals a day. Pullman’s hotel cars provided all the luxury one could think of, never seen before: crystal chandeliers hanging from the ceiling, table lamps with silk lampshades, leather seats, plush upholstery, furry carpet flooring, lavish ornaments, top-quality bed linen, as well as improved heating and air-conditioning systems. All that made long-distance traveling a great pleasure. Another significant element was the excellent staff that ensured a wide range of services to the car passengers, greeted them, assisted in finding way to their compartments, verified their tickets, folded out the beds, cleaned the cars, polished shoes, ironed suits, sent letters and telegrams, brought meals on demand, etc. Passengers on board were overseen by a Pullman porter, typically a black former male slave from the South, trained specifically for that purpose. This is because Pullman believed that such men cost less, are naturally predisposed to serve people and experienced in this field, and perform their job eagerly, with no sentiment. Wealthy white passengers would often call a porter “George”, since at that time, servants were customarily named after their owner. Although many considered Pullman to be a racist, he was the greatest employer hiring Afro-Americans in the U.S. The latter saw the position of a porter as a prestigious, relatively well-paid occupation offering the possibility of travel and, most of all, a prospect of becoming part of the black middle class forming at that time. A Pullman porter had to observe rigid standards contained in a 127-page-long manual, practiced during fourteen days of a probation period.10

Many railroads, such as the Michigan Central Railroad, the Chicago and the Great Western, put these sleeping cars, hotel and dining cars into service. Nonetheless, Pullman never sold them; he would rent them including the staff, taking one percent for each ticket sold on such a car. In 1869, the Pullman Palace Car Company had over seventy cars in service at its disposal, acquired the Detroit Car and Manufacturing Company, as well as the business and patents of its eastern competitor the Central Transportation Company. In 1871, George Pullman together with Andrew Carnegie provided aid to the Union Pacific, which was in financial distress, and became a member of its supervisory board. This business strategy brought him a fortune. By 1875, Pullman had patents worth 100 thousand dollars, 700 cars in service and several hundred thousand dollars in the bank.11

On June 13, 1867, George Pullman married Harriett Amelie Sanger – daughter of Mary Catherine McKibben and James Y. Sanger, a construction company owner – with whom he had four children, namely, Florence (1868), Harriett (1868), and twins George Jr. and Walter Sanger (1875).12, 13 The Pullmans had a high social standing. For half a million dollars, they built a stately mansion on Prairie Avenue in Chicago, and would spend time in social clubs together with other rich families, partaking in social events. They would also often visit President Ulysses S. Grant and his wife Julia in the White House or their summer residence in Long Branch. In 1888, Pullman acquired an island in the Thousand Island archipelago in Alexandra Bay, which he then named after him and built there a family retreat the Castle Rest.

George Pullman would continuously take business trips across the U.S. and often to Europe. In 1873, he signed a train furnishing contract with the Midland Railway Company from England, whereas in 1879, he provided his dining cars to the Great Northern Railway, linking Leeds and London King’s Cross railway station. In turn, in 1875, he built a factory in Turin, Italy, with the intent to supply cars to the entire Europe.14

George Pullman displayed a strong interest in social reforms and wished to maintain good relations with his workers. He believed that by ensuring for them a safe, clean and cultural environment, they would reciprocate with their loyalty, integrity and high commitment to hard labor. In 1880, for 800 thousand dollars, he purchased an area of 3953 acres near Lake Calumet, 14 miles south of Chicago, close to tracks owned by the Illinois Central Railroad. He hired an architect Solon Beman and a landscape designer Nathan Barrett to create a model city next to his greatest planned factory – a place that would be free from poverty, filth, diseases, crime, prostitution and alcoholism. The construction work on Pullman City ended in 1884 and cost eight million dollars. The city had its own shopping center, a bank, a theater, a hospital, a post office, schools, parks, promenades and playgrounds. There was also a library of eight thousand volumes, a church and the luxury Florence Hotel with sixty rooms, named after Pullman’s favorite daughter. In all residential buildings, which looked exactly the same, gas lighting, an internal sewer system and optional systematic waste disposal were ensured. By 1893, the city population reached 11 thousand citizens, of which six thousand worked at the Pullman factory. This utopian city, which was a major attraction during the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition (1893), became a nationwide sensation. The press praised Pullman for his vision and charity work; in truth, Pullman City was part of a business empire that was also expected to be profitable (six percent for the city and eight percent for the factory). As the owner, Pullman wanted to maintain absolute control over everything in the city; for this reason, he implemented his own strict rules. No resident could own the house he lived in. He was paying rent for it and all the benefits, starting from eight dollars for a three-room apartment up to 18 dollars for a row house. Obviously, at least one family member had to work for the factory. Even the only church in the city, the Greenstone Church, was intended for rent, but the cost of rent was so high (300 dollars a month for the church and 65 dollars for a vicarage) that no denomination could afford it, and so the church remained empty.15 Pullman banned independent press, gatherings and charity organizations, as well as sale and consumption of alcohol (which was available only at Hotel Florence for its guests, exclusively). His inspectors would systematically walking from one home to another checking cleanliness, allowed to terminate a tenancy agreement upon ten days’ notice. He hired watchmen who reported all abuse of the rules that were in force in the city. Pullman ensured ideal living conditions, but had little to no respect for basic human rights. His workers would say, “We are born in a Pullman house, fed from the Pullman shops, taught in the Pullman school, catechized in the Pullman Church, and when we die we shall go to the Pullman Hell.”16

By 1890, the Pullman Palace Car Company was the ultimate success. It had taken over all the major competition including the Union Palace Car Company, the Marin Boudoir Car Company, and the Woodruff Sleeping and Parlor Coach Company, and entered the segment of second-class sleeping cars, that is, tourist cars. To satisfy this market, Pullman purchased sixty tourist cars from Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe, twenty similar ones from the Atlantic and Pacific Railroad, and a quarter of shares in seventy second-class cars from Union Pacific. These acquisitions allowed Pullman to adapt them to service various types of political rallies and conventions, and to provide accommodation for their attendees, e.g., 125 cars for the Grand Army of the Republic’s reunion in San Francisco, 55 sleepers for the Grand Sovereign Lodge of Odd Fellows in Boston and two hundred cars for the Knights Templars in St. Louis. With 12,367 employees, Pullman operated as many as 2135 running luxury cars and 286 second-class cars, which together provided accommodation for 100 thousand people a night. That is more than all the highly-ranked hotels in the America at that time combined.17

Sadly, in 1893, a nationwide recession ensued, causing a significant reduction in all lines of business and mass unemployment. Pullman decided to reduce costs in the entire company and cut wages by nearly one third while maintaining the rates for rent in Pullman City and store prices at the same level. What is more, he would deduct these rates directly from wages, which resulted in significantly lower payments for many workers. Once negotiations with the owner of the city failed, its desperate residents sought help from the American Railway Union headed by Eugene V. Debs. Since George Pullman, who opposed the concept of a labor union, refused to engage in any negotiations (he shut the factory down, locked his house and left the city), the workers declared that strikes on a large scale would take place on May 12, 1894. Meanwhile, the ARU blocked all trains of railroads that were using his cars. To crush the strike, Pullman put his political influence into play and received support from Governor of Illinois John P. Altgeld and U.S. President Grover Cleveland himself. To this end, National Guard and police troops were sent to Chicago from Illinois; together with the local gendarmerie and police units, they handled the protestors violently. Eventually, the strike ended on July 12, 1894 with hundreds of cars put on fire (the losses were estimated at 80 million dollars), numerous wounded on both sides, thirty fatalities, and a six months’ prison sentence for ARU President Eugene Debs.

These events had a severe impact on George Pullman’s health, who died of a massive heart attack on October 19, 1897. Fearing that his body would be defiled by labor activists, his family buried him at night at Graceland Cemetery. His body was laid into a lead coffin and then put in a tomb made of reinforced concrete filled with cement, on which a Corinthian column was set up.18

After George Pullman’s death, having investigated the reasons for the strike, the Illinois Supreme Court ordered in 1898 that the Pullman Company waived ownership of the city and that the city became part of Chicago. By this judgment, the city residents were allowed the possibility to buy their homes. The court decision was enforced by a newly appointed President Robert Todd Lincoln (son of President Abraham Lincoln), who managed the company until 1911, leading it into a new era of railroad cars, which were twenty feet bigger, cast in steel, with electric lighting.19 In 1934, the Pullman Company merged with the Standard Steel Car Company and changed its name to the Pullman-Standard Car Manufacturing Company, which manufactured its last car in 1982 for Amtrak.20

Pullman-modelled hotel cars appeared also on the European continent. This was owing to a Belgian named Georges Nagelmackers (1845–1905), who in the years 1867–1868 traveled far and wide in the United States and was highly impressed by Pullman’s cars. Upon his return home, he decided to create a network of similar luxury trains that would run across the entire Europe. In 1867, be brought to life a company named Compagnie Internationale des Wagons-Lits, which became the leading train operator in the course of a few years with famous trains such as the Orient-Express (Paris-Istanbul), the Nord Express (Paris-St. Petersburg), the Sud Express (Paris-Lisbon) or the Trans-Siberian Express in Russia. Wagons-Lits also created its own hotel chains, one of which was named the Pullman Hotels after George Pullman. When in 1991 the company became part of the Accor corporation, as part of a rebranding strategy, this hotel brand was gradually eliminated. Once modernized, the twenty-seven Pullman establishments were included in the Sofitel chain, whereas other twenty-five of them were added to the portfolio of Mercure.21 Nonetheless, in 2007, Accor decided to reactivate the Pullman brand, stating, “The Pullman name enjoys a heritage that is closely associated with travel and the new brand will target primarily business travelers. The Pullman hotels will be located in the world’s major cities and will offer all the facilities required to hold large-scale seminars and international conventions.”22 By the end of 2020, as many as 143 Pullman hotels were in service.23

2

Fred Harvey

The gentleman who civilized the Wild West

Stephen Fried wrote that he was “Ray Kroc before McDonalds, J.W. Marriott before Marriott Hotels or Howard Johnson before HoJo’s (…), Howard Schultz before Starbucks.”1 This is because he created the first chain of restaurants and hotels in the U.S., for which he set high quality standards. Fred Harvey was a culinary visionary and a missionary who spread the eating culture and good hygiene in places where barracks with disgusting food were referred to as restaurants, and where cottages with straw mattresses on the floor were considered hotels. The American West owes him not only the superb cuisine, but also wives. It was the legendary Harvey’s Girls that came to work there and settled in the area who contributed to the civilizational growth in these “wild” lands.

Fred Harvey, 1835–1901

(Source: Northern Arizona University Library)

Frederick Henry Harvey was born on June 27, 1835, in London. His father, Charles, ran a tailor workshop, while his mother, Anne, tended to their household and three children (a son and two younger daughters Eliza and Annie). Unfortunately, in 1843, the family business went bankrupt, and the Harveys moved into a rented apartment, first on Great Marylebone Street, and later at 16th Lisle Street in Soho. In his school years, young Fred stayed over his wealthy aunt Mary’s on Tottenham High Street.

At the age of seventeen, Fred decided to leave the country; in the spring of 1853, he sailed off to New York to seek new possibilities in America. He told his acquaintances that he left because he wanted to avoid getting drafted and being pulled into the conflicts fought by Great Britain in Burma and Crimea. In New York, he found a job as a dishwasher at the Smith & McNell’s restaurant for eight dollars a month. Over time, he perfected his skills serving also as a busboy, a waiter and a cook. He toiled and earned a better pay with every new job. He learned how to do the restaurant business from the owners of the establishment Henry Smith and Tom McNell. They taught him the truth about the importance of using fresh ingredients for preparing meals that were served, the value of sealing deals with a handshake and the power of cash. Not quite fond of bank loans, they would always end the day by settling bills and sharing the profits2. This early introduction into the world of catering services had a significant impact on Fred’s life down the line.

Fred Harvey spend eighteen months in New York. In that period, he learned that his mother fell ill with tuberculosis and died in August 1855 at the age of forty-eight. One year later, he used his savings to go to New Orleans, the culinary capital of the South; however, he soon concluded that it was not the right place for him. He then headed north to St. Louis, where he got a job at the hotel named Butterfield House. The owner of that facility Abner Hitchcock became his dear friend, a mentor and a sponsor when Harvey was filing an application for American citizenship. On July 27, 1858, twenty-three-year-old Fred Harvey officially renounced his allegiance to Queen Victoria and declared his loyalty to the United States. He also decided to enter into partnership with thirty-eight-year-old Irish immigrant William Doyle, who ran Merchants Dining Saloon and Restaurant at 10th Chestnut Street. The premises were situated on the first floor of a three-story building, whose other floors housed twenty-four rooms rented to travelers, guests and employees. Fred got set up in one of them. One year later, the business was prosperous enough for Harvey to leave his associate and visit his family in England. From there, he brought his father and younger sister Eliza over to America. He returned accompanied also by his new wife, a twenty-five-year-old Dutch named Ann. The entire family moved into the apartment over the restaurant. And yet, his father could not grow accustomed to the new location and returned to England, whereas his sister decided to stay and married Henry Bradley, a British immigrant who worked as an accountant.3

In February 1861, his son Eddie was born, and three months later, Fred’s normal life in St. Louis as he had known it was over. With the outbreak of the Civil War, the city was divided between the Union and the Confederacy. On May 10, the local police troops of Union’s supporters opened fire on protesting civilians, killing twenty-eight people, including women and children. At that time, his partner Doyle stole all the money they had made together (over 1.3 thousand dollars, which is about 33 thousand in today’s dollars) and fled to join the Confederates. At the age of twenty-six, Fred Harvey together with his wife and child were left destitute.4 Given the circumstances, he took his family and moved to St. Joseph, where he accepted a job offer from Captain Rufus Ford, a former client of his restaurant who ran a mail delivery business with steamboats cruising along the Mississippi River (Missouri River Packet Company). Many steamboats had restaurants and bars, and Harvey took care of them. The specific climate of the river would cause numerous illnesses, though. Fred developed typhus and was close to death. Although he did recover, the disease caused lesions in his digestive system. He returned on the boats and soon after, he accepted another offer of employment; in July 1862, he became a mail clerk working on railway cars of the Hannibal & St. Joseph company. His task was to sort mail on the go. On October 6, 1862, his another son Charles was born. Sadly, due to labor and delivery complications, his wife Ann passed away.

Four months later, on February 20, 1863, Harvey remarried. His new wife was Barbara Sarah “Sally” Mattas, nineteen-year-old daughter of immigrants from Czech. Apparently, it was more of a business deal in the beginning, and not a relationship based on love. She was in financial distress, he needed a wife and a nanny for his children. Once Fred had made his private life stable, he gave up work on steamboats to become an agent selling train tickets. For a year, he was acting as an agent for the Hannibal & St. Joseph Railroad, and in 1865, he was also offered work as an agent for the North Missouri Rail Road.5 Together with his entire family, he relocated to Leavenworth, Kansas, where he situated his ticket sales stand in the Planter’s House hotel. In that period, the Civil War came to an end, and the railroad expansion started. At that time, the growth of American cities was contingent on whether a train was passing though. Nonetheless, railroad tracks went around Leavenworth until 1866.

Sadly, Fred was hit by yet another tragedy; a pandemic of scarlet fever led to the death of his both sons (Charles passed away on March 2, 1865, whereas Eddie died nine days later). One year later (1866), a new member of his family, Ford Ferguson Harvey “Fordie” was born, and Fred found a side gig at The Leavenworth Conservative newspaper selling subscription and advertisements. He successfully combined these two occupations and continued to grow throughout that time. He renamed his stand in the hotel the Central Railroad Ticket Office and started offering tickets of various railroad companies. He hired customer service staff, while he himself became a mobile clerk. Right after that, he also employed more mobile clerks. In 1868, in recognition of his results, his bosses at The Leavenworth Conservative signed with him a new lucrative contract for three thousand dollars (fifteen times the average salary). Furthermore, Harvey established cooperation with other newspapers, such as the St. Joseph Herald or the Kansas Farmer, for which he sold advertisements, too. He invested the money he earned in real estate and granted loans. He also silently entered the restaurant business by acquiring shares in the American House in Ellsworth, Kansas, which was a popular hotel with a restaurant. When his wife Sally gave birth to their second child, daughter Minnie, Fred started providing services to the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy, a big railroad company that organized rail freight transport for farmers, miners and industrialists.6

In the spring of 1869, Union Pacific opened the first transcontinental railroad, which back then was the greatest accomplishment in America’s history. However, the comfort of travel did not improve with the growth of the country’s railway infrastructure. A savvy passenger himself, Fred Harvey personally experienced this. Trains were clamorous, with smoky, stuffy and filthy interiors full of vermin and mice. Meals were not served aboard yet, so travelers had to ensure some provisions for themselves, which was rarely enough for the entire journey; the only way in which one could satisfy his hunger was to use a catering outlet in the vicinity of a train station when the train was stopping there. However, the conditions at these facilities, especially in small towns, were stomach-turning. Rancid meat, cold beans and sour coffee brewed once a week were served there at a high price. The staff would often intentionally extend the time of service, so that customers did not have the time to eat their meals before the departure of their train. Uneaten food would end up back in containers, awaiting the arrival of next hungry passengers.7 These conditions discouraged many Americans from long-distance railway travel. Harvey saw in this a great opportunity for setting up clean restaurants along railway tracks, offering delicious cuisine at a reasonable price; railroad companies were not particularly interested in such investments, though.

When in December 1873 the family got bigger because of newborn daughter Marie “May”, Fred decided to enter into the catering industry on his own merits. However, as he did not want to risk the lucrative job he had at that time, he persuaded Colonel Jasper “Jepp” Rice, a proprietor of the Planter’s House from Leavenworth, to join this endeavor. The Harvey & Rice company shortlisted three locations along the Kansas Pacific Railroad, namely, Lawrence, Wallace and Hugo, Colorado, all three infamous for exceptionally disgusting food; having taken over the local dining outlets, they started reorganizing them. Harvey provided them with suitable equipment and furnishings, set his own standards, hired new employees and trained them. The results of these changes were soon to be seen. The restaurants became popular.

Soon after, Harvey and Rice realized they could not go on as business partners. They blamed each other for not giving due consideration to their joint business. Moreover, cooperating with Kansas Pacific proved difficult, and so Harvey decided to share his idea with some other railroad company. First, he headed to the bosses of the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy, but they did not want to engage in an undertaking of this sort. Nonetheless, they did suggest that he should turn to a newly-established, smaller company called the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe. Its president Charlie Moore had nothing to lose and agreed to participate in the joint venture. Initially, the AT&SF provided Fred with a twenty-seat dining car situated on the second floor of the train station in Topeka. Although the space was much smaller than any restaurant he had run for Kansas Pacific, Harvey managed to negotiate excellent terms. He got it with no rent to pay and, what is more, he convinced the company to cover the costs for all the utilities (gas, coal, ice and alike), ensure free transportation of food and workers, and fit backup facilities with stoves, heaters, sinks and refrigerators. Harvey was expected to pay for food products, the salary of the personnel and the furnishing of the dining hall (furniture, tablecloths, cutlery, glass and porcelain tableware). In return for the profits from the restaurant that he was allowed to keep, he had to amaze the passengers and the crew of Santa Fe trains that stopped in Topeka on daily basis. With a handshake, the two men sealed the deal (as written contracts were not in use back then). In January 1876, having turned the establishment upside down, Fred Harvey opened the first lunchroom at the train station in Topeka under the name the Harvey House in cooperation with the Santa Fe Railway. Its first manager was Guy Potter, a trusted long-time employee. The new facility attracted the attention of the local press right away. “It is the neatest, cleanest dining hall in the State, everything bran [sic] new. The crockery, cutlery and silver-ware of the choicest patterns, and the table supplied in the best of style. It was luxury to set down to such a table. A man who takes such pains to serve the public ought to be rewarded with liberal patronage.” wrote The Leavenworth Times.8 The facility was an immediate hit. It made a great impression not only on train passengers, but also on the residents of the town.

Fred was a manager at Topeka for nearly two years. Throughout that period he ran his three diners for Kansas Pacific and sold freight of various railroad companies. He was doing fine in his private life, too; his fourth child, son Byron Schermerhorn (named after his dear friend) was born. The AT&SF railroad expanded aggressively westwards in the U.S. at an increasing pace. Harvey found that to be the perfect moment for negotiating the acquisition of more facilities in Kansas. He started with Florence, which was a particular magnet for hunting and fishing enthusiasts. The most important restaurant with a hotel that was on the train path was located there. The takeover of the entire building was a complicated issue, as it already had an owner, a local entrepreneur. The Santa Fe Railway could buy it out, but back then, all the funds were spent on new tracks in Colorado. At that moment, Harvey played va banque. Right out of his own pocket, he paid 5275 dollars for the building, at the same time accepting Charlie Moore’s promise that the railroad company would pay the capital invested in the facility back and allow him to run it on the same rules applied in Topeka once the company’s financial condition improved.

In 1878, having taken over the establishment in Florence, Fred decided to make a more ambitious step, namely, to convert it into an elegant hotel with a superb restaurant. To this end, he needed a celebrity chef, so he brought over William H. Phillips of the famous Palmer House in Chicago. He promised him high salary and freedom in creating his own image. Together, they implemented new standards that Harvey planned to conquer the West with. They imported Irish tablecloths from Belfast, porcelain from London and silver platters from Sheffield. They created a new menu with most items on it being fish and wild game dishes, whereas the products necessary for making these courses were purchased from local fishermen, huntsmen and farmers. Soon after, the hotel in Florence earned high acclaim. Both guestrooms and tables were booked all the time. The personnel of the trains that stopped there five times a day would telegraph the restaurant staff to convey the number of passengers who planned to dine. This way, it was possible to prepare seats at the tables and the meals they ordered beforehand.

Harvey was so impressed by the commitment of Phillips, who influenced financial results of the entire business, that he decided to give him a share in the profits. Thus, he became the best-paid man in Florence, earning better than the head of the local bank. What is more, Fred expanded the facility by adding a three-story tower over the entrance, turning offices into hotel rooms and organizing the so-called sample rooms, where traveling salesmen could put their products on sale. He also created an internal water and sewage system, and changed the name of the establishment to Hotel Clifton. Then, he informed in the local newspaper The Herald, “Every Tuesday and Friday, the ladies of Florence can have use of the bath rooms at the Clifton Hotel (…) All other days the bath rooms are open to gentlemen.” The hotel became an important part of life in Florence – a place where local dance nights and other special events were held.9

The subsequent takeover of 1879 pertained to the train station hotel of the Santa Fe Railway in Lakin – the last stop before the Colorado state border. Albeit not as impressive as the previous one, likewise, it was characterized by excellent service, imported furnishings and fresh food. It was there that Harvey together with William Strong, the new head of the AT&SF railroad, bought a ranch of a ten thousand heads. Once offered a fourth restaurant in La Junta, Colorado, Fred decided to stop engaging in the management of catering outlets of their competitor Kansas Pacific. Ultimately, that meant he and his friend Jeff Rice could end the cooperation that had been taking a toll on their mutual relations for the previous several years. Though he cut his stable income off, he continued working as a freight agent for the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy, and was still making profits on the Santa Fe restaurant, the ranch and several real estate properties.10 In 1879, his daughter Sybil was born. At that time, Fred Harvey enjoyed the confidence of the railroad company to the extent that he was even asked to organize a temporary restaurant in Las Vegas back when the Santa Fe Railway had no train station built there yet. He set it up using three railway cars; although not quite impressive on the outside, inside, one could find the wonders known from previous Harvey Houses. There were even fresh flowers on the tables. Then, Fred Harvey took the risk of discontinuing work as an agent for the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy to commit himself solely to growing his own restaurant and hotel empire along the AT&SF railway tracks. In 1880, another Harvey House Hotel opened in Emporia, Kansas, and the Santa Fe Railway swiftly expanded westwards, laying their tracks across New Mexico and determining locations for more restaurants with Fred. One year later, Harvey opened facilities at train stations in Lamy and Deming, and took over the Mountain House hotel in Raton. Running a business there was not easy for him, as these places were wild and unpopulated, visited solely by railroad staff members, miners and common offenders. In particular, the restaurants in Deming and Lamy experienced frequent robberies and dine and dash incidents. Fred Harvey would go there to reinstate order, with no fear of talking to the cutthroats by making use of his English manners. He would lead troublemakers out the door but allow them to return once they calmed down. He successfully introduced, among others, the requirement for customers to leave their guns on a hanger before entering the main dining hall and for men to wear a coat at his restaurant, which he provided himself for those who happened to go without one (the “coat rule”).11

Harvey House at the railway station in Emporia

(Source: Internet)

The bosses of the Santa Fe Railway had more serious plans for Las Vegas than dining cars or yet another outlet at the train station. They wanted to take advantage of the new rising trend in the hotel industry and make money off of health tourism. The reason for this was the discovery of hot springs of health-promoting mineral waters in the vicinity of the city, at the foot of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains. From 1840, when a hospital and bathhouses were built, up until the outbreak of the Civil War, the facilities provided treatments to American soldiers. They were relaunched in 1870, this time, together with a new hotel called the Hot Springs. One week after the first train had arrived in Las Vegas, the AT&SF railroad company acquired the hospital and the hotel with the entire land and the surrounding buildings for 102 thousand dollars. Their intention was to build the first luxury health and vacation resort. With Fred Harvey successfully managing their depot eating houses, the Santa Fe Railway offered him additionally to run the resort that they wanted to set up. The project, called the Hotel Montezuma, was an enterprise on an immense scale. It was built in the popular Queen Anne style by the Jerome, Rice, Moore & Emery company from Kansas City at the cost of 300 thousand dollars. The four-story wood-frame building housed 270 rooms, a restaurant for 500 people, treatment rooms, a casino, a wine cellar, a bowling alley and a billiard room. Moreover, on the resort premises one could also find a park with walking trails, tennis courts, an archery range and even a miniature zoo. The hotel staff comprised employees brought over from the best hotels of New York, Boston, Chicago and St. Louis. The opening of the Montezuma took place on April 17, 1882, preceded by a visit paid by journalists of major national newspapers.12

In 1883, the group of establishments managed by the Fred Harvey Company was expanded with Harvey House Arcade Hotel in Newton, Kansas13, and the El Otero hotel in La Junta, Colorado, with forty-four rooms (thirteen of which had private bathrooms)14, three restaurants in Kansas (Arkansas City, Hutchinson and Wellington) and five in New Mexico (Albuquerque, Rincon, San Marcial, Vaughn and Wallace). What is more, the company moved its headquarters to Newton, Kansas, where it set up a central dairy, meat cold storage facilities and an ice manufacturing plant, as well as a steam laundry and a poultry farm. Nonetheless, as Harvey progressed into the new territory, some issues with the personnel arose. No civilized person wanted to work in the West, while those who he was in charge of often proved unreliable. They would come to work under the influence of alcohol, pick up fights and damage the company’s property. Such an incident occurred, among others, in the spring of 1883 in his restaurant in Raton, where drunk black male waiters accidentally shot one of the customers, an Indian of the Mojave tribe. Consequently, the Indian warriors occupied the establishment demanding their heads. Fred Harvey arrived at the eating house to mitigate the conflict, but fired the entire crew including the manager, nonetheless. He appointed for his position a young friend of the family from Leavenworth Tom Gable. It was Gable who later presented a groundbreaking idea of hiring women as waitstaff. Since the only women in the West were either saloon prostitutes or farmstead housewives with children, he suggested bringing over white bachelorettes from Kansas who were willing to work. Naturally, there were some concerns as regards their safety, yet they were outweighed by the prospect of a positive impact the fair sex had on men, both restaurant employees and customers.15

The Raton experiment proved successful and hence, Harvey decided to adapt the concept of female staff throughout the chain. He put job offers in the East Coast press seeking “white, young women, 18 to 30 years of age, of good character, attractive and intelligent.” The ladies were offered baseline salary of 17.5 dollars plus tips, room and board, and free train rides.16 He did not require any experience, wanting to train them in his own way. The response was very high, as at that time, women had a limited career perspectives. If they did have a career, they usually worked as teachers, maids, dressmakers or plant workers. In contrast, the Fred Harvey Company offered them not only the possibility to earn quite a penny, but also to experience an intriguing adventure. However, being a Harvey Girl was not easy, since Fred implemented very strict rules. Once selected, the women were first subjected to intense training that lasted for thirty days. Those who managed through that difficult period and met the expectations were offered a contract for twelve months. During that term, they were strictly forbidden to get married, while a breach resulted in a termination of the employment contract with immediate effect. Harvey Girls lived in dormitories, usually adjacent to a hotel. They were under rigid supervision of a house mother hired specifically for that purpose. Among others, they were expected to observe a curfew and return to their rooms by ten o’clock every night. They were obligated to wear a black-and-white work outfit comprising a long dress with sleeves and a collar, dark tights and shoes, as well as a hair mesh or a bow. During their service, they were not allowed to wear any jewelry or makeup, or to chew gum. Every breach of the rules entailed a fine and a loss of travel privileges. The girls toiled, while their eight-hour-long shifts were dictated by the train schedule. The utmost importance was put on timing and swift service that had to be completed within 30 minutes of a train stop. When a train was approaching the station, the first course was already on the table, and once guests had taken seats, waitresses took drink orders. This was followed by the serving of still-hot courses in large portions and desserts. The customers were given due care to ensure that they relished their stay at the establishment, and five minutes before the departure, a mark to take seats on the train was given. While waiting for passengers, the girls were not allowed to sit idly. They were expected to keep the facilities clean at all times. They were keeping their workstations in order, polishing appliances and tableware, folding napkins or dusting. If they happened to stain their uniforms, they had to change immediately. Fred Harvey would personally carry out unannounced inspections and a white glove test.17

It is said that Harvey civilized the West. His waitresses were the first significant female workforce in the country. Highly respected among the customers and the local community, they often became the dream of many working or traveling men. According to estimates, over a period of fifty years, nearly twenty thousand women found husbands and settled there. Harvey Girls were well-respected, self-confident and independent. Many of them worked long years in Harvey’s empire and had fascinating careers that would have been impossible in the East.

In the 1880s, Harvey’s business was doing well everywhere except for the Montezuma, which was experiencing low occupancy. The hotel’s issue turned out to lie in its image. Heavily advertised as a health resort, it was considered by many to be crowded with the sick, and hence people would not risk going there. On January 17, 1884, its poor situation was aggravated by a fire caused by the kerosene lighting system that consumed the hotel in whole.18 Fred was not particularly concerned about the future of the Montezuma because, although the establishment had brought him high acclaim, the way it was managed up to that point took a toll on his finances and mental health. He preferred to focus on what he was better at, that is, medium-size train station restaurants and hotels. This stance was not supported by chef Bill Phillips, who left the company. His position was taken by young Victor Vizzetti, an English cook of Italian origin brought over from the Clarendon hotel in Leadville, Colorado. At that time, all Harvey Houses brought Fred over 50 thousand dollars of profit on yearly basis (1.1 million in today’s dollars).

Hotel Montezuma in Las Vegas (Source: Palace of the Governors Photo Archive)

Yet, the insured Santa Fe Railway hired an architectural firm from Chicago named the Burnham & Root, and took action to rebuild Hotel Montezuma. The constructors entirely changed the design of the building, moving it half a mile further, giving it an L-shaped layout and adding a five-story dome with an observatory. It was also the first fully-electrified edifice in New Mexico. The designers claimed that this time, the Montezuma was completely fireproof. The facility opened on April 20, 188519, but Fred Harvey did not undertake the manager’s position for the second time. Meanwhile, he also came to the conclusion that at the age of fifty, he was not capable anymore of directing the chain efficiently on his own. With this in mind, he convinced his nineteen-year-old son Ford to leave college and start introducing himself to the business, while he himself went to England to improve his health. A few weeks later, he got word by telegraph that, yet again, Hotel Montezuma had been lost to fire (this time, due to a short-circuit in the electrical system) while his family was staying there. Fortunately, nothing happened to them. He returned to America with new strength, but several months later (February 1886), he left for England again. Over the next two years, Harvey spent more time abroad (in England and traveling across Europe) than at home. He could afford to do that, as he knew that his company’s position was stable. In his absence, the twenty lodging and catering facilities were directed by a trusted protégé Dave Benjamin and Harvey’s son Ford.

When in 1887 the Santa Fe Railway reached California by means of absorbing two other lines, namely, the Atlantic & Pacific and the California Southern, Fred Harvey acquired eight more eating houses overnight previously managed by the Stackpole & Lincoln company, and put them in order in accordance with his own rules. Furthermore, William Strong decided to purchase luxury dining cars manufactured by Pullman. Owing to the cutting-edge invention of vestibules, which allowed passengers move safely from one railway car to another in transit, Fred Harvey could render catering services not only at train stations, but also on the entire line from Chicago to the Pacific Coast. The new service, called “Meals by Fred Harvey” turned out to be a hit and contributed to the success of the Santa Fe Railway, which became both the most popular and the longest railroad lines in the world. Its next objective was to expand further east to Now York.20

Sadly, after the Christmas of 1888, pressured by members of the Santa Fe management board, its president and Harvey’s friend William Strong announced his retirement from his role. At that time, Fred faced a great danger, since the empire created owing to the agreement that was sealed solely with a handshake could fall apart in no time. Without delay, he interrupted his visit at his sister’s in London and returned to the U.S. to meet with Strong. They managed to secretly negotiate terms and on May 1, 1889, they signed a contract that allowed Harvey manage his facilities for at least five more years. He also received back cash in the amount of 100 thousand dollars (2.4 million dollars) for investments made in the recently acquired restaurants in California. Shortly afterwards, Strong’s former position was taken over by Allen Manvel, brought over from the St. Paul, Minneapolis & Manitoba Railroad, who, although could not nullify the agreement, identified legal loopholes that could discourage Fred from further collaboration. Since under the contract, the Fred Harvey Company had exclusive control over the restaurants and hotels west of the Missouri River, it did not mention anything about dining cars. Therefore, Manvel bought a few more of them and, under the guise of reducing travel time reductions, he prohibited trains from stopping at the train stations where Harvey Houses were located. Simultaneously, he took over catering services on the line between Chicago and Kansas City. Fred Harvey did not give in and hired George Washington Kretzinger, a high-profile lawyer from Chicago, to defend his interests, as he had much to lose. At that time, he was running restaurants and hotels in twenty-four locations across five states, two ranches with cattle and poultry in Granada, Colorado, and Emporia, Kansas; he also had 400 employees whom he paid the total salary of 250 thousand dollars a year (6.1 million dollars). When the negotiations that had been going on for over a year failed to bring about a settlement, the case was submitted to the court. In the course of the litigation, the Santa Fe Railway was not allowed to replace train stops at Harvey Houses with dining cars.

Given his strained relations with the railway company, Fred sought alternative ways to grow his business. For this reason, he took part in a tender for catering services at the final gala on the Dedication Day in October 1892 at the Columbian Exhibition, a world fair that took place in Chicago, winning together with the local Hotel Wellington. This greatest catering lunch in the history of the United States, which brought together over 60 thousand consumers, proved a great success of their joined forces. Unfortunately, a few months later in 1893, an economic crisis took hold, driving several hundred banks across the U.S. to bankruptcy. As a result of a chain reaction, a similar fate befell several thousands of companies, including over one hundred railways. The Santa Fe Railway, which changed its president three times in a short period, was facing financial problems, too. Both Harvey’s fierce opponent Allen Manvell and his successor George Magoun died of health issues. When in 1895, the economy started to recover, subsequent bosses of the railway had a more favorable outlook on the Fred Harvey Company. J.J. Frey wanted the company to return to rendering services for dining cars, while Edward Ripley invited it to negotiate terms for a new 10-year deal. Nonetheless, these were attended by Ford Harvey, authorized by his father who was in England. In return for obtaining the management of all the restaurants, hotels and passenger cars (including free lease, furnishings and transportation), Ford agreed to share the profits with the Santa Fe Railway at the end of every year. Moreover, he convinced Ripley to take over all kiosks at train stations, thus making himself the major reseller of newspapers, periodicals and cigars west of Mississippi. As a result of the new contract, the number of towns and cities where Harvey Houses were located doubled immediately.21 One of them opened, among others, in Dodge City, Kansas, in 1896, originally situated in two railway cars (one of which served as a kitchen, while the other was used for dining) with a tasteful, “Harvey style” interior design, where delicious food was served. In 1900, this primitive restaurant was replaced by a luxury hotel the Harvey El Vaquero. The two-story brick building with impressive furnishings housed forty-one rooms, a lunchroom for forty-seven people and a restaurant with 118 seats.22

Notwithstanding, Edward Ripley had even more ambitious plans. He was building a new line between Los Angeles and San Francisco, and in his mind’s eye, he saw Harvey’s restaurants across the entire California. What is more, he wanted to construct a chain of new hotels nearby all lines of the Santa Fe Railway, where guests could sojourn for a few days. Obviously, these hotels would be served by the Fred Harvey Company, too. A prototype of such an establishment was Hotel Castaneda in Las Vegas, New Mexico, opened on January 1, 1899. The U-shaped building in Spanish colonial style was designed by two Californian architects F.L. Roehrig and A. Reinsch. Its name derives from Pedro de Castañeda Nájera, the main chronicler of the southwest expedition run by Francisco Coronado in the years 1540–1542. The construction of the edifice consumed 110 thousand dollars, and another 30 thousand dollars were spent to furnish it. Offering thirty-seven luxuriously equipped rooms, a restaurant with 108 seats and a lunchroom for fifty-one customers, Hotel Castaneda was a true gem in Harvey’s entire chain.23

At that time, Fred Harvey’s health issues gradually deteriorated. After a detailed examination, doctors diagnosed him with colon cancer. In London, he underwent surgery in Dr. Frederick Treves’s private office, taking long time afterwards to recover.24 Sadly, after several months, he had a relapse. Severely enfeebled, he returned to America and departed on his last train voyage from Pasadena, California, to Leavenworth aboard a Pullman car specially prepared by the Santa Fe Railway. Passing his restaurants by on his way, he saw entire crews paying him a last tribute of respect. On February 9, 1901, Fred Harvey died in his home, surrounded by his closest family. He was buried at Mount Muncie Cemetery in Leavenworth.25

At the time of his death, Fred’s property was estimated at 1.2 million dollars. His last will was that his son Ford would take over the company, which back then comprised fifteen hotels, forty-seven restaurants, thirty railway cars, as well as ranches in La Junta and Emporia.26 Ford Harvey’s accomplishments further down the line were not at all less admirable than those of his famous father, and he went down in the history of the hotel industry, too.

Fred Harvey’s became the first wide-known and respected brand in America. First, Fred Harvey discovered the need for high-class restaurants and hotels that would render services for those traveling to the West, and then developed his own standards for running these establishments, requiring the staff to strive for perfection at all times. He made the code of conduct and specific procedures into a system of coursebooks, since, after all, everything had to be done “the Harvey way”. An employee had to know how to slice bread or how to brew coffee, when to wash sinks, how to dress, how to serve courses, how to clean, etc. Harvey perfected the code for serving beverages, commonly known as the “cup code”. Instead of jotting down drink orders, the waitress positioned cups in a specific manner that informed other girls who were pouring drinks which option was ordered by a given customer. For example, if coffee was ordered, the cup was sitting on the saucer; if milk was ordered, the cup was placed bottom up by the saucer; if the order was placed for ice tea, the flipped cup was leaned against the saucer. Harvey also had three variants for hot tea: if the cup was turned upside down on the saucer, depending on the position of the handle, black tea, green tea or orange tea was served.27

The menu at Harvey’s restaurants was devised in a way that made it possible to offer boarders different courses on every stop on the train path. What is more, meals were served in generous portions to avoid any complaints from customers with a bigger appetite. Harvey also introduced today’s special called the Blue Plate Special, a meal at a lower price and served on a blue sectioned plate with compartment separating the meat from the vegetables.

In Harvey’s empire, fresh ingredients for courses and beverages were sacrosanct. He himself persuaded managers to buy local fruit, vegetables and meat. While other catering outlets brew coffee once a day and reheated it constantly, his vacuum bottles were emptied every two hours and filled with freshly ground coffee brought directly from Chase & Sanborn in Boston. Likewise, oranges were pressed right before being served to a customer, and an employee could get fired if Fred found previously-made juice in the cold storage room. Unannounced inspections at the facilities were common practice. Harvey had a perfectly planned system for communicating with his facilities. At the beginning of each day, a restaurant manager would always present a report of the events of the previous day: how many steaks were done, whether butter was used, if they were any problems with the staff or suppliers, and so on. To this end, he used a telegraph. After all, all messages were encrypted so that even employees of the Santa Fe Railway could not decode them.

Fred Harvey had it engrained in his employees that every man who entered a Harvey House deserved to be treated with respect. Regardless whether they were visited by a white traveler, an Indian or a common criminal, the sole requirement was the right outfit and the right conduct. William Allen White, an Emporia Gazette journalist, wrote about him, “The more one sees the world, the more he respects Fred Harvey. He is Great American Caterer.”28 His restaurants, hotels and waitresses have become part of American culture. This was confirmed by the 1946 musical Harvey Girls produced by MGM, starring Judy Garland.

Endnotes

1. George Pullman

1 M. Theobald, Field & Pullman, Pullman’s Palace Car Co., Pullman Co., Pullman Inc., Pullman-Standard Mfg. Co. Pullman-Standard Co., www.coachbuilt.com.

2 George Mortimer Pullman, www.pullman-museum.org.

3 S. Turkel, Great American Hoteliers. Pioneers of the Hotel Industry, AuthorHouse 2009, 236.

4 M. McKinney, Moving Buildings with George Pullman, Classic Chicago Magazine, www.classicchicagomagazine.com.

5 George Mortimer Pullman, op. cit.

6 M. Theobald, Field & Pullman, Pullman’s Palace Car Co…, op. cit.

7 A. J. Bianculli, Trains and Technology: The American Railroad in the Nineteenth Century Vol. 2 Cars, University of Delaware Press 2001, 54–56.

8 George Mortimer Pullman, op. cit.

9 J. Quinzio, Food on the Rails: The Golden Era of Railroad Dining, Rowman & Littlefield Publishers 2014, 24–25.

10 Pullman Porters, History.com Editors, February 15, 2019, www.history.com.

11 M. Theobald, Field & Pullman, Pullman’s Palace Car Co. … op. cit.

12 In the 1890s, a young German man named Gustave Behring claimed to be Pullman’s son out of wedlock, which was firmly denied by the Pullman family.

13 George Mortimer Pullman, op. cit.

14 S. Turkel, Great American Hoteliers…, op. cit., 242–243.

15 The Town of Pullman, www.pullman-museum.org.

16 George Mortimer Pullman, op. cit.

17 S. Turkel, Great American Hoteliers…, op. cit., 246.

18 George Mortimer Pullman, op. cit.

19 M. Theobald, Field & Pullman, Pullman’s Palace Car Co…, op. cit.

20 Pullman Company, www.wikipedia.org.

21 Pullman Hotels and Resorts, www.wikipedia.org.

22 Accor Reports Strong Earnings Growth in First-Half 2007, www.hospitalitynet.org.

23 Accor Hotel Portfolio – December 2020, www.group.accor.com.

2. Fred Harvey

1 S. Fried, Appetite for America: How Visionary Businessman Fred Harvey Built a Railroad Hospitality Empire That Civilized the Wild West, Bantam Books 2010: xvii

2 Ibidem, 3–5.

3 Ibidem, 7–8.

4 Harvey Hotels & Restaurants on Route 66, www.legendsofamerica.com.

5 S. Fried, Appetite for America…, op. cit., 14–15.

6 Ibidem, 32.

7 M. M. Ambler, Fred Harvey: Founder Of The Chain Restaurant, www.streetdirectory.com.

8 S. Fried, Appetite for America…, op. cit., 50.

9 R. Walston Latimer, Harvey Houses of Kansas: Historic Hospitality from Topeka to Syracuse, The History Press 2015, books.google.com.

10 S. Fried, Appetite for America…, op. cit., 65.

11 R. Walston Latimer, Harvey Houses of Arizona: Historic Hospitality from Winslow to the Grand Canyon, History Press Library Editions 2019, 25.

12 R. Melzer, Fred Harvey Houses of the Southwest, Arcadia Publishing 2008, 31.

13 D. Bisnette, J. Gilliam, Images of America: Newton, Arcadia Publishing 2013, 30.

14 R. Melzer, Fred Harvey Houses of the Southwest, op. cit., 25.

15 A. Apron, Harvey Girls – the Other Pioneers of the American West, www.recollections.biz.

16 R. F. Graham, Pioneers of the West: How ‘young women of good moral character’ who became Harvey Girls at rail station diners in uninhabited areas helped create dozens of small towns across America, www.dailymail.co.uk.

17 J. Bommersbach, Harvey Girls, Truewest. History of the American Frontier, www.truewestmagazine.com.

18 R. Melzer, Fred Harvey Houses of the Southwest, op. cit., 36.

19 Ibidem.

20 S. Fried, Appetite for America…, op. cit., 120–121.

21 Ibidem, 143.

22 R. Walston Latimer, Harvey Houses of Kansas…, op. cit.

23 R. Melzer, Fred Harvey Houses of the Southwest, op. cit., 37–40.

24 S. Fried, Appetite for America…, op. cit., 159.

25 Frederick Henry “Fred” Harvey, www.findagrave.com.

26 M. M. Ambler, Fred Harvey: Founder Of The Chain Restaurant, www.streetdirectory.com.

27 J. Bommersbach, Harvey Girls…, op. cit.

28 Z. Haskell, Girl Power. Inside the myth that was the Harvey Girls, www.sfreporter.com.