Route 66, Barstow train station

The train station in Barstow has a rich history.

The original Harvey House burned in 1908, and the current one was built in 1910, designed by architect Mary E. J. Coulter and built by Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railway.  Fred Harvey Company considered it to be their "premiere stop".   It was completed in 1910 and opened fully staffed on February 22, 1911.   According to many it is "the best surviving example of California's depot-hotels of the turn of the century."

I'm rereading a wonderful book "The Harvey Girls" that tells the story of Fred Harvey and the young woman he hired & trained to be his staff, not just at this station, but all of them he built.  We recently  learned that on 3/28/15 a few of the original Harvey Girls will be at the station to share their stories.

The day we were there was a rare sunny day for Terry & I and I seemed to be quite taken with the contrast of the intense blue sky with the different colors on the train cars.  It was an abstract day for me.