Harvey House Museum -- Belen NM - History Museums on Waymarking.com

A humble (almost invisible) Southwestern style former ATSF passenger depot still serves rail passengers as the local office for the RioMetro RailRunner commuter passenger rail service to Albuquerque.

It is clearly overshadowed by this waymarked magnificent Mission Revival Harvey House, that was built to feed the passengers passing through Belen in the 1910. The two buildings are starkly different -- one utilitarian, and one magnificent.

Both are worth a visit. :)

From the Belen New Mexico website: (visit link)

"The Santa Fe railroad arrived in Belen in 1880, when Belen was just a small farming community. For the next 25 years, there was little train traffic through Belen, because the main rail line went west from Albuquerque. But in 1908 the railroad opened a new line that avoided the steep grades over Raton Pass. This new line was the Belen cut-off, and it routed many more trains through Belen. Belen began to bustle.

Rail passengers who stopped in Belen needed a place to get a good meal. So in 1910 the railroad built a Harvey House restaurant right by the railroad tracks. It was the 86th restaurant in the chain, operated by Fred Harvey. It contained a large lunchroom, a more formal dining room, a newsstand, kitchen facilities, a bakery, and sleeping rooms upstairs for the Harvey Girls who served the meals.

That Harvey House is still standing today. Inside you can find hundreds of memorabilia pertaining to the Harvey House and the Santa Fe Railway, as well as exhibits on early local businesses in Belen. The Harvey House Museum is one of the few places where you can learn about America’s first chain of restaurants. It is a fascinating story."

Theme: Railroad and Harvey House history Street Address: 104 North First Street Belen NM Food Court: no Gift Shop: yes Hours of Operation: Tuesday-Saturday 12:30 to 3:30 pm Closed Sunday and Mondays as well as all major holidays. Cost: 0.00 (listed in local currency) Museum Size: Small Relevant Web Site: [Web Link]

Visit Instructions:
In order to log this waymark in this category, you must be able to provide proof of your visit. Please post a picture of yourself or your GPSr in front some identifiable feature or point of interest either in the museum, or on the museum grounds.

Recent Visits/Logs:

Date Logged Log User Rating   10/20/2014 Benchmark Blasterz visited it