Map of the Week-Dining in Gallup

Before Interstate 40, there was Route 66. Before Route 66 was the Atchsion, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway. Before Denny's there was Fred Harvey and the Harvey Houses, the world's first restaurant chain. Fred Harvey was an entrepreneur who opened restaurants in depots along the ATSF line under a contract from the railroad company. Many of these restaurants evolved into hotels.
When trains began to include dining cars Fred got the contracts to run those also. Eventually the company moved into airports, bus and ferry terminals and highway rest areas before being sold off. Most of the Harvey Hotels have been demolished, victims of the highway age.


This postcard mapped the Fred Harvey empire at an unspecified time period. The card includes mileages between cities and the motto "3000 Miles of Hospitality from Cleveland to the Coast." Thanks to Card Cow for the image.