By Kristy McCaffrey
Long before Flagstaff and Sedona became popular vacation
towns in Arizona, everyone visited Winslow and the La Posada Hotel for special
occasions. Built in 1929 by the Santa Fe Railway, it was the work of esteemed
architect Mary Jane Colter, known for the design of many structures at the
Grand Canyon. La Posada, however, was her masterpiece and favorite project.
La Posada is one of the last of a series of hotel-depot
complexes built across the Southwestern United States in a collaboration between
Fred Harvey and the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway. Designed for a
railroad traveling public, the original front door faced the tracks to the
south. It was thought that most guests would arrive by train and stay for
several days, so day tours to the Petrified Forest and Indian sites were made
available. For a fee you could get a driver, a guide, a picnic, and a custom
Packard or Cadillac touring car.
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| La Posada Hotel ~ Winslow, Arizona |
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Colter chose two patron saints for La Posada—San Pasqual,
Patron Saint of Feasts, and San Ysidro, Patron of Farmers.
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| Mary Jane Colter |
La Posada was officially a Harvey House. Usually, Harvey
Girls had a distinct uniform—black dresses with white aprons. But Mary Jane
Colter felt the uniform was too severe for La Posada so she substituted
colorful aprons with green, blue, or red backgrounds, quilted cacti, donkeys,
and snoozing, big-hatted ranch hands. La Posada was the only Harvey Hotel
allowed a non-standard uniform.
The kitchens of La Posada were the finest in the Four
Corners region. It wasn’t unusual in the 1930’s and 1940’s for hotel to serve
1000 meals a day. In addition to the main kitchen, there was a full bakery and
butcher shop, store rooms and freezers, china and linen rooms, and a lead-lined
walk-in humidor for cigars. They even refrigerated the kitchen trash to keep it
from smelling.
Most halls ran north-south to capture prevailing winds, and
guest doors were louvered to create convection currents. A wind tower exists to
capture warm air as it blows in from the southwest across watered lawns, where
it’s cooled, humidified, and pushed through public spaces in the hotel. Colter
filled La Posada with such passive solar details to keep the hotel comfortable
during Arizona’s hot summers.
Famous people who’ve visited include Howard Hughes (Winslow
was a TWA stop and he owned the airline), and Charles Lindbergh and Anne
Morrow, who resided during part of their honeymoon. They also stayed while
Lindbergh designed Winslow’s airfield (the world’s only surviving
Lindbergh-designed airport). Other famous guests: Albert Einstein, Will Rogers
and Diane Keaton.
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| Added to the list of visitors - me! |
Great post. Totally enjoyed learning more about history. Your picture is so cute.
ReplyDeleteThanks Ginger!! Have an awesome day. :-)
ReplyDeleteExcellent post. I enjoyed learning more about this hotel. I tell you, as viewed from I-40, Winslow does not impress me. However, the more I learn the history of the region, the more I think I need to get off the highway and take a look around.
ReplyDeleteRobyn Echols w/a Zina Abbott
Robyn,
ReplyDeleteThat's true of many places but especially in Arizona. It appears desolate and uninteresting half the time, but knowing a little history can really make it come alive.
Great post, Kristy - and fun photo of you. I leave reading about old hotels and especially Harvey Houses!
ReplyDeleteShanna,
ReplyDeleteIt sure was fun walking through it. We only came for dinner. I've already told the hubster we're returning for an overnight, if only to have more time in their fabulous gift shop!! Thanks for stopping by.