Santa Fes Fonda

For the first two centuries of Santa Fe's history, weary wayfarers were out of luck. Not only did the Spanish authorities enforce a strict travel ban on foreign visitors, but there was also no place to stay in the territorial capital. That all changed in the 1820s. When Mexico gained independence, a flood of traffic cascaded down the Santa Fe Trail, and the Plaza became a hub of hospitality and trade. From the Exchange Hotel to La Fonda, the inn on the corner of San Francisco Street represented one of the most welcome landmarks in the West. Author Allen Steele recounts stories of trailblazing pioneers and the lodging on which their daring depended.

For the first two centuries of Santa Fe's history, weary wayfarers were out of luck. Not only did the Spanish authorities enforce a strict travel ban on foreign visitors, but there was also no place to stay in the territorial capital. That all changed in the 1820s. When Mexico gained independence, a flood of traffic cascaded down the Santa Fe Trail, and the Plaza became a hub of hospitality and trade. From the Exchange Hotel to La Fonda, the inn on the corner of San Francisco Street represented one of the most welcome landmarks in the West. Author Allen Steele recounts stories of trailblazing pioneers and the lodging on which their daring depended.

This coffee table book covers the history, art, design, food, and hospitality of La Fonda on the Plaza in Santa Fe, NM over nearly 100 years.

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • Featured in the PBS documentary The Harvey Girls: Opportunity Bound The legendary life and entrepreneurial vision of Fred Harvey helped shape American culture and history for three generations—from the 1880s all the way through World War II—and still influence our lives today in surprising and fascinating ways. Now award-winning journalist Stephen Fried re-creates the life of this unlikely American hero, the founding father of the nation’s service industry, whose remarkable family business civilized the West and introduced America to Americans. Appetite for America is the incredible real-life story of Fred Harvey—told in depth for the first time ever—as well as the story of this country’s expansion into the Wild West of Bat Masterson and Billy the Kid, of the great days of the railroad, of a time when a deal could still be made with a handshake and the United States was still uniting. As a young immigrant, Fred Harvey worked his way up from dishwasher to household name: He was Ray Kroc before McDonald’s, J. Willard Marriott before Marriott Hotels, Howard Schultz before Starbucks. His eating houses and hotels along the Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe railroad (including historic lodges still in use at the Grand Canyon) were patronized by princes, presidents, and countless ordinary travelers looking for the best cup of coffee in the country. Harvey’s staff of carefully screened single young women—the celebrated Harvey Girls—were the country’s first female workforce and became genuine Americana, even inspiring an MGM musical starring Judy Garland. With the verve and passion of Fred Harvey himself, Stephen Fried tells the story of how this visionary built his business from a single lunch counter into a family empire whose marketing and innovations we still encounter in myriad ways. Inspiring, instructive, and hugely entertaining, Appetite for America is historical biography that is as richly rewarding as a slice of fresh apple pie—and every bit as satisfying. *With two photo inserts featuring over 75 images, and an appendix with over fifty Fred Harvey recipes, most of them never-before-published.

It is unknown when the earliest commercial lodging establishment came to Santa Fe. However, the first clear identification of a hotel at a specific site in Santa Fe dates to 1833, when Mary and James Donoho operated an inn on the site of what is now La Fonda on the Plaza, the Inn at the End of the Trail. This book presents an overview of Santa Fe hotels from the past and highlights the city's important remaining historic hotels. The chapters include key establishments that had their start in the early 20th century and continue in operation today. Most of them are still in buildings with considerable historic and architectural significance, such as Bishop's Lodge, La Fonda, and the St. Francis. A chapter on an iconic Route 66 motor court, which is now known as the lovingly preserved El Rey Inn, is also included.

Santa Fe: A Historical Walking Tour is a walking guide of the oldest capital city in the United States, a history of many of its key historic sites and buildings, and an examination of the invention of the Santa Fe Style. This book depicts the changes in the urban landscape of Santa Fe through a series of memorable historic and contemporary photographs. Walking along the tour route, the reader will trace these shifts, as well as explore the rich tradition and history of Santa Fe.As a historically diverse town, Santa Fe's architectural styles reflect the rich cultures of its inhabitants. Santa Fe: A Historical Walking Tour illustrates this fascinating history by examining the changes in the architectural canvas of Santa Fe. During the last half of the 19th century, city leaders and businessmen first discarded the Pueblo and Spanish styles, and then returned to these roots in the early 1900s as part of a conscious effort to develop a tourist economy.