MATTERS of TASTE
Turquoise Room’s ongoing success builds on its
Southwest strengths
G GAIL G. COLLINS
randeur never fades. In the case of the landmark La Posada Hotel, it has endured some humbling moments, but its prominence continues, true to its original vision. Fred Harvey Company completed the building of La Posada Hotel in 1930 to serve as the “Resting Place,” as its Spanish name imparts. Purposefully situated as a resort for northern Arizona, the hotel proffered the luxury of linens, china, crystal and, importantly, the flawless service synonymous with Harvey, who “civilized the West.” The hospitality tycoon developed and ran the hotels along the Santa Fe Railroad, marking La Posada as the finest in the Southwest. Grand Canyon artist and architect Mary Colter worked for Fred Harvey Company, designing everything from La Posada’s functional layout to its maids’ costumes and niche tableware. A fantasy backstory projected the property as a Spanish landowner’s grand hacienda, and attention to detail in art and artifice enhanced that image. Colter also fashioned the railroad dining car for the Super Chief, which ran from Chicago to Los Angeles, dubbing it the Turquoise Room. Starlets and icons, such as Shirley Temple, Amelia Earhart, President
20 Northern Arizona’s Mountain Living Magazine
Hopi hummus with piki bread.
