National Fred Harvey Museum
This uniquely charming building at 624 Olive Street was built in 1869 and was purchased by Mr. Fred Harvey in 1883.  The property was home to the Harvey family until 1943. 

After the American Civil War, many railroad companies were in fierce competition to open routes in the unsettled western frontier to the Pacific Ocean.  Travelers riding trains into the wild frontier had difficulty getting decent food, and often had to endure gastronomic tortures with high prices, and crude lodging. 

Fred Harvey opened restaurants and later hotels to better accommodate travelers along the routes of the Atchison, Topeka, & Santa Fe Railroad in the primitive Southwest. The Harvey House restaurants introduced meals of the highest level, served in pleasing surroundings, at moderate prices.  Similarly, Harvey House hotels provided clean, comfortable lodgings at reasonable prices.  The Harvey House restaurants and hotels (and later luxurious resorts) became the world’s first chain of hospitality providers.

His company was the first to have women food servers, who became the famous “Harvey Girls”.  They were glamorized in MGM’s 1946 movie “The Harvey Girls” staring Judy Garland.   

The mansion is currently undergoing extensive restoration and will reopen as the National Fred Harvey Museum.  Tours are available during the restoration process, however.  Contact the Leavenworth Convention & Visitors Bureau for tours or visit www.firstcitymuseums.org for more information.