Trails and Treasures Home Page  Road Trips  Searching for Fred Harvey, Fall 2006.htm

Williams (Fray Marcos)

The first Fred Harvey restaurant at Williams opened in 1887.  After the Santa Fe completed its spur from Williams to the Grand Canyon and opened the Fred Harvey-managed luxury hotel El Tovar on the rim of the canyon, the need for a hotel at Williams increased.  Designed by Mary Colter, the Fray Marcos opened in 1905 and closed in 1948.  Today it houses the Grand Canyon Railway's gift shop and offices.  The Railway built a new hotel nearby, so most of the building is not open to the public.  Just a few days before my visit, the owners of the Grand Canyon Railway agreed in principle to sell the Railway, including the Fray Marcos, to Xanterra, the National Park Service's concessionaire at the Grand Canyon and the holder of the Fred Harvey name.  Thus, there is a possibility that the Fray Marcos will once again be selling souvenirs with the Fred Harvey label and be more accessible to the public.

Santa Fe Reservoir (Bill Williams Mountain in Distance)

Elephant Park, Bird's-eye View, and Front Street

The building on the right with the five window arches was the Cabinet Saloon, built in 1893.  To its left is the Tetzlaff Building (now the Red Garter), which was designed and built in 1897 as a saloon and bordello with eight cribs.  It boasted having a two-story outhouse.  These brick buildings stopped the 1901 and 1903 fires which destroyed all of Saloon Row to the east.(left in the pictures.)