Harveycar Motor Cruises Through the Great Southwest.

Description

This exciting pictorial map of the American Southwest was produced in 1928, at the height of a national road trip buzz created by Fred Harvey and the Harveycar Motor Cruises company. Harveycars were custom-built tourist buses designed to transport passengers on multi-day trips.

The map depicts the entire Southwest, focusing on Arizona and New Mexico and large swathes of Texas, Colorado, and Utah. Its purpose was to support and sustain the excitement of a prolonged journey by automobile to this remote yet iconic landscape.

The main roads are shown as thick black lines, with legendary towns and cities set like pearls on a string. A bright red path stretching from Taos to Santa Fe, and from thereon to Albuquerque, indicates what the company labeled the “Indian detour.” The highlighting reflects a growing interest in the region’s indigenous cultures among American road tourists. This interest was stimulated by the majesty of the sites and actively branded by Fred Harvey and his company (for more on this, see the context section below).

The map is adorned with wonderful vignettes, showing both the dramatic landscapes one passes through (including, for example, The Grand Canyon) and various pictorial scenes with bucking broncos, lone cowboys, and the stagecoaches of old. Also shown are individual buildings, such as old missions and sites of great renown, like the Carlsbad Caves on New Mexico’s border with Texas.

Census

This map is scarce on the market and in institutional collections. While the OCLC shows no listings of the 1928 map, examples can be found in the David Rumsey Map Collection at Stanford (List no. 9796.000) and in a folder of oversized materials at the UNM Center for Southwest Research & Special Collections.

Context is Everything

The Motor Land Cruises was an innovative expansion of the Fred Harvey Company’s popular Indian Detours, developed in 1927 to cater to tourists seeking more extensive and immersive experiences in the American Southwest. These multi-day excursions offered comprehensive explorations of the region’s breathtaking landscapes, ancient ruins, and cultural sites and spanned New Mexico, Arizona, and southern Colorado. Fred Harvey, a pioneer in the hospitality and tourism industry, devised these longer trips to meet the growing demand from tourists keen to see more of the Southwest’s natural and historical wonders.

One of the most notable Motor Land Cruises was the Sierra Verde Cruise, a seven-day, 900-mile journey that began in either Santa Fe or Albuquerque. This cruise included visits to significant archaeological sites such as Chaco Canyon and the Aztec Ruins, where travelers could explore ancient Ancestral Puebloan structures like the impressive Pueblo Bonito and the restored Great Kiva. The journey continued to Mesa Verde National Park in Colorado, home to the famous Cliff Palace and Spruce Tree House ruins, offering a unique opportunity to stay in rustic cabins. The cruise then wound through scenic mountain landscapes, including Cumbres Pass and the Conejos Valley, before returning to Santa Fe via the picturesque Rio Grande Valley and the historic town of Taos.

In addition to the Sierra Verde Cruise, the Fred Harvey Company also developed a Motor Land Cruise to Carlsbad Caverns in southeastern New Mexico. This four-day, 750-mile trip focused on the awe-inspiring underground formations of Carlsbad Caverns, which had only recently become accessible to the public by constructing a primitive trail. The journey also included stops at other points of interest, such as the ruins of Gran Quivira, now part of the Salinas Pueblo Missions National Monument.

Although the Motor Land Cruises were popular, the onset of the Great Depression in 1931 led to their cancellation, with the Fred Harvey Company reverting to shorter, three-day detours. Nonetheless, these cruises remain a fascinating chapter in American tourism’s history, reflecting the era’s adventurous spirit and the American Southwest’s enduring allure.