Replica of Hotel Castaneda sign unveiled

Hotel Castaneda in Las Vegas, New Mexico, on Sunday unveiled a new replica of a sign that graced the historic hotel’s main tower for decades.

The 1898 hotel hasn’t reopened yet, but the big moment Sunday serves as a major sign of the imminent revival of the former Harvey House. Hotel Castaneda probably will reopen to overnight travelers sometime in 2019. The hotel’s website states the building’s public space may reopen before the end of this year.

The hotel posted about the replica sign on its blog:

This is an exact replica per the 1898 drawings. The plans called for a black background with gold letters to set against the red brick tower.

The hotel posted this video of the unveiling:

It’s an excellent likeness of the original. Here’s an 1899 photo of Hotel Castaneda, when Teddy Roosevelt and his Rough Riders — many who hailed from New Mexico — reunited.

Here’s a close-up from the photo of the tower and its sign:

Allan Affeldt, the savior of the 1929 La Posada hotel in Winslow, Arizona, purchased Hotel Castaneda in 2014. He also owns the nearby historic Plaza Hotel in downtown Las Vegas.

The website contains this history on Hotel Castaneda:

This Harvey House was considered an absolute jewel in the Fred Harvey chain and was built as a luxury resort reached by passengers from the Atchison Topeka & Santa Fe Railroad whose tracks ran directly in front.

La Castañeda is one of the earliest Harvey Houses to be built in the Mission Revival style. The architects of this grand hotel and resort were Frederick Roehrig and A. Reinsch. The Rawlings Building which is across the street from the hotel and the Las Vegas train station was used during the period to house the Harvey Girls who staffed the La Castañeda. The Harvey Girls and their history is a unique part of the Fred Harvey tradition. Harvey Girls were held to extremely high standards and did much for the reputation of the Harvey Houses.

Las Vegas sits a few miles from old Route 66 but has become a common side trip for travelers exploring the 1926-1937 alignment of the Mother Road that looped to Santa Fe.

(Images of Hotel Castaneda sing unveiling via Facebook; 1899 image of Hotel Castaneda via New Mexico PBS)

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