What to Do With the Havasu???

What You Get
The Havasu is a large building, two stories high and close to 60,000 square feet, with 60-some rooms in four wings. The building faces the east-west tracks (now just one each way) of its current owner, Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railroad, heir to the historic Santa Fe. (pretty soon I hope to get a photo of it up for you!)

The main (south) facade stands about 25' from the tracks, just far enough that safety regulations do not require the company to remain involved in its ownership and therefore BNSF will not participate in the building's renovation: it's sell or demolish. In other words, a privately owned Havasu would rest far enough from the tracks for visitors not to be endangered by the trains running by; BNSF recently erected a chain link fence to ensure safety of visitors and simultaneously protect the property from vandals. (This fence could be replaced with wrought iron, as at the newly restored Kelso Depot in California. Actually, I had a dream last week that this had happened!) Trains, including one Amtrak (passenger) run each way/day, pass just about every 20 minutes, day and night, and Amtrak would slow or stop at the Havasu if given a reason to do so. Between the building and the fence runs a brick-paved loading area, now partly covered in macadam but ripe for repair, or, for sale brick-by-brick to donors who would like to see their names engraved thereon. All windows are boarded or bricked up, all doors are locked.

Because it lies so near the tracks, and because trains pass so frequently, railroad buffs say they would especially enjoy overnight stays in the hotel rooms along the south face of the Havasu: they would not only hear trains passing but could look down on them from the half-timbered guestroom windows above track level or, in daylight, watch trains from the shaded portico that runs along the first floor. Broad eaves shelter bedroom windows from much of the afternoon sun but leave them dramatically free and open to sunsets. The view southward extends over fields where cattle graze, and the facade can be seen from I-40, which passes far enough away to mute road traffic.

Once upon a time the Havasu had grand gardens at its southwest corner, which may be one reason why the ground floor of all but the trackside facade bears no trim, while the second floor trim simply repeats the half-timbering on the main, south facade. BNSF cleared weeds and removed tree stumps when it installed the perimeter fence, to protect the building (and the town) from fire, -- the area is now entirely open. (How about a perennial garden of native species, or of iris, hollyhock, wild purple artichoke, and fragrant creosote, with water trickling somewhere for birds and rabbits; and paths and benches and a few shade trees for visitors?)

This week I heard another possible reason for the Havasu's lack of variation in architectural detail. Apparently La Posada and Needles were the "two jewels" on the trans-Arizona section of the Santa Fe track, with Seligman a commodious but secondary stopping point: less money went into it to begin with. The greatest visual effect rests in the main facade, with its dark timber trim, overhanging eaves, columned portico, and originally its ticket office, lunchroom, dining room (no longer standing) and reading room (now reincarnated on the Seligman Schools campus as a biology building).

Two of the Havasu's wings behind the facade contain guest rooms; the third held the kitchen and utilities (water, heat, electricity). The kitchen is a single room two stories high, with clerestory windows that once provided the only available light and vented the heat of cooking. The big stainless stoves, white-tiled walls and porcelain sinks remain, bathed in light and air from the windows. The railroad's well and tank still provide water for the town, along with our small (antiquated but functioning) sewer system. Several of the tall, lower level windows on this wing are broken or bricked up.

Finally, inside, the building's once magnificent dark woodwork -- the long, curving lunch counter, handsome newsstand and big mirror, gracious dining room, and carved bannisters -- these are gone, auctioned or otherwise removed. Ditto for furniture, tubs, sinks, etc., although some could still be retrieved locally. The red tile roof leaks in a few places but not extensively; floors seem solid, if worn. Doors and transoms remain, windows function. Nothing seems to hang from its hinges, so the level of disrepair doesn't seem staggering -- less to do than you might expect. All in all, potential investors have a very large building in surprisingly good shape. Now what to do with it?

What to Do With the Havasu?
If the Havasu's physical self remains pretty sturdy, consider also the following:

1. Today's unincorporated town of Seligman is very small. Could it support a large hotel? Strong leadership by example could change the situation, but its current five motels fill up only from early May until the end of summer, more in competition than cooperation or cohesion. At this point, the size of the Havasu is probably an impediment, given the realities (location, population, other resources) of the town.

2. Although passenger train traffic no longer exists, it could. The Havasu restored creatively could lift Seligman to the status of a destination, rather than a quick tour. A return to Fred Harvey's consistently excellent service, serious fine dining and gracious accommodations, along with the inclusion of a variety of entertainments (billiards, a spa, a bar with fine wines and ambiance, perhaps a player piano and periodic live music -- of which there's plenty locally to draw from), and a gift shop like that at La Posada in Winslow, one that goes beyond tee shirts and trinkets to original arts and crafts (locally available and eager for encouragement) -- Fred Harvey almost invented the commercially successful tourist-oriented "Indian store." Trail rides could be organized and run by increasingly out-of-work local cowboys and ranch managers, not to mention group trips to the Grand Canyon, both South Rim and North. Archaeological tours -- petroglyphs, pottery, arrowheads, Š lots of possibilities, and all awaiting savvy promotion.

3. The town has worked hard to draw Route 66 traffic. Tour bus drivers, scores of whom bring visitors here to see small town America, have urged the Havasu's restoration as a lunch-and-lecture stop. Staff and volunteers could be drawn from not only Seligman and its outlying developments but also from the growing populations of Ash Fork and Paulden.

All or Nothing?
There are a variety of ways in which a serious investor might develop the Havasu. But would one have to restore it entire? Maybe, maybe not. Certainly not all at once. Allan Affeldt has restored La Posada room by room; that's always a possibility here, too.

Or pick a part and let the rest go: the south, trackside wing is pretty big in itself, exhibits all the building's best features (lots of grand visual interest), and, as the former ticketing area, may have the most flexible interior spaces. Independent investors might develop other wings; if worse comes to worst, money may be available to help demolish what cannot reasonably be preserved. The extra space would also improve options for parking and landscaping.

Is this heresy? In other words, is it all or nothing? If the latter, would total loss really be forgivable?

I can see a humming, smaller establishment, a bed and breakfast with fine dining, a cocktail lounge with, yes, player piano and pool table, and a shop with real arts and crafts, all in the south wing, perhaps including the kitchen and utilities building. The size would complement the rest of the town, rather than overwhelming it; the Havasu would benefit from existing traffic and give that a boost in return. Beyond tourist rooms, few of these amenities exist in Seligman today. There might even be a flexible space created for local activities.

And Your IdeasŠ?
Has the Havasu piqued your imagination? Can you come up with different strategies, other approaches? How should the Havasu be utilized? How should it support itself? We're starting to get inquiries from potential investors -- how about you or someone you know? How can the Havasu be restored to a position in which it can pay for itself, so as to be around -- to live --for another 100 years?

Feel free to note your thoughts here (in the posting space for the Havasu Blog) or to email me at my new address: mary_clurman@yahoo.com. Meanwhile, I am volunteering out-of-state at another historic preservation site, hoping to learn better how to save the Havasu.

Mary Clurman
cell phone: 702-556-7417 (as of 6/25/2006)