All Aboard for Santa Fe: Railway Promotion of the Southwest, 1890s to 1930s

In All Aboard for Santa Fe, Victoria Dye cogently highlights the central role played by the Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe Railway (AT&SF) in developing tourism in the Santa Fe area and creating a "Santa Fe Mystique," premised on the regional distinctiveness of its Indian and Hispanic cultures. Arriving in Santa Fe in February 1880, the railroad promptly endeavored to market the region's unique offerings, which included a healthy desert climate—ideal for visitors with respiratory ailments—as well as a birds-eye view of the "docile" Pueblo and Navajo cultures, seemingly frozen in time for eastern tourists to observe and enjoy. Dye establishes the close ties between the AT&SF and the Fred Harvey Company, the exclusive chain of restaurants and hotels that operated along the railway's route. Evidence of the reciprocal relationship between the AT&SF and the Harvey Company is their joint support of two successful tourist ventures: the La Fonda Hotel and Indian Detours, a motor-tour company that extended the Santa Fe experience from the train's platform into the heart of the Southwest.

According to Dye, the AT&SF not only drew upon an existing Santa Fe culture in its marketing campaign, but also fostered the development of the Santa Fe–motif by its support for Indian artisans, the incipient art community, the Santa Fe Fiesta, and the city's unique architecture and cuisine. The railway also played an important role in developing the city of Albuquerque, which was located directly on the railway's main line (Santa Fe was situated on an eighteen-mile spur). The Albuquerque marketing strategy stressed the city's growth potential as an industrial and commercial hub, while Santa Fe remained "quaint," a historic anachronism and homage to the region's rich cultural past. The strength of Dye's analysis stems from her ability to draw on the wealth of promotional material produced by the AT&SF and its affiliated companies. Further, her study includes numerous appendices, derived from business directories, which trace the growing hotel and curio trades in the city's early years. Also included in this short book is an array of illustrations, highlighting the distinct style and promotional strategies of the companies involved.

In the introduction, the author acknowledges the primary limitation of her book: it is not a "complete history of the Santa Fe Railroad, the Fred Harvey Company, or the capital city of Santa Fe" (p. 2). No doubt intended for a popular audience, Dye's work is unfortunately short on detail, context, and critique—it is not, for example, a highly critical assessment of the AT&SF or the practice of exploiting native cultures for profit. Besides noting that some of Santa Fe's early visitors came for health purposes, Dye provides little information on the "All" in All Aboard for Santa Fe, including how many of the period's growing middle class could afford the travel and accommodation rates to Santa Fe. Also difficult to gauge, according to the author, is the actual number of tourists, health seekers, and train riders attracted to the area in its early years. Given its limited scope, the book still provides a useful and insightful examination of railroad promotion in Santa Fe region from the 1890s to the 1930s.