Havasu Harvey House, Seligman Arizona

This is from an article I wrote in May 2008. I updated some information

Despite efforts to save the Havasu, the demolition of the Harvey House is completed. Built in 1905, the Havasu House in Seligman Arizona was approximately 60,000 square feet and was two stories high. The BNSF deemed the building, which sits about 25 feet from the tracks, at an unsafe distance from active railroad tracks.
The demolition supervisor, identified himself only as Mike, stated, “I was here in September and between then and the date we started the demolition, someone had gone through the building and removed the copper pipe”. The copper pipe was traced through a series of holes in the wall and removed by unknown persons. Part of the demolition includes salvaging timber, brick, metal and the tile roofing material. Several large metal steamers were salvaged along with metal pipes and screens from the building. The tile roofing was carefully removed and stacked on pallets.
Unknown to many people, some vagrants had taken up residence in the partially demolished building. Local residents were not surprised, “they hang around the back of the store, we had to keep the store doors closed to keep them out“ stated a local shop owner. Frank, another shop owner said “you know Mike really tried to get them [the vagrants] out of there. He even offered them food .” Despite the distraction the vagrants created, the demolition continued and one worker was assigned the duty of cleaning off the cement from the bricks and neatly stacking the salvageable bricks onto pallets.

The Seligman Historical Society attempted to have the bricks from the Harvey House donated to help fund the Cottage Motel. The Cottage Motel houses many documents and artifacts from the Seligman area. “In this day and age we have to cut costs, we have salvaged as much from this project as we could” said Mike. Part of the bid for the demolition project included salvaging building materials. According to the project supervisor, buyers were being sought for the salvaged roof tile. The prospective buyers were made aware of the significance of the tile and were seeking more information on the Harvey House.
Two days before the scheduled completion of the demolition, one of the workers had caught the last vagrant trying to escape from his encampment in the remains of the Havasu. The worker actually saved the vagrant from running into the train tracks; a short stout fellow that protested loudly when caught. The hero refused to have his photo taken, but said “We thought we had all of them out of the building yesterday”. Apparently some of the locals took in two of the vagrants relatives the prior day. The Havasu housed many people over the years and has many stories to tell.

To Don Grey, the Havasu is part of his heritage. His grandmother, Clara Stork, was a Harvey girl at the Havasu. His grandfather, Charles A. Greenlaw worked at a garage nearby. His grandparents met at the Havasu, fell in love and later married. Don inherited photographs from his grandparents and is retracing their travels. Many of the photos he inherited include photos of the Havasu. Don was given permission by the BNSF to take the last interior photographs of the Havasu prior to the demolition. Don has been documenting the final stages of the demolition.
The demolition was completed on May 29th. It is unknown exactly what will replace the Havasu. There is speculation that the property may be used as a maintenance yard.

The vagrant, little Havasu, is the last known occupant of the Havasu Harvey House. She is adjusting to her new life in California and doing what kittens do best; playing, eating and sleeping.