San Francisco Chief Dinner Menu

We’ve seen this painting before on a 1950 menu and a 1964 menu, not to mention the 1912 Titan of Chasms booklet and the 1950 Grand Canyon booklet presented here two days ago. Those other publications cropped the painting differently, so this is the only one that shows the artist’s signature (Leigh) and date of the painting (1908). Unlike most other Santa Fe menus we’ve seen, this menu cover also prominently features the Fred Harvey name.


Click image to download a 1.2-MB PDF of this menu.

The menu offers meals featuring salmon, fried chicken, Swiss steak, an omelette, and charcoal-broiled sirloin steak, as well as a chef’s salad and a hot beef sandwich. There’s no clear date, but a code at the bottom reads “4-11-6.” I’m inclined to think that means either 1956 or 1966, and the prices are closer to 1956 prices, so I would tentatively date this menu to that year.


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