The National Fred Harvey Museum is the former home of Fred Harvey.  The house was built in 1869 for a local real estate broker.  Fred Harvey bought the house in 1883 and his family lived there until 1944.  Currently, the building is owned by the Leavenworth Historical Museum Association, Inc. (LHMA).

Fred Harvey gained national fame as the originator of the Harvey House Restaurants and Hotels, providing first-rate food and accommodations for AT&SF Railroad travelers along the entire Atchison/Kansas City-Lawrence-Topeka-Santa Fe Trail route from 1876 to the 1950’s.  The efficient and poised waitresses became widely known as “Harvey Girls”.

A National Register property, the building was to undergo a multi-phase rehabilitation project to return the home to its historical grandeur.  After the award of a Heritage Trust Fund Grant from the Kansas State Historical Society, the LHMA sent out an RFP requesting planning and development services for a new HVAC system.  CP&A, with extensive historic preservation experience, was awarded the project.  The goal was to preserve the home and to ensure the collection and artifacts be maintained in an appropriate climate-controlled environment.  

CP&A worked closely with the mechanical and electrical engineer, a collections consultant and the LHMA building committee to establishing temperature and humidity parameters.  CP&A coordinated the installation of the new hydronic heating and heat pump system in the least intrusive manner to the historic interior.  CP&A also located baseboard heaters and ductwork so as to not compromise future phased interior improvements.  The installation successfully maintained the historic character of the building while providing the required environmental comfort.