Editing Barstow, California (section)

===Museums===
[[File:USA 2012 0295 - Barstow - Western America Railroad Museum.jpg|200px|right|thumb|Western America Rail Museum exhibit]]

Barstow has a number of museums: Mojave River Valley Museum, Route 66 Mother Road Museum, the Western America Rail Museum, and the Desert Discovery Center. 
[[File:Desert Discovery Center Barstow in 1988.jpg|thumb|Desert Discovery Center Barstow in 1988]]
Once a year a family opens their Black History collection to the public and nearby Fort Irwin is home to the 11 Cavalry and ACR Museum. The [[Old Woman meteorite]], the largest meteorite found in California and the second largest in the United States, is housed in the Desert Discovery Center.

The [[Harvey House (Barstow, California)|Casa Del Desierto]], built in 1911 as a [[Fred Harvey Company|Harvey House]] hotel and train station, now houses the Route 66 Mother Road Museum, the [[Western America Railroad Museum]] and still functions as an (unstaffed) [[Amtrak]] station. The Barstow Chamber of Commerce sponsors an annual sandcastle contest in the dry riverbed across from the Harvey House.

====Barstow Station====
Opened in 1975 and operating 365 days a year, Barstow Station is built to resemble a railway station. The location serves 20,000 tour buses a year and is a popular stop for travelers on [[Interstate 15]]. It includes a number of gift shops, an ice cream parlour, a [[Panda Express]], [[Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen]], KHWY radio station, and a [[Greyhound Lines|Greyhound]] ticket terminal.

The [[McDonald's]] restaurant at Barstow Station consists of three side-by-side railroad cars—a reference to Barstow's railroad heritage. In September 1986, the restaurant was destroyed by fire when a customer's car burst into flames at the drive-up window.<ref>{{cite news|title=Fire Ruins Barstow McDonald's|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1986-09-17-mn-10621-story.html|work=Los Angeles Times|access-date=August 23, 2011|date=September 17, 1986}}</ref> In June 1997, the re-built restaurant received national attention when a gunman opened fire during a botched robbery, injuring several people and killing a nine-year-old girl. The gunman was mortally wounded by an off-duty police officer after the ensuing gun battle and later died in a hospital.<ref>{{cite news|title=Girl Killed in Botched Holdup at McDonald's|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1997-06-17-mn-4191-story.html|work=Los Angeles Times|access-date=August 23, 2011|date=June 17, 1997}}</ref>