Gadsden Hotel

Gadsden Hotel

1046 G Ave, Douglas, AZ 85607

The Gadsden Hotel was designed by famed architect Henry Trost. Trost dominated the architectural scene in the southwest and designed hundreds of buildings in El Paso, Albuquerque, Phoenix, Tucson, and San Angelo including the University of Texas-El Paso. He was from the Chicago School of Architecture and specialized in designing what he referred to as arid America. The hotel opened for business in November 1907. Imagine Arizona before it was a state and at a time when Wyatt Earp, Geronimo, and Pancho Villa rode roughshod over the west. The hotel provided gracious hospitality to the growing business brought in by nearby mines and the settling of the territory. The hotel soon became a meeting place for cattlemen, ranchers, miners, and businessmen. On February 7, 1929, a fire ripped through the hotel leaving nothing but the marble staircase. Like much of Arizona's old west figures and culture, it was just too tough to die. The hotel was immediately rebuilt but on a grander scale with no expense spared. Not many hotels of the day could boast about having an electric lift to reach one of its 4 floors. Travelers were amazed at modern accommodations. The lift, still in use, is one of the oldest manually operated elevators west of the Mississippi. The hotel was one of the first to feature individual bathrooms in all 160 air-cooled rooms. The hotel still has the original 1929 telephone switchboard; reportedly the first of its kind to be used in Arizona. Plans are underway to create a hotel museum highlighting the many historical and cultural aspects of the hotel. An authentic Tiffany stained glass mural runs a full 42 feet on one mezzanine wall, one of the few western scenes created by Tiffany & Co. A gorgeous stained glass skylight brings in the golden Arizona light and illuminates the impressive lobby. The grand staircase is white Italian marble as are the massive columns in the center of the lobby, which are covered in 14k gold leaf valued at $20,000 in 1929. Throughout the 20th century, the Gadsden was a happening place. Hollywood discovered the Grande dame and many movies, TV shows, and videos were filmed in the hotel and in Douglas. By the 1980s the hotel was showing her age, until successful North Dakota grain farmer and aviator, Hartman Brekhus and his wife purchased the hotel in 1988. Since then, Mr. Brekhus owned and operated the hotel up until 2016 when Mr. Brekhus passes away which left the hotel for sale. Local couple Rosa Anel and her husband Florencio, Lopez have always admired the Gadsden and understood its place in the community of Douglas. The Lopez decided to purchase the hotel in late 2016 and plan to renovate the hotel and bring it back to the prestige it once was. For more information about the hotel please visit http://thegadsdenhotel.com