Hotel Monte Vista

JohnHart · Mist Joined: 18 Mar 2008 Posts: 35

Hotel Monte Vista

Location: Flagstaff, Arizona

History: The Hotel Monte Vista opened its doors on New Year's Day 1927; the construction was funded through a public subscription legislation. It was designed and built by astronomer, V.M. Slipher. The hotel has a long and colorful past. In 1927, the hotel was home to Mary Costigan, the first American woman to receive her radio broadcasting license. She broadcast her show from her second floor studio, in room 105. In the 1930s, the hotel had a rather seedy side, it was home to more than its share of questionable individuals; from 1935 to 1940 there even a speakeasy complete with slot machines in the lounge.

In the 1940s and 1950s, when western movies were popular, the hotel was home to many movie stars. Some of the rooms are still named after their famous occupants: Carol Lombard, Humphrey Bogart, Bob Hope, Theodore Roosevelt, Clark Gable, Spencer Tracey, Zane Grey, Jane Russell, Bing Crosby, Gary Cooper and more. John Wayne, while staying at the hotel as a guest, claimed to have seen a friendly ghost in his room. The hotel soon became the place to stay for transcontinental travelers, hoping to get a taste of the Old West.

Hotel Monte Vista is the longest publicly held commercial hotel in the history of America, finally selling to a private individual in the early 1960's.

Haunting: There are numerous ghosts haunting the halls of the Motel Monte Vista. Guests staying in the Zane Grey room are often awakened in the night by a "phantom bellboy" knocking on their door or they may see the image of a woman standing at the door. The Gary Cooper room is reportedly haunted by the ghosts of two local prostitutes who were either murdered in the room or thrown out the window by vengeful wives, the story is unclear.

There are a variety of other ghosts that inhabit the hotel: the ghost of a bank robber that died in the lounge, the ghost of a longer term boarder of room 220, and a man who coughs throughout the night' just to name a few.
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John Hart
Vintage Computer Collector