Tarnished Gems

The historic Hotel Brunswick on Route 66 in Kingman, Arizona

The celebrity association is lengthy. At one of the hotels an impromptu reception was held for Clark Gable and Carol Lombard after their wedding in the spring of 1939. Edsel Ford and his travel companions had stayed at the hotel in July 1915. The neighboring hotel was the boyhood playground for character actor Andy Devine. In 1925 during the filming of Go West it was used as the headquarters for Buster Keaton’s film company. Charles Lindbergh and Amelia Earhart were guests. Legendary western writer Louis L ‘Amour did a bit of amateur boxing in the Sump, a bar in the cellar.

Today the forlorn old relics stand in stark contrast to the renaissance that is transforming the historic district in Kingman, Arizona. For at least thirty years there were half hearted attempts to give the Hotel Brunswick a new lease on life. In the mid ’90s the front portico was replaced returning the hotel to its original appearance, and a restaurant and bar operated on the ground floor. When the owners went bust, it sat empty for many years. The next investor gutted the downstairs, and began work on the rooms. And then he gave up on the project and put the hotel up for sale. That is the hotels current status.

There is a haunting beauty in the mezzanine of the Hotel Beale lit by a morning glow from the skylight. #jimhinckleysamerica

The historic Hotel Beale faces a very uncertain future. The owners don’t want to sell or to invest in the property. The city continues to try and facilitate a solution. Even though the owners recently replaced a few windows and added a touch of paint, the building is nearing a point where it could be cost prohibitive to renovate. The roof has been leaking, and as a result one corner of the upper joists and the floor joists are in jeopardy. There is extensive mold and as the hotel has a massive steam boiler in the cellar, a great deal of asbestos sheeting as well as wrapping on pipes. The saving grace is that the hotel is built on rock with extensive use of masonry. And the addition constructed in 1916 made extensive use of reinforced concrete.

For decades before its closure the hotel served as a flop house with little maintenance performed. For most of the next thirty years its primary function has been use as a storage facility. From furnishings purchased during the 1916 remodel to old gas pumps, snow tires, refrigerators, Vespa’s, refrigerators, car parts, barbershop equipment and tools the old hotel appears like a hoarders dream. Surprisingly many original fixtures are still in place including the wood check in counter with frosted glass, the switchboard and hotel safe.

The National Old Trails Highway at the dawning of Route 66 in Kingman, Arizona

Both hotels face an uncertain future. Both hotels are key to the continued transformation of the historic business districts. Both hotels could be transformed from tarnished gems into crown jewels.