4 October Haunted Places Series: Mizpah Hotel October 4, 2023 By sma Commercial Real Estate News Haunted Places Series, hotel, just for fun 0 HAUNTED PLACES SERIES: THE MIZPAH HOTEL October 4, 2023 | CRE News | just for fun, hotel, Haunted Places Series Location: Tonopah, Nevada Architectural Style: Renaissance Revival Built: 1907 One of the best things about investigating the paranormal is the opportunity to take a deeper look into the past. For our first entry of 2023, we take a brief look into the old West, the mining boom of the late 19th century, and a little town with a big history. Grab your trusty steed and saddle up! This week, we visit Tonopah, Nevada’s Mizpah Hotel. The Town While admiring the Mojave Desert, it’s hard to imagine why anyone would want to put down their roots in a place so inhospitable. Yet in the mid-1800s, a movement was pulling people to just these sorts of places. The promises of riches, a new life, and freedom seemed out there for the taking. And so people were flooding en masse out West for the treasures hidden in the hills of the coast. Dotted across California and Nevada, small towns cropped up to support the efforts of hard-working miners. One such settlement that cropped up in this way was the town of Tonopah. A Shoshone word, meaning something along the lines of “greasewood water,” Tonopah began with the discovery of a silver-rich ore vein after prospector Jim Butler angrily grabbed a rock, intending to throw it at his sleeping mule. When Mr. Butler realized how oddly heavy the rock was, he saw that he was holding a clutch of shiny-silvery stone, and his mule was sleeping on the beginning of one of the richest silver finds in the history of Nevada. From this discovery, Tonopah sprouted up from the desert and quickly became a point of interest. Tonopah attracted a fair amount of attention from notable luminaries of the age such as lawman Wyatt Earp, business magnate Howard Hughes, and heavyweight champ Jack Dempsey. In time, a hotel was built by some of the most successful real estate developers in the state. Designed by Reno’s George Holesworth, the five-story destination was called the Mizpah Hotel, and it was the tallest building in all of Nevada. The Hotel With its own bar and one of the first elevators in Nevada, the Mizpah Hotel was considered an opulent respite for travelers and, in time, a destination for gamblers. By the 1940s, the hotel featured a roulette wheel, slot machines, and a craps table. The Mizpah Hotel would have a connection with one vice or another throughout its entire lifespan. With its granite walls and Victorian-inspired decor, the Mizpah Hotel passed through many hands, but has kept its historic look while being adapted with modern amenities. Though the location has a wealth of history, perhaps its most well-known designation today is as “the most haunted hotel in the United States.” On the hotel grounds (and in its surroundings) many reports of spirits and specters have built up over the years, some whose identities have been attached to famous figures and others who have remained a mystery. As the legend goes, Senator Key Pittman died on the hotel’s premises just before his 1940 election and was kept on ice in one of the hotel bathroom’s bathtubs until his body could be transported. Some claim that the Senator never checked out of the Mizpah, attributing him to any number of ghostly sightings. Other than Pittman, there are stories of phantom children occupying the upper floors, laughing and playing pranks on hotel patrons. A silent soldier also roams the grounds, nameless and mysterious. Still, folklore tells of a few spirits with a bit more of a backstory, though their histories have not been confirmed. The basement is said to house two bank robbers, betrayed by their third partner during their heist which resulted in their deaths. They are said to be responsible for the unsettling feelings common in the lower floors, as well as the odd sounds frequently reported in the area. Perhaps most tragically, there is also the Red Woman, a spirit referred to as “Rose” who is rumored to be a former escort, murdered by a spurned customer. Rose, in particular, has been lovingly adopted by the Mizpah Hotel’s current owners, with her own “Lady in Red” room available for booking. Tonopah is quite the interesting anomaly today, with enough urban legends and folklore to make it a satisfying stop on any road trip. The town also features a historic mining park, where you can enjoy a self-guided tour, and a clown motel (in case the ghosts up the street weren’t enough of a fright). To book a night in the historic Mizpah Hotel, visit their website and schedule your visit today! For any non-clown related commercial or residential inspections, stick with National Property Inspections! Photo by Mitch Barrie, licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0 DEED Comments are closed.