The century-old Hotel Beale and its rooftop sign in downtown Kingman, Arizona, are one of the most-photographed landmarks in the city, but it has been closed for nearly 20 years and deteriorating because of it apparently neglectful and intractable owner.
Kingman Daily Miner columnist Hubble Ray Smith lays out the problems with Hotel Beale, citing the city’s grant administrator, Bill Shilling:
Shilling said he’s heard rumors of offers made on the hotel, but they were rejected by the owner, Henderson Investments, which is controlled by the eldest son of Tedi Ronchetti.
According to the Mohave County Assessor’s Office, the current assessed full cash value of the hotel is $49,939. One offer was made several years ago by the owner of the Central Commercial Building.
The family twice applied for and received grants to rehabilitate the hotel, and both times they backed out by not providing the required matching funds, Shilling said.
“In 2015, during a revitalization meeting, the owners indicated they will not put another nickel into the property,” he said.
Keith Eaton, assistant chief of Kingman Fire Department and City of Kingman building official, said the building has been condemned, and the city is working with the owners to save the building.
“I would like to move forward with doing something, whether it’s the worst-case scenario, demolition,” he said. “Right now it’s affecting development and the look of downtown. We’d like to work with the family, who’s not really interested in doing much with it.” […]
“At this point, we’re working on coming up with options. But until the family allows that, we don’t have too many options,” he said.
The newspaper reports the hotel’s lobby, staircase and mahogany woodwork are in good shape, but few people have seen it. The property is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Hotel Beale, built in 1900, was acquired in 1906 by Tom Devine, father of western actor Andy Devine. So the hotel’s historic link to Kingman is two-pronged.
Restoring Hotel Beale won’t come cheap. It needs to be retro-fitted with a fire sprinkler system, along with asbestos removal and new windows to keep the pigeons out. That’s on top of the usual repairs to a building that has sat empty for two decades.
But Smith cites a restoration example in Hotel St. Michael, a seemingl white elephant in Prescott, Arizona, that became successful destination with a restaurant, shops and galleries. The restoration of La Posada Hotel in Winslow, Arizona, also comes to mind. Further east, the restorations of the Mayo Hotel and the Campbell Hotel, both in Tulsa, also are historic-restoration models.
This may be an unpopular opinion in some quarters, but it seems to be time for the city to seize the building as a nuisance, compensate the owner its fair-market value, nominally shore up the building to halt further deterioration and put out a request for proposals to turn Hotel Beale into a boutique hotel or some other mixed-use enterprise.
A precedent for this was set by Albuquerque. It seized the historic El Vado Motel in 2008, put out a request for proposals, and redevelopment of the property is underway. El Vado will reopen later this year or early 2018.
Seizing someone’s property may seem drastic. But the article makes clear the owner has no interest in preserving it. And if this standoff goes for much longer, Hotel Beale will not be salvageable. It’s inextricably linked to Kingman; city officials forever will regret the day it was lost.
(Image of Hotel Beale in Kingman, Arizona, in 2009 by teofilo via Flickr)
A landmark that would look good restored.
Once again, we see an historic Route 66 landmark held hostage by a hostile landowner. They’ve made it clear that they don’t give a tinker’s tap about the property and that nothing will happen unless they are paid off handsomely. First, I would ask the current owners how much they would take to simply walk away from the building. If the price is reasonable, then some entity should buy it, perhaps possibly even the City of Kingman. If a reasonable price cannot be reached through negotiation, then begin the process of condemnation and seizure as an eyesore and a public nuisance. This kind of anti-social behavior must be punished.
I was just about on board with the city intervening, until Lane said “This kind of anti-social behavior must be punished.”
OK, I’m still for saving the building, but I find the notion of “punishing” a land owner for doing nothing illegal repugnant.
There is also 1 problem nobody talks about…ghosts. From what I understand the problem is so bad, workers doing renovations have been chased out and refuse to return. A friend and his wife, settling a bet, stayed the night once and said it was terrifying, noices, objects being thrown at them, ghastly visions (or should it be “ghostly”?), etc. I don’t know but maybe the city should consult Scooby Doo first, sounds like its right up their alley.
Unfortunately seemingly simple fixes to a 3 story 120 year old, poorly ( actually not ) maintained structure don’t exist. And as there is a basement so there are actually 4 stories. For a city to seize a building is dubious and a huge liability to the city that actually takes this on. Many Arizonans are not fond of governmental overreach. Aside from the political/ethical backlash you assume the liability of a 119 year old building that is already condemned. What then? Most cities the size of Kingman are in dire straights when finances/operating budgets are concerned. What does a city strapped for finances do with a 4 story albatross? Should no developers see any potential in a renovation then the city would be stuck with the demolition costs for simple safety reasons.
The only thing worth salvaging is the lobby and staircase of the central lobby. All beautiful and relatively protected from the elements. ( as long as you consider dust a protective barrier. ) Cats, pidgeons and human derelicts have taken up residence, periodically, in a very dated building over the years.
Comparing a 4 story building built in 1900 to a single story building built in 1937
( El Vado ) with regards to seizure and converting to a destination are hardly fair or reasonable. The logistics of reconditioning much older multi-story structures far outweigh a single story affair.
I’m saddened that so many property owners think that merely owning a building is all they need to do. Maintenance is a responsibility that seems to have gone by the wayside in this instance. Nice enough folks, the ones I’ve met, but that doesn’t make you a building manager.
It’s time to get in and salvage what can be salvaged and take down what daily seems to increase as a liability and not an asset to the community and see what happens next.
I visited Beale in May 1998. The owner Tedi gave us a tour of the hotel, then in beautiful condition. I sat in the big, wide, wooden chairs on the second level, overlooking the first, where John Wayne once sat, and saw the lovely guest rooms where other notables had stayed, with pretty lacey comforters and period pieces. A local man sang for everyone at the beautiful bar. I will never forget it, and I hope someday this is the place that puts Kingman back on the map. We could have flown into Phoenix to see the Grand Canyon, but we hang onto the hope that something in Kingman will rise up to make it worth stopping and hanging around for. The family shouldn’t have to come up with matching funds. This place is a gold mine.