A fire first reported Tuesday afternoon destroyed the long-closed Palmer Hotel along Route 66 in Afton, Oklahoma.
The Joplin Globe in Missouri reported the fire was reported at 4 p.m. Tuesday. About 20 fire departments and 125 firefighters were called to battle the blaze, which continued to smolder 24 hours later.
So much water was used, it depleted the town’s supply.
KTUL-TV in Tulsa had some footage from the fire scene:
Midwest Emergency Photography posted a bunch of photos from the fire:
The newspaper provided some history about the hotel:
The Palmer Hotel once offered Route 66 travelers a place to stay with “hot and cold running water in each room” and “electric lights throughout” for only $2 per day, according to Route 66 historians.
Newspaper accounts from the time, according to Route66Times.com, put the opening in mid-March 1910. The hotel was located within two blocks of the train depot. The website lists Alvin and Lulu Maloney as the last owners and operators of the hotel.
The building once housed a hotel and cafe as well as a furniture store. Speer said the structure has been closed for decades.
Here’s a photo of the hotel and its neon sign two years ago:
While chatting with the now-deceased Laurel Kane across the road at her Afton Station years ago, she told us that several people had been on the cusp of buying the Palmer Hotel, but the owner would back out of the deal at the last minute.
(Image of the Palmer Hotel fire in Afton, Oklahoma, by the Cowskin Fire Department of Grove, Oklahoma; image of the Palmer Hotel in 2018 by Steve Walser via Flickr)
Well, there goes another one – nothing left to preserve or restore. And this is just the latest in a long series of examples of a derelict owner who lacks the financial resources to maintain an historic property but won’t let go of it. This “Dog in the Manger” attitude has destroyed many historic buildings. As it is, the current owners can collect the insurance money, tear down the ruins, and then sell the land. Ah, wonderful.
Is Usa (America) so poor it cannot compulsorily purchase such derelict but historic buildings, expel the vagrants who invade them, set fire to anything that will burn, and too often start fires that destroy the structures? Either history counts for something or – as we are seeing with mob rule across several countries – it counts for nothing.
By the way, what does “24 fire departments” mean? 24 separate fire stations? What if there had been another major fire.
Yes, America is too poor to buy all derelict buildings — especially when the government is going to have a deficit in excess of $1 trillion this year.
It is 24 fire departments, as departments can have multiple stations. If there’s another fire, such departments leave that fire, go to the more urgent one and call for mutual aid from other departments.
I’m a preservationist, but I would rather see public funds [at the federal, state, county and local level] go to the grossly underfunded schools and libraries, parks departments, not to mention maintaining roads, before buying all the derelict historic buildings.
Karen: You’re right; schools libraries and parks ought to come first but:
1) We’re not getting EITHER of those things under the current crime syndicate;
2) The People of the United States of America should not have to make that kind of choice. This country is NOT POOR; It’s bloated with wealth; it’s just all hoarded by the top 1-2% of plutocratic pigs who don’t care about the country;
3) The government should not be buying derelict buildings in order to protect them. That’s OUR job. Rather, property owners should be good stewards of their assets and think of more than just the money. As an example, I think of Kevin & Nancy Mueller who’ve not merely taken excellent care of the Blue Swallow in Tucumcari, NM, but actually invested in it and left it in better condition than they received it.
Now that the old Palmer Hotel has burned, what remains will probably have to be razed. The owners can collect insurance money to reimburse them for their loss of assets. In addition, since the land is probably worth more with the derelict building NOT ON IT, they can now sell the land for a higher price than before the fire. They win twice over.
I’m sure the property owners are very nice people but this whole thing stinks.