Four people have been arrested after being accused of breaking into and vandalizing the historic but closed Casa Grande Hotel in Elk City, Oklahoma, that is being renovated.
According to a news release from the Elk City Police Department:
During the course of this heinous act, numerous historical artifacts were taken and the property sustained an extensive amount of damage. The loss of these items and the damage done to this historic landmark is significant to our community.
Through the combined efforts of the Elk City Police Department Criminal Investigations Division and Patrol Division, four search warrants were executed at separate residences within Elk City. As a result of these operations, four individuals have been arrested.
Investigators know that there are additional suspects were involved and the investigation remains ongoing.
The ECPD is asking that anyone with information to call Lt. Detective Vanessa Doty at 580-225-1212 or email colev@elkcity.com.
Local preservationist Don Mullenix provided more information about the case to Route 66 News via Facebook Messenger.
He said that all four suspects are juveniles, and all have criminal records. He added that one might be tried as an adult.
Mullenix said that Terry Archer, an accountant with an office in the commercial part of the Casa Grande, discovered the damage the evening of Feb. 27.
Security photos — which captured images of the offenders and uploaded them onto the internet before the cameras were destroyed — indicate the break-ins and damage took place a few days before.
Archer said damage was found on four floors of the building.
“They used the rocks and fossils to throw through windows and displays,” Mullenix wrote. “Turned over and ripped from the walls several displays and gift shop counters. They broke $14,000 worth of our new windows. They destroyed more than 100 98-year-old doors either by kicking out the panels or ripping them from the hinges. They threw chests of drawers and dressers from the balcony onto the displays below, damaging the terrazzo floor.”
He said the Elk City police are treating the building as a crime scene. After that, an inventory of what is present or missing from the hotel will be conducted.
Mullenix said local police “were very upset at the amount of damage, and they kept us apprised as to how things were going. We were surprised (and elated) they solved it in less than a week.”
Mullenix said donations toward the Casa Grande Hotel can be made through the Bank of Western Oklahoma, which has corporate offices in Elk City.
The Oklahoma City architectural firm of Hawk & Parr designed the four-story, Spanish Eclectic-style hotel. It opened in 1928 — shortly after U.S. 66 was federally commissioned.
It was considered the only high-rise hotel between Oklahoma City and Amarillo.
Casa Grande served as the site of the 1931 U.S. “66” Association’s National Convention.
It most recently served as a home for the Anadarko Basin Historical Museum.
It was designated to the National Register of Historic Places in 1995.
The building had sat mostly idle until renovation work began about a year ago.
The Casa Grande Hotel has its own page on Facebook where new developments are reported.
(Image of the Casa Grande Hotel in Elk City, Oklahoma, in 2015 by Crimsonedge34 via Wikipedia)
#/media/File:Casa_Grande_Hotel_Elk_City.jpg){kind=link}