The Goldfield Hotel is an historic four-storey building located at the southeast corner of Crook Avenue (U.S. 95) and Columbia Avenue in Goldfield, Esmeralda County, Nevada. Designed in the Classical Revival style of architecture by Reno architects Morrill J. Curtis (1848â€"1921) and George E. Holesworth (born 1854) of the firm of Curtis and Morrill, it was built between 1907 and 1908 on the site of two earlier hotels of the same name which had burnt down. Built in a U-shape in order to ensure outside windows for each guest room, the building has its west or main facade extending 180 feet (54.9 m) along Columbia Street with the north wing fronting 100 feet (30.5 m) on Crook Avenue and the south wing fronting 100 feet (30.5 m) along an alleyway. The ground floor exterior facades were built of grey granite stones from Rocklin, California while the interior first floor facade and all upper storey facades were built of redbrick. The top floor exterior facades were crowned with a white cornice. On March 4, 1981, it was added to the Nevada State Register of Historic Places. It is a contributing property in the Goldfield Historic District, which was added to the National Register of Historic Places on June 14, 1982.
History
Visiting Goldfield Hotel - The Goldfield Hotel was built between 1907 and 1908. It was once considered the most spectacular hotel in Nevada with carpet in its 150 rooms and private bathrooms in most rooms. The facades...
Built at a cost of between $300,000 and $400,000, it was reported to be the most spectacular hotel in Nevada at the time of its completion in 1908. Champagne is said to have flowed down the front steps in the opening ceremony. Its 150 rooms were fitted with pile carpets, many with private baths, and the lobby was trimmed in mahogany, with black leather upholstery and gilded columns. It also featured an elevator and crystal chandeliers.
The hotel was in use as such until the end of World War II, its last occupants being officers and their families from the Tonopah Army Air Field. Despite several renovation attempts over the years, it has remained unoccupied. At the 2003 Goldfield Days auction, the hotel was sold to Red Roberts, a rancher and engineer from Carson City. Roberts has plans to refurbish the bottom two floors of the four-storey hotel and open them to the public. As of October 2010, the hotel renovations remained uncompleted.
Goldfield resident Virginia Ridgway spent three decades as caretaker and "keeper of the keys" to the hotel, granting visitors access to the building and accompanying them as they toured its floors. In January 2016, Ridgway announced that she was giving up that role and turned the keys of the hotel over to Malek DaVarpanah, who owns an antique shop in Goldfield.
In media
The building was used in the film Vanishing Point (1971) as the site of Super Soul's radio station, KOW. It also featured in the film Cherry 2000 (1987) and the film Ghosts of Goldfield (2007).
In 2004 the American television programme Ghost Adventures featured the property, where cast members Zak Bagans and Nick Groff conducted a paranormal investigation.
Four years later, in 2008, TAPS of the popular Syfy show Ghost Hunters investigated the hotel.
A researcher for the Central Nevada Museum, however, notes that there are "inconsistencies" in the stories, and most apparently stem from a book written by a former owner of the property. The notoriety has not helped the hotel rehab and has led to frequent vandalism and unauthorised entry.
In 2011, Ghost Adventures returned to the hotel to conduct a third investigation, during which the crew observed a significant amount of unexplained activity. In that episode, Bagans learned that owner Red Roberts was in talks with people who were interested in buying the hotel. In 2013, the Ghost Adventures crew returned once again for a fourth investigation where, like their previous investigations, a lot of unexplained activity was captured.
See also
- Mizpah Hotel, designed by one of the same architects.
References
External links
- IMDB for Cherry 2000
- A Guide to the Goldfield Hotel furnishings list, NC1205. Special Collections, University Libraries, University of Nevada, Reno.
