Mizpah Hotel

This article is about the hotel in Tonopah. For the hotel fire at the hotel of the same name in Reno, see List of hotel fires in the United States § Mizpah Hotel.

Mizpah Hotel
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
Mizpah Hotel
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Location	100 Main St., Tonopah, Nevada
Coordinates	38°4′6″N117°13′51″W / 38.06833°N 117.23083°W / 38.06833; -117.23083
Built	1905
Architect	M.J. Curtis
MPS	Tonopah MRA (AD)
NRHP reference No.	78001725
Added to NRHP	July 7, 1978 [1]

The Mizpah Hotel is a historic hotel in Tonopah, Nevada, U.S. It is a member of Historic Hotels of America, the official program of the National Trust for Historic Preservation. ^[2]

The Mizpah and the nearby Belvada Building, both five stories high, shared the title of tallest building in Nevada until 1927. ^[3] The hotel was named after the Mizpah Mine ^[4] and was the social hub of Tonopah. The hotel was pre-dated by the Mizpah Saloon, which opened in 1907, and was the first permanent structure in Tonopah. ^{[5] [6]} The hotel was financed by George Wingfield, George S. Nixon, Cal Brougher and Bob Govan and designed by George E. Holesworth of Reno, Nevada ^[5] (other sources state that the architect was Morrill J. Curtis). Brougher in particular was involved with the Belmont, Tonopah, Midway and Tonopah Mining Company and the Tonopah Divide Mining Company. Brougher owned the Tonopah Banking Corporation, which had an office in the lobby of the 1905 building, and was a director of the Bank of Italy in San Francisco. ^[7]

The reinforced concrete hotel was faced with stone on the front and brick on the sides and rear. The neighboring three-story Brougher-Govan Block, with rooms on the upper floors, served as the first Mizpah and remains connected. Cast iron columns were used in the windows and fire escapes. The three and five story buildings are joined with a wood stairway crowned with a skylight. Steam heat was provided, along with the first elevator in Tonopah. ^[5]

According to legend, Wyatt Earp kept the saloon, Jack Dempsey was a bouncer, and Howard Hughes married Jean Peters at the Mizpah. But Wyatt Earp left Tonopah before the Mizpah was built, Hughes was married in Tonopah, but not at the Mizpah, and Dempsey asserted he was never a bouncer. ^[8] The hotel nevertheless features the Jack Dempsey Room and the Wyatt Earp Bar. ^[9]

The hotel is said to house a ghost deemed the Lady in Red by hotel guests who have experienced her presence. Legend says that the Lady in Red is the ghost of a prostitute who was murdered on the fifth floor of the hotel by a jealous ex-boyfriend. Another widely accepted description of the events is that The Lady in Red had been caught cheating by her husband at the hotel after he had missed a train, who then proceeded to kill her in a jealous rage. The Lady in Red haunting of the Mizpah was featured in season 5, episode 2 of Ghost Adventures on the Travel Channel. ^[10] Other ghosts are also said to exist there and USA Today ranked the hotel first in its 2018 list of “Best Haunted Hotels in the US” as determined by readers. ^[11] It maintained a spot of seventh on that same list in 2022. ^[12]

The Mizpah changed hands several times through the years until Frank Scott of Las Vegas (who also built the Union Plaza Hotel) bought it in 1979. Scott updated the hotel with “all the modern conveniences,” acting as a bridge to the modern day, all the while preserving the antiquated romance that had first drawn him to the hotel. In all, the work took 2.5 years and cost almost $4 million. ^[13]

The hotel had been shuttered since 1999, but in early 2011, the hotel was purchased by Fred and Nancy Cline of Cline Cellars, Sonoma, California, who renovated and reopened the building to the public in August 2011. ^{[14] [15]} The newly renovated hotel has 47 rooms, a bar, and two restaurants; the Pittman Cafe and the Jack Dempsey Room. There are plans to renovate further rooms in the hotel annex. There is also a full casino, the Mizpah Club. ^[16]

See also

• Goldfield Hotel designed by Curtis and Holesworth

References

1. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places . National Park Service. April 15, 2008.
2. "Mizpah Hotel, a Historic Hotels of America member". Historic Hotels of America . Retrieved April 25, 2023. In 2023, the hotel had been a member since 2013.
3. Bryan, Eric (March 2012). "Ferris and His Big Wheel". Nevada Magazine. Archived from the original on 2017-10-07. Retrieved 2017-10-06.
4. "Tonopah and Goldfield: They Were the Hub of Nevada's Gold Rush". Rock and Gem Magazine. 2008-11-03.
5. Nicoletta, Julie (2000). "Tonopah". Buildings of Nevada. Oxford University Press. pp. 191–192. ISBN   0-19-514139-3.
6. Gold, Herbert (1982-06-27). "Tonopah: Survivor of Mining Days". New York Times. Retrieved 2008-11-03.
7. Monteiro, Joseph P. (February 1978). "National Register of Historic Places Inventory Nomination: Mizpah Hotel". National Park Service. Retrieved 2009-05-18.
8. Rocha, Guy. "Myth #34 – What Didn't Happen at Tonopah's Mizpah Hotel!". Nevada State Library and Archives. Archived from the original on 2012-03-19. Retrieved 31 July 2011.
9. Chereb, Sandra (2004-03-28). "Historic Mizpah Hotel will be restored to former glory by new investors". San Diego Union-Tribune. Retrieved 2008-11-03.
10. "Mizpah Hotel". travelchannel.com. Retrieved 2 October 2011.
11. "10 Best Haunted Hotels According to Readers" . Retrieved 22 March 2024.
12. "10 Best Haunted Hotels According to Readers" . Retrieved 22 March 2024.
13. "The Mizpah Hotel: Historic Restoration, Ghosts, and Tragic Ending?" . Retrieved 2021-09-14.
14. "Century-old Tonopah Hotel Re-open". My News 3 Las Vegas. 2011-05-24. Archived from the original on 2011-07-25.
15. "Family plans to breathe new life into Tonopah". Las Vegas Review-Journal. 2016-02-06. Retrieved 2016-08-26.
16. "Mizpah Hotel" . Retrieved 22 March 2024.

External links

• Mizpah Hotel