Today is June 3rd my name is Tom Heath and you’re listening to “Life Along the Streetcar”. This week we discuss looking back to know where we’re headed and get way too philosophical for a Sunday morning community radio show.
The usual basis for an estimate of the worth of a hotel is the opinion of it expressed by the guests. And according to the Arizona Daily Star poll of guests staying at Tucson’s newest hotel, “nearly all had nothing but praise for the entire management. The rooms are so comfortable, homelike, like and pleasant that there is nothing more to be desired in that direction.” Mighty high praise for a hotel.
This was the article that appeared in the Arizona Daily Star in Feb 1897 shortly after the Orndorff Hotel opened in Tucson. The arrival of the railroad to Tucson in 1880 created a tourist boom which hoteliers capitalized on. The Orndorff was held in high regard and kept high standards. So much so their slogan was “Try us out. if we suit, you can tell us. And if you don’t suit us, we will tell you”. Clearly, the proprietor was balancing a first-class establishment in the midst of the wild west.
The Orndorff is long gone from the Tucson list of finer hotels, but their lobby is still on display at the Arizona Historical Society’s Downtown Museum on Stone Avenue–just across from the Library and in the Wells Fargo Building. When you go you will also see other Tucson relics like Romero’s Barbershop, Wyatt Earp’s pistol and a significant part of Tucson’s early history.
Eric Gonzales is the regional director for the Arizona Historical Society and oversees their collections in Southern Arizona, including the Downtown Museum. He let us in a few minutes early and shared some of the uniqueness of this hidden gem.
Eric is a native Tucsonan and has found his family history intertwined with that of our town. In the extended interview talks about how he discovered his grandfather’s birth home was across the street from the Carrillo family’s and how, for years, the Sosa-Carrillo-Freemont house was neglected. Thanks to efforts by Eric, and others, it’s now one of the Historical Society’s official location and the renovations have created an income opportunity as part of the space is available for events and Borderland Theater also leases a portion of the space.
