Built 1911 Added to NRHP July 26, 1984 | NRHP Reference # 84001225 | |
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Location Santa Paula, California Architect Crookshank & Summers; Hunt & Burns Architectural style Bungalow/craftsman, Tudor Revival | ||
The Glen Tavern Inn is a hotel located in Santa Paula, Ventura County, California. It is in the Santa Clara River Valley, approximately 12 miles (19 km) inland from the Pacific Ocean.
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The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1984. It is also an official City of Santa Paula and Ventura County Landmark.
History
The hotel was built in 1911 and is known for its colorful history. At the time the Inn was built, Santa Paula was growing and prospering as an oil town, and was headquarters to Union Oil. The Tudor-Craftsman hotel was designed by famed architects Burns and Hunt and funded by a consortium of twenty-five wealthy townsmen each of whom anted one thousand dollars for its construction. It was erected directly opposite the train depot to provide accommodations to the many newcomers lured to the area by the burgeoning oil and citrus industries, and to provide a gathering place for Santa Paula's growing high society circles.
During Prohibition, the Inn retained something of its Wild West origins as the third floor - at that time an open space not yet built out into separate guestrooms - was utilized as a speakeasy, brothel and gambling parlor. Many legends stem from this era, including tales of murdered prostitutes and shootouts between unruly gamblers. These stories, though mostly unconfirmed, persist with a life of their own as part of the hotel’s rich lore.
In the 1930s, Hollywood discovered the valley hamlet of Santa Paula. Its ruggedly picturesque vistas and hills – improbably close to the sprawl of Los Angeles - provided a setting for numerous Westerns. During this era, the Glen Tavern Inn hosted such notables as Carol Lombard, John Wayne, Houdini and canine thespian, Rin Tin Tin, who boasted his own suite long before “pet-friendly” entered the hospitality lexicon.
Eventually, as oil money and old Hollywood moved on Santa Paula traded fortune, glamour and vice for the quieter constancy of agriculture and small town life Americana. The train depot became defunct, and likewise economic development bypassed the town. For the next half century the hotel endured a marginal existence, alternating owners and uses many times as it slowly sank into flophouse decrepitude until it was eventually rescued by developers with intentions of restoring its original grandeur.
Ghost stories
Keeping with hotel’s motto “Where the Past Comes to Life,” even the Inn is allegedly haunted. In July 2007, the Ventura Paranormal Society held its annual convention there. In 2013, the inn was featured on an episode of Ghost Adventures with special guests Brit Morgan and Mimi Page.
Present day hotel
During 2005 through 2007, the Glen Tavern Inn was extensively renovated by the Jennett Investment Group. Mid-renovation, in April 2006, the hotel sustained a fire. Fortunately, fire fighters were able to douse the blaze in time to save the landmark from major harm, and the burned portion was rebuilt.
It reopened as a full service hotel, restaurant and lounge in 2007. It is frequently rented for private parties and events, and has largely reclaimed its faded status as a center for local social life.
The renovation preserved the Inn’s historical attributes alongside the addition of more modern amenities. It also revived its fabled glamour, and offers visitors a chance to relive the gilded days of excess and adventure at a place where spirited revelers and restless spirits seem to comingle quite amicably.
On February 24, 2008, the Glen Tavern Inn was awarded Certificates of Special Recognition from the United States Senate, United States Congress and the California State Assembly for the successful restoration project.