Glen Tavern Inn

Infobox_nrhp
name = Glen Tavern Hotel
nrhp_type =


caption =
location= Santa Paula, California
lat_degrees = 34
lat_minutes = 21
lat_seconds = 18
lat_direction = N
long_degrees = 119
long_minutes = 3
long_seconds = 40
long_direction = W
locmapin = California
area =
built = 1911
architect= Crookshank & Summers; Hunt & Burns
architecture= Bungalow/craftsman, Tudor Revival
added = July 26, 1984
governing_body = Private
refnum=84001225cite web|url=http://www.nr.nps.gov/|title=National Register Information System|date=2007-01-23|work=National Register of Historic Places|publisher=National Park Service] The Glen Tavern Inn is a landmark listed on the National Register of Historic Places located in the small rural town of Santa Paula, California approximately twelve miles inland from the Pacific Ocean in the Santa Clara Valley.

History

Nearly a century old, the hotel is noted for its colorful history, a history that reflects the changing fortunes of Santa Paula. In the early 1900s Santa Paula grew and prospered as an oil town and was headquarters to Union Oil. Designed by famed architects Burns and Hunt in the Tudor-Craftsman style, and funded by a consortium of twenty-five wealthy townsmen each of whom anted one thousand dollars for its construction, a three story hotel was erected in 1911 directly opposite the train depot to provide accomodations to the many newcomers lured to the area mainly by the oil boom as well as to supply a venue for gatherings and fuctions of Santa Paula's growing high society circles.

During Prohibition, the Inn retained something of its Wild West spirit as the third floor - 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 never confirmed, 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. [ [http://www.ci.santa-paula.ca.us/Aboutus.htm About Us] . City of Santa Paula official webpage. Retrieved on 2008-04-04] Its ruggedly picturesque vistas and hills – improbably close to the Los Angeles metropolis - provided an irresistible setting for 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 flop-house decrepitude until it was eventually rescued by developers with intentions of restoring its original grandeur.

Ghost Stories

Perhaps consistent with the hotel’s motto “Where the Past Comes to Life,” even the dead reportedly maintain a vivid presence at the Inn [America’s Most Haunted Inns, Robert Child] . The hotel is a favorite of paranormal aficionados who claim it is one of the most haunted venues in the region, and in July 2007, the Ventura Paranormal Society held its annual convention there [Ventura County Reporter 7/26/07] . Ghost anecdotes abound as believers in the uncanny report encounters with long expired guests who for unknown reasons prefer to extend their stays indefinitely.

The Hotel Today

In 2005-7, the Glen Tavern Inn was extensively renovated by the Jennett Investment Group, and reopened as a full service hotel, restaurant and saloon. It is frequently rented for private parties and events and has largely reclaimed its faded status as a center for social life. Most observers hold that the renovation successfully 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.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.

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. [Santa Paula Times, February 27, 2008]

ee also

*List of Registered Historic Places in Ventura County, California

References

Further reading

*"The Great Lifeboat Disaster of 1886" (by J. Allen Miller, new edition by Andrew Farthing. Published by [http://www.sefton.gov.uk/default.aspx?page=5136 Sefton Libraries] , 2001: ISBN 1-874516-09-X)

External links

* [http://www.glentaverninn.com, Glen Tavern Inn website]
*Nrhp source1|CA|Ventura|state