The 1907 Mizpah Hotel - From Miners to Millionaires (Tonopah, Nevada)
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 28 ก.ย. 2024
- If you enjoyed this video, please consider joining my Patreon to help create more videos like this! / parttimeexplorer
To give a one-time tip, please visit: www.historical...
Step back in time in this remote desert hotel, which represents the peak of luxury in the dusty Wild West. The Mizpah Hotel, built in 1907, has quite a quite a colorful past, but are all the stories true? Let's explore this beautiful Nevada hotel and uncover what we can about its rich history.
www.themizpahh...
My Ghost Town and Ruins Playlist:
• Ghost Towns and Ruins
My wife and I stumbled across the Mizpah during a Spring road trip about 12 years ago. We had spent a couple of days driving through the Redwood National Park on the Pacific Coast and on our way back home to Utah we thought it would be fun to drive through Yosemite, as neither of us had been there before. Unfortunately, it was also Memorial day weekend and we were unprepared for how crowded Yosemite was going to be. By the time we made it to the center of the park, traffic came to a complete standstill and we moved only a few yards in over a hour. By the time the park rangers got traffic moving again, it was getting late in the evening. We exited the park and found ourselves on HWY 6, and didn't see any other vehicles for quite some time. We stopped at the only gas station we had seen, who was just closing up for the night, but allowed us to fill up anyway. They warned us the only thing we were going to see on that road was rattlesnakes and wild horses... they weren't wrong. Eventually it was dark, and we were being pursued by a nasty looking thunder storm so we decided to try and find lodging for the night. As we got closer to Tonopah, you could see the hotel sign against the incredibly pitch black sky. We knew nothing about the hotel at the time, we were just hoping there was vacancy as we were both hungry and road weary. Fortune smiled on us and there was a room available on the 5th floor. We checked in then retrieved our luggage from the car. Not wanting to carry our luggage up multiple flights of stairs we found the elevator you mentioned in your video. However when the doors opened, there was a small group that was on a "Ghost Tour" with a hotel staff member. Although the elevator was quite full, they insisted there was room for us, so we squeezed in with them. They were on the way up to see the "Lady in red" room and the tour guide was telling her story when the elevator came to an abrupt stop. At first, everyone thought it was just theatrics for the ghost tour. But we quickly found out that was not the case, as the tour guide began frantically trying to call someone at the front desk. Cellphone reception inside the elevator was mostly non-existent so we could only rely on the in-car phone, and one of the ladies in the elevator started to have a panic attack, as she was apparently quite claustrophobic. With my wife and I pressed up close to the elevator doors we started trying to pry them open. We were able to open them slightly and could see we were stuck between floors. Eventually the tour guide was able to get in touch with someone at the front desk who sent help. They were able to finish prying the doors open from the outside, and using our luggage as a makeshift staircase, everyone clambered out of the elevator. The tour guide was quite shaken by the whole event, and they provided everyone with complimentary meal tickets for the restaurant. We eventually made it to our room, which was quite amazing itself and had a restful stay. The next morning we took our own tour around the hotel, and eventually lugged our luggage down the 5 stories of stairs, as the elevator was still "out-of-order" the next day. It was quite the adventure and I'll never forget our stay at the Mizpah.
My husband was stationed in Tonopah in WW2. On a camping trip to Yosemite many years ago we stayed in a motel right across the street from the Mizpah! We ate breakfast there the next morning before leaving. It was a beautiful place. Coming back home to Ohio we stayed at the same motel again and had a delicious huge dinner at the Mizpah. What a lovely surprise to run across this video, brought back such good memories! He would have enjoyed this very much. Thank you.
The hotel across the main street, the Belvada, is currently open again after a remodel during the quarantine. I can't speak on how the lobby looked during WWII but it's very pretty today. What I saw of the upstairs is likewise nice.
(Or if you were in the motel next door, that's the Jim Butler. I stayed there just this July 4th and found the people very friendly.)
Absolutely loving these videos! The stories are so fascinating and you guys do an awesome job deep diving into the history and presenting it in such a respectful and professional manner. Keep them coming!
Hey cool I live just a half dozen blocks from the Mizpah. heh you can kind of see my house from the drone shots.
I helped renovate the Belvada too.
Excellent video of an exquisite hotel! Thank you for taking the time to give us a tour. One of my cousins lives here and I have always wondered about the town setting. Great little town in the Nevada mountains.
I appreciate that you made a historical perspective and didn't make it all based around ghosts and how it's haunted. Now I'm not saying it is not haunted. However, I was recently watch a video and it brought up the hotel. But whenever I looked at videos to learn about it and I was met with videos that were only concentrated on how haunted it is. So thank you again 💓 💗 💛 💖 ❤ 💕
the *“Crowd-grabbing-ghost-stuff first, actual history second”* mindset that a lot of media has is indeed unfortunate.
The old Death Valley Days TV series had a couple episodes based on stories out of Tonopah Gold fields. Interesting people making history. TY for recording your visit.
Just FYI, the county in Arizona is pronounced "Co-cheess" not "Coach-ice." He was a respected Apache warrior. I stayed there Christmas Eve night of 1986 or so.
Great video!
Thank you for the post. It is true about the clearest sky. We experienced one of the best 4th of July fireworks over the desert - parked on the high school grounds on our way to Las Vegas. Unfortunately we weren't able to go in the hotel as they were renovating.
I love history and I’m so thankful I found your channel
This was the best review of a historic hotel. Always wanted to visit, and now my curiosity is itching for one. ❤
The funny thing about anywhere in Nevada outside Las Vegas, you're always going to be the only guest.
Delivers used to go through a lift in the sidewalks. My dad owned a western auto in Tonaph and it still had the lift. Great little town to grow up in. Their is also a mine shaft under the Mizpa. Time to go bk and visit
I used to get all my parts at Western Auto, on main street. It was an interesting town to grow up in, but BORING.
What an underrated channel!
My favorite hotel to stay at. We go every year!
This hotel reminds me of the Hotel Monte Vista in Flagstaff AZ. The sign above the hotel especially.
Excellent! New bucket list item!! !:-)
Thank you! I was looking forward to this.
Wonderful work, Tom!
Congrats on 50k subscribers. Continue to upload the great content!
Thank you, my friend!
I stay there once every few months, belvada too
I absolutely love how inspiring each of your videos are! You are my new favorite TH-camr, by far
Nice video Tom. KEEP THIS UP.
I enjoyed your video very much. I live in Carson City, so this was of special interest to me. Thank you 😊
"The bathtub was not available for questioning" LOL ^____^
Beautiful hotel. Thank you.
Beautiful town, and awesome informative video, thank you for sharing!
Sorry I missed the town itself when I went to Tonapah in 1976 to the BLM Tonapah Hdqtrs for the wild horses they had gathered. Really enjoyed the tour of the hotel and its history.
Outstanding 👍🏻🤗
Great Job. And interesting. I stayed in Tonopah in about 1981 staking claims for AMAX Exploration.
Passed thru Goldfield too.
I really like your presenations.
There is alot of History in Southern Ariz. Where I am from.
Such as Greaterville, Arivaca Cerro Colorado,, Las Guijas, Twin Buttes Banner Mining Co.
Many more.
You're videos are very well done. Glad I found you're channel
Looks beautiful and I really enjoyed this episode.
If not answered. The cellar with a door and window under the ground. This happened in England a lot. They to be able to build up. Needed good foundations. If they could go down due to bedrock. Or also for ease. They build the ground up around the existing building out the back and front. Burying the single story building to make a new basement and building good foundation to them build up. There is a street in Leicester England where if you go into the shop basements. You have glass windows and doors all’s round that open and look into the ground as the road level is 10 feet above you. This was for the same reason.
Thanks so much for pronouncing Nevada correctly!!!!
Looks great. Last time I was at the Mizpah was back in 1995 and it doesn't look like Tomopah has changed at all lol.
I'm not surprised! I don't know why anyone would want to live there! Or how they live there in that horrible heat. I'm surprised nobody mentioned that it's 150 mi to the next gas station to the west. There's a sign posted on the road. I think it is more boring than Death Valley to travel. Hot, no phone signal and nothing to look at. The Mizpah is the only nice thing around there.
Tonopah is most certainly a time capsule!
Very cool. We may have to make the drive when we visit family in Vegas
I had planned a trip to Carson City and will likely now extend that down to Tonopah
ENJOYED VIDEO VERY MUCH VERY INFORMATIVE
I love the Mizpah!!! The Mizpah Burger at there restaurant is one of the best burgers I have ever had. The restaurant staff is kind of grumpy though.
Thanks for this.
I don't think Howard Hughes was a psychopath. He struggled with OCD, and addiction after what should have been a fatal crash of the XF-11.
Great video
What an interesting place! I just discovered your channel & have been loving what I'm seeing. Have you been to Rhyolite Nevada yet? There's quite a few well intact buildings out there. I'd love to see your take on it.
I’ve been through this town a few times. One time to see the “International Car Forest of the Last Church” in nearby Goldfield, NV for Milky Way photos. Something you might want to check out the next time you’re out that way.
very beautiful hotel
Pittman is rocking that Andrews look...
Hopefully soon!
BRILLIANT..🇬🇧
😅 The red henly shirt you are wearing in the scene with the paper looks like the old red long johns! 😀
Love ❤ that
Very interesting
Could you please review the updated Britannic and Empress of Ireland from histobrick?
I’m going to mention something probably everyone knows. The highway between Vegas and L.A. is super easy and fast. The opposite of Chicago.
Very good video I will say many people think that the days of the Wild West ended at the turn of the 20th century but nothing could be farther from the truth. The frontier was very much still alive and Wild well into the 1930s. You still had plenty of robberies killings and murders and cattle rustling and many other such crimes that most people think is a nineteenth-century problem. Many people don't realize that Butch Cassidy's last bank robbery was in Winnemucca Nevada in 1900 and there were still train robberies in bank robberies by Western Outlaws up into the 1920s
Cool place to visit. Theres not much in Tonopah! An A&W, the Subway & Burger King are in the gas station & Napa Auto, thats about it as far as name brands. You go there for the History which we enjoy, not for the conveniences or comforts of the area. The locals dont seem the friendliest.
By the way, the glass in the sidewalk was probably for the Chinese, alot of times they traveled through tunnels do to the mistreatment the experienced on the streets.
Have you been to Hotel Millersburg in Holmes county Ohio in was built in 1847 I think it's on the national registry of historic places
Does the hotel also offer the 'onesie' sleeping attire?
AND THERE IT IS! lol 👍
Ivy::
You been there?
Sorry Tom, but what is pharaoh? What drug would that have been in 1905?
The International Hotel in Virginia City in Nevada was built in 1878 and was 6 stories and had an electric elevator. So part of your dialogue is not accurate.
The outside of the hotel looks so drab. Why can't they make it look as nice as the inside?
In Hebrew it's Mitzpe . Example Mitzpe Ramon
The guy who double crossed his bank robbing cohorts, and got away with it, and the money, I wont lie but there’s a part of me that’s thinks fair play to him 😂
Mud flood building ///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
Clown hotel is the one you wanna stay at.
The manager was giving me anxiety! All the stuff that's just waiting to be discovered!
That's an old mining tunnel... *Moves on*
Very interesting old locked door "never been in there". *Moves on*
Nooo! I need to see!!
Right!? Like, lady...the gold and the 3rd robbers bones might be in that room 😮
Me too!
I love these type of videos. Late 1800s, early 1900s History is such fascinating.
Turn-of-the-century aesthetics rule
@@DerpyPossum yes, exactly
I do enjoy these in-depth history of these historical places you go into on these places.
My wife and I spent the night at the Mizpah in August 2022. I was awakened at 3:46am by footsteps in our room. I sat up and immediately heard a “shhhh” in my ear! I laid back down, covered up and pretended that did not just happen! 😂
Another terrific video, Tom, of an amazing story that I would have never known about. Looking forward to the next one! Let us know how else we can support your work ~
Thank you, Zsolt! I'll be making a personal update video probably in two weeks about what my plans are for this channel going forward.
The idea of a bunch of miners digging a tunnel into the bank vault is fucking hilarious
3 miners, two found dead in the tunnel in a double cross, money, gold, and the 3rd. guy never found. The "Joker" has happened before.
Smart guy, told the two he'd cut them in and let them do the work only to kill them for it all. The way of the wild west and criminals. Ah, the love of 💰!
Yes, the Wild, Wild West for sure! Fascinating.
It was 3, I'd hardly call 3 a bunch
I wouldn't say Howard Hughes was a psychopath. Psychopathy is not the same as psychosis.
When someone with sever psychosis has unlimited access to money/power they usually devolve into a psychopath. Howard Huges, Michael Jackson, Emperor Caligula & Nero come to mind.
This is so cool. I spent a night there last April. And we stumbled on it as we drove from vegas to Portland. We got a late start out of Vegas, (left about 7:30pm) and when we rolled into Tonopah we were going to stay at the best western, I was so glad they were full when we got into our room. We were in the 3rd or 4th floor in a corner room. Facing the Beavada hotel. And it was amazing. I would have loved to stay and check the place out, but it was up and out the door at 5:00 am the next morning for the long trek to Portland so we could get back to work the following day.
I have sworn that we will be back. And planned to go this coming April. Until I found out about my job loss. So now it will have to wait a bit longer.
I am really glad new owners, well new to me, have worked to restore the old time look to the place. The bar area now is frigging GORGEOUS, and I love the fact they put a grand piano in there. I sure hope the thing works and is tuned and maintained. I played music in Tonopah at the Banc Club and Tonopah Station in the very late 90's. I met several of the town people and got a personal tour of the hotel, getting to go places that the public was not allowed. I got to go on the roof where the hotel signs are. I had a the friend take a photo for proof. Back then the plans for the museum were to be in the basement and they intended on kind of restoring a bit of the mine adit under the building and displaying old mining stuff, like an ore cart that was already down there. It doesn't look like the new owner did that.
We were doing TDY from Fort Bliss Texas, back in 80 to 83.
station doing duty at the Tonopah test range, There was a JTF from all branches... We were housed in the Cowboy hotel, at the end of the street heading towards Reno. They dident have door knobs on the doors, straight sheet rock on the walls, our per diem was $ 22.00 a day for housing, $4.50 for breakfast $ 8.00 for lunch, 14.00 for dinner . We ate like kings.. wow cant believe it's been 40 years.. one of my best memories & TDY I was ever on...... Who could ever forget Col Mennix.test director, one hell of a good officer.
I have a friend whose father was a crew member on a B-17, named "Mizpah" during WWII. (381st Bomb Group, Essex England.) The aircraft and crews survived the war. 🙏✌️
What a beautiful hotel! Great history too! It looks like the sidewalk out front is raised up quite a bit.Maybe the road level got built up , which lowered the front door below the sidewalk, hence changing sidewalk Height and closing off the old front door. Just a theory!
That's a good theory! We were discussing that while exploring it and it's definitely the most likely theory, but I can't find any records of the road being built up, and even the oldest photos of the original bank building show the road at the level it's at now. There would have to have been an even older structure, before 1904 ish that was built there, which might not be likely since the town was settled only 2 years prior. But what else could it be?
I saw it was raised also and in one pic it showed the road having a bit of a crown to the road to channel what little rain they get there over to the side of the road. Maybe it leaked in and that's why they raised it higher and didn't want an opening any longer.
@@PartTimeExplorerI've recently been introduced to the school of thought relating to old world architecture "Tartaria": if you will and the thought crossed my mind upon seeing the submerged base level with front door. And yet, if that were true one would expect at least some other structures in the town to have a similar characteristic design flaw of a front door in the basement. Money and time not withstanding, it would be an interesting thing to investigate.
I searched all over the internet for the origin of this hotel's name. Thanks for this interesting video!
Lived and worked at the Mizpa Hotel and The Station House in 1984. Stayed in the Jim Butler suite a guy would be driving all the time between Reno and Vegas, I thought he sold used cars , nope he owned Circus Circus and all the cars were his.
Thanks for making this video.
Thank you so much Tom, really great how you are able to spend so much time researching and exploring, I know it's hard for you because it's obvious that you love it and care about doing it correctly and honestly, and I imagine you'd probly prefer enjoying it alone without the bother of camera, company, schedules, and all the unseen pains and difficulties that go along with putting such great presentations together. I really enjoyed you and ms.Emma trudging into the Nevada heat (that is I appreciatte it) to the uncle sam mine where you experianced this great hotel, anyway, thank you again mr.Tom, for sharing ya'lls adventure for retired folks who are not able to take such trips, for whatever reasons, who love exploring, history, and traveling roads of new adventures in our short time on this earth. Health and Happiness mr.Tom, to you and all yours.
Great episode Tom! There's a ghost town here in Colorado called nevadaville that you might like to explore one of these days
wish i knew of this place when i was living just outside of Reno.
would’ve been such a cool place to swing by!
Yeah a 5 hour drive.
really well made vids, thanks, great video , great sound, bright guy asking similiar questions and checking out similiar things that i would.... hey guys i think there is some confusion about Wyatt Earp owning a Saloon where the hotel now stands....actually, i think he just had his Bar Mizpah there.
This was a Great video…you so such a Fabulous job of sharing information about the places you travel.
TFS Tom and Emma…you both do a wonderful
job of documenting everything.
I mean, we love you man; you and Emma.. we really do. Thanks for bringing this history to us. And one more goes up my "places to visit" list.
The Ghost Adventures Crew was there.
Great video! I worked out of Tonopah for several months back in the late 70's. I was part of a small crew that worked for a mining and mineral exploration company. Though we stayed in a different (cheaper) motel a couple of blocks away, we ate there quite often and even did a little gambling in their casino. It is so cool to see it in such great shape. Thanks again for the video.
I think the subterranean door is what remains of a coal shoot. It could have also been somewhere where deliveries were taken. I'v seen this sort of thing alot in pubs here (uk), where the beer cellar is underneath the pavement. Alot of them even have those nice glass sections, but I rarely see them in good condition.
Thanks for tour and information on this historic building. Decor is awesome, nice to see it's being preserved and maintained.
it is pronounced Miz Paw, not Miz puh. Lived there for 15 years. My son proposed to his wife there 30 years ago.
i give him this mulligan . he pronounces state name well, but fails on tono paw.
@@wlsnpndrvs8593 ha! You are right! Many non Nevadans pronounce it Neh VAH dah!
@@wlsnpndrvs8593 Actually, the Hebrew word from the Bible is pronounced "mitzpah". But Americans do have their regionally pronounced words. I have several French names around me slaughtered. I noticed also when mentioning Wyatt Earp he said Cochise Riders or something like that, saying Co-cheeze or co-ch-eye-z. I think they were probably called that in Tombstone after the Indian leader Cochise since he lived in that area and north of there in the Dragoon Mountains just south of Intestate 10.
was waiting for you to say restored, like everyone else who don't know what they are taking about. but you said refurbished. it was remodeled to let you know. i was in on the project in 1978 for bill allison when i was in high school in tonopah. (paw. like miz paw). there was also a local PBS affiliated television station that i helped with occasionally for john gilman.
I always appreciate a good history story, especially when it's told well. 🍻
I just love that hotel! The Victorian decor is so beautiful!❤️ The legend of the lady in red ghost s intriguing!👻
Watched almost all of your content regarding towns. Nobody does it better.
Loving it. Please, keep doing your thing. You're a gem.
We are staying there April 7th, can't wait!
The underground bit reminds me of the Seattle Underground, which was burned in the Great Seattle Fire of 1889.
In 1981 I moved to Tonopah NV, working on Test Site. In 1984 Married a local girl at Elks Lodge, couple blocks across. And Honeymoon night in the Antique Room. Off limits to general public.
In the 1980s there was a greyhound express that ran to Reno from the Bay Area you would stay the weekend and then return back home again .I came with my girlfriend and her sister we wanted a hotel that was inexpensive so we saw this old hotel and the rates were good ..so there we stayed at the Mizpah ..we had no previous knowledge of the place being haunted..but wow!..something happened to me and I have 2 witnesses to prove it!.. all three of us were in the restaurant downstairs,the table was set up with coffee cups and saucers ,plates,.my cup and saucer started moving across the table in and out between the dishes ,..deliberately and fast like a hand pushing it along ,..felt like a seen out of the movie “poltergeist “all three of us watching this with are mouths gaping open maybe for two minutes or more until I yelled “stop it!”…which it did..it wasn’t until years later did I learn of the hotel being haunted…don’t ever have to convince me I saw it with my own two eyes!
Also stay ant the Virginia Hotel in Medicine Bow, WY, the inspiration for The Virginian (or is it vice versa?): considered by many to be the first authentic Western cowboy novel.