Red Garter Inn
Williams, AZ Photo by RoadsidePeek.com
Red Garter Inn stands just off Route 66 in downtown Williams, directly across from the Grand Canyon Railway tracks. With its yellow brick, tall windows, and old-fashioned storefront lettering, the building looks right at home in this former Wild West railroad town. 11-20
German immigrant and merchant tailor August Tetzlaff constructed the two-story building in 1897. He expected Williams to prosper from a nearby mining boom and planned a business that would attract railroad workers, miners, cowboys, and other travelers passing through town.
The ground floor originally contained a saloon and general store, while the second floor operated as a bordello. Eight small rooms surrounded a central parlor where customers could meet the ladies before making their selection. The steep staircase leading up from the street became known locally as the “Cowboy’s Endurance Test.”
Red Garter Inn
Williams, AZ Photo by RoadsidePeek.com
Tetzlaff apparently put some thought into keeping the two businesses separated. A layer of cork was installed beneath the upper floor to help muffle the noise coming from the saloon. Behind the building stood an unusual two-story outhouse reached by elevated walkways, allowing upstairs guests to answer nature’s call without going down that notorious staircase.
The building changed considerably after its frontier days. It served at different times as a rooming house, tire shop, and general commercial property. A major restoration beginning in 1994 brought back its historic character and converted the former upstairs bordello into a small bed-and-breakfast. Surviving features include pressed-tin ceilings, brick walls, skylights, and portions of the old room arrangement.
Red Garter Inn
Williams, AZ Photo by RoadsidePeek.com
Naturally, a former Wild West bordello comes with a ghost story or two. The best-known spirit is Eve, said to have been one of the women who worked upstairs. Guests in the Best Gal’s Room have reported unexplained footsteps, slamming doors, and beds that seem to shake without assistance. Another tale involves a man allegedly killed during a knife fight on the staircase, although historical records confirming either story have not surfaced.
The Red Garter does not exactly run away from its reputation. Haunted credentials and paranormal stories are displayed inside, giving curious travelers something to think about when the lights go out. Whether Eve is still making her rounds is up to each overnight guest to decide.
UPDATE: The Red Garter Inn remains open as a four-room historic boutique inn. The former bordello rooms welcome Route 66 travelers once again, and the stories of unexplained activity remain part of the overnight experience. 09-26
Stout's Hotel 99
Gila Bend, AZ Photo by RoadsidePeek.com
Stout’s Hotel still stands along the old main road through Gila Bend, looking much as if it is waiting for the next train or Highway 80 traveler to arrive. Built in several stages, the old hotel grew alongside the changing ways people crossed the Arizona desert. 11-20
Albert Stout began operating a hotel and general store near the Southern Pacific depot during the 1910s. After a fire destroyed the original business, it was rebuilt and gradually expanded. In the 1920s, Stout turned his attention from railroad passengers to motorists traveling the new highway.
Architectural firm Trost & Trost designed the hotel’s Spanish Colonial Revival addition, completed in 1927. Its entrance faced the highway instead of the railroad tracks, a clear sign that automobiles were taking over. The hotel offered air cooling, steam heat, a drugstore, barbershop, post office, gas station, and even an ice cream parlor supplied by Stout’s own ice plant.
Known as the “Jewel of the Desert,” the hotel featured abalone shells and pieces of coral embedded in parts of its lobby and registration desk. Interstate 8 bypassed central Gila Bend in 1973, greatly reducing its traveler business. The building continued housing railroad workers until finally closing around 1985.
UPDATE: The Town of Gila Bend acquired Stout’s Hotel for preservation and secured its addition to the National Register of Historic Places in 2018. The building remains vacant, but roof repairs and stabilization work have helped keep the old desert hotel standing. 09-26
Red Garter Inn
Red Garter Inn stands just off Route 66 in downtown Williams, directly across from the Grand Canyon Railway tracks. With its yellow brick, tall windows, and old-fashioned storefront lettering, the building looks right at home in this former Wild West railroad town. 11-20
Red Garter Inn
Red Garter Inn
Stout's Hotel 99
