Historic Sites, Benson, Arizona

The Hotel Arnold
The Hotel Arnold was built by Mr. and Mrs. Arnold A McGinnis, a retired engineer and his wife, to provide accommodations for railroad employees, passengers, commercial travelers and salespeople. The hotel was originally built in 1890 , but not used untill 1906 after the railroad came to town. The hotel primarily housed railroad workers, traveling cowboys and tourists, Brenner said. "Each room had beautiful old furniture, beautiful gas lights and the drawers were always completely full of fresh linens," she said. The original owner was Mrs. Lee, Brenner said not recalling her first name. However, after her death, her son Matt Lee closed the building and since the 1930s it has been used as a storage facility.

It was built in Colonial Revival style, which was a very popular housing style in southeastern Arizona at the time. While the preferred material for construction for this style of building was masonry, the Colonial Revival style buildings in Benson, including the Hotel Arnold are of wood frame construction. The building follows the style in that it is symmetrical, with a square plan, and has a pyramidal roof. The Hotel Arnold property contains five small houses, a large house, and the hotel.

Date: 11.09.2012
Temp: 78°
Elevation: 3829 ft
Latitude: 31.968969
Longitude: -110.294947

History: 
Benson's Hotel Arnold