Grand Canyon Hotel

Built in 1892, the Grand Canyon Hotel is said to be the oldest hotel still standing in Arizona. It had its own water supply, which is why it was the only building on the block to survive the fire that swept Williams in 1895. The ground floor did double and triple duty over the years as a drugstore, a grocery, a dance hall, and a lodge meeting room, while upstairs it put up the first-class travelers heading north to the canyon. A frontier hotel that simply refused to burn or close.

What the plaque says

Grand Canyon Hotel. . Built in 1892 by Samuel E. Patton for Cormick E. Boyce known as "the man who built Williams." With its own water supply, it was the only surviving building of the 1895 fire. First-class hotel designed to appeal to travelers to the Grand Canyon. Ground floor had many uses - drug store, grocery store, dance hall, and Knights of Pythias meeting hall.

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Williams — steps away
  The last town on Route 66 to lose its traffic to the interstate — a rail gateway to the Grand Canyon since 1901, bypassed only in 1984 after a court fight, and revived twice over.
• Oak Creek Canyon — 31 mi
  The switchback drive from red rock to ponderosa on State Route 89A

More markers nearby

• Last Town Bypassed by I-40 — steps away
• Santa Fe Railway Freight Depot — steps away
• The "World Famous" Sultana — steps away
• DelSue Motor Inn — steps away