Arizona's Hermosa Inn Renovation Spares Adobes
By Margaret Foster | Online Only | Sept. 10, 2009
Interior of the restored hacienda at the Hermosa Inn, built in the 1930s by cowboy artist Lon Megargee as his home and studio
Credit: Hermosa Inn
The economic downturn has saved several adobe buildings on the grounds of the Hermosa Inn in Paradise Valley, Ariz.
Instead of proceeding with a $16 million renovation that would have removed several buildings, inn owners Art Cunningham and Fred and Jennifer Unger have scaled back their plans. Workers are now creating a garden, updating rooms, and dividing four 1,400-square-foot buildings into two units.
"Some of the buildings that were going to be taken down were original adobe, and they're not going to be [demolished]," says Michael Gildersleeve, the Hermosa Inn's general manager. "Now a lot of what is here and what has been here is being preserved."
Cowboy artist Lon Megargee constructed the inn's main building as his home and studio in the 1930s; it opened to the public in 1936. The Ungers bought the property in 1992 and completed a full restoration of the main building two years later. The Hermosa Inn is a member of Historic Hotels of America, a program of the National Trust for Historic Preservation.
Gildersleeve says the inn may move forward at a future date with other phases of the project, which the town council approved in 2007. "It's one of those things where they may not [raze the adobes], depending on what's going to happen with the economy."
The current renovation, which will offer 34 guest rooms, is scheduled to be completed in November.
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Comments
Submitted by Brian at: September 10, 2009
I live near Paradise Valley, Arizona and we could sure use some historic locations! There are practically none at all from the time period that this adobe was built. Downtown Phoenix on the other hand does have a few great sites.