Hot Lake Hotel
Hot Lake Hotel was originally built in 1864 in La Grande, Oregon during the gold rush. It became THE place for vacationers as the 205 degree sulfurous Hot Lake were thought to have healing properties. A Dr. William T. Phy bought the establishment in 1917 and turned it in to a state-of-the-art medical facility known as the "Mayo Clinic of the West". Actually, the Mayo Brothers who established the Mayo Clinic were frequent visitors. Wild Bill Hickok and his Wild West Show also visited Hot Lake regularly. Prior owners and investors include Governor Walter M. Pierce and Senator Parish L. Willis. There Dr. Phy practice along side his son Marcus until his death in 1931 from a cold or alleged radiation poisoning. Marcus committed suicide a couple of years later.
In 1934, a fire destroyed the ballroom and library. The remaining buildings went on to be a hotel. Then later an insane asylum, a nightclub, nursing home and restaurant in the 1970s. Nurses trained there during World War II. The same railroad that brought Hot Lake business was rerouted guests, the new highway bypassed it and the Depression further led to its dormancy in 1991. It fell prey to vandals and the elements, changing ownership several times. Purchased by The Manuels, it began restoration in 2003 and was scheduled to re-open late 2008.
It is rumored to be haunted by a former gardener who committed suicide, old vacationers and former patients from its sanatorium days. Some people have reported hearing music from the third floor where an old piano formerly owned by Robert E. Lee's wife use to be. Former caretakers have heard footsteps and a woman's screams from the old surgery room.
For more information: http://www.hotlakesprings.com/index.php
In 1934, a fire destroyed the ballroom and library. The remaining buildings went on to be a hotel. Then later an insane asylum, a nightclub, nursing home and restaurant in the 1970s. Nurses trained there during World War II. The same railroad that brought Hot Lake business was rerouted guests, the new highway bypassed it and the Depression further led to its dormancy in 1991. It fell prey to vandals and the elements, changing ownership several times. Purchased by The Manuels, it began restoration in 2003 and was scheduled to re-open late 2008.
It is rumored to be haunted by a former gardener who committed suicide, old vacationers and former patients from its sanatorium days. Some people have reported hearing music from the third floor where an old piano formerly owned by Robert E. Lee's wife use to be. Former caretakers have heard footsteps and a woman's screams from the old surgery room.
For more information: http://www.hotlakesprings.com/index.php
Comments
JEB BUCKINGHAM
Kennewick, Washington
Another time we went in because a week prior we had witnessed a rocking chair in the wash room on the third floor across from the operating room. It had no dust on the seat or were the hands were. A perfect imprint of what looked like someone still sitting there. So a week later we went there to see if it was still there and as soon as we got on to the third floor we heard a large crash and then foot steps could be heard on the fist or second floor in not sure which. That was the last time I was there until recently. It is beautifuly restored. A must visit
I went there when I was around 13. It was when it was a hotel, so this was pretty recent. That was the very first time I had been there. I wanted to walk through the whole place because I knew it used to be a sanitarium, but it costs $10 a person for the tour. So we just got to see the gift shop and the history rooms. I was walking down the hallway and it was run down and quiet. A little too quiet. Just the hallway was really eerie. We went into the first couple of the history rooms, and in one, my vision went super blurry. I thought it was because of looking through the glass showcases because looking through glass messes up my eyesight. But now I'm not so sure anymore. Now I'm known to have an extremely active imagination, but when I saw the medicine bottles, the necklace with a cross on it, and a big heavy lock in the showcases, i immediately had like a flashback. I don't know how else to explain it. I just saw an image in my head of the doctors injecting the medicines into screaming patients, an insane person fighting a caretaker an the necklace being ripped free of the insane person's grasp, and for the lock, I thought of my Mom's story of when she went there:
So one day, when the hotel was still run down, my mom's cousin dared her and some of her siblings to stay one night at Hot Lake and if they did, they would get to have any motorcycle they wanted. So they drove up, and the main door was locked, so they went to the window to look inside. When they went back to the door to try at the lock, it was broken and ripped aside. They never went inside. They all ran to the car and started driving. Just as they got out of the "driveway", I guess, there was a woman standing in the middle of the highway at 2:00 am balancing a brick on her head. Either that or she was walking funny and doing something weird with her arms. After that, my mom promised herself to never go to Hot Lake ever again. But she went with me when I was 13 soooo yeah. But I am so going next year and the year after that, I'm going to try to convince my cousins so stay the night there! I am extremely freaked out about that place, but I love it and I love hearing the freaking haunted stories about it!