Ashland Oregon
Ashland Springs Hotel
Entities of past guests are still enjoying the hotel!
A kid accident, a hotel being built over a burial spot, a murder, and great memories have caused hauntings.
DESCRIPTION
The Ashland Springs Hotel was designed by architects Tourtellotte and Hummel who later designed the Idaho State Capitol, The Boise Hotel and the glorious Baker Hotel. The Ashland Springs Hotel is a reinforced, L shaped concrete structure, borrowing style elements from the Romanesque, English Tudor, Gothic and Neo-Classical architecture. It was built with a nine story central tower and two short wings.
Guests are wowed by the main entry with its “catenary arch, with inset windows, flanked by two round arches. Tiffany-type stained glass was used in the upper windows and in the three arched openings along First Street.” (NPS)
Stepping through the entrance is like stepping back to 1925!
HISTORY
“Nine Stories of Safety and Comfort.” (Hotel website)
This hotel had the distinction of being the tallest building between Portland and San Francisco, becoming the most prominent landmark in Oregon. Its original name when it opened in 1925 was The Lithia Springs Hotel. It was described as a luxury, health resort, and vacation hotel for the well-to-do, offering mineral waters to drink and soak in to help a variety of ailments. All was great for a number of years until the railroad stopped coming through town. The management overcame this challenge and found ways to continue in business.
The Lithia Springs Hotel survived through The Depression, WW2, but started to slide again in the 1950s. When The Oregon Shakespeare Festival located in Ashland became a roaring success, The Lithia Springs Hotel became The Mark Anthony Motor Hotel in hopes of improving their occupancy.
In 1978, an attempt to improve and modernize the structure turned into a disaster, which didn’t help the hotel’s financial distress. This grand old building continued to go down the path of becoming a real fixer-upper opportunity that needed a boatload of money to make improvements that were needed to stay competitive. They closed in 1990, and it was put on the real estate market, a poor reflection of its once glorious past.
Thankfully, in 1998, the structure was rescued by new owners, Doug and Becky Neuman who both had gumption and a vision when they bought this property. The new owners found the money for an extensive restoration and renovation through the National Park’s Service’s Certified Rehabilitation Program, that gives motivated owners historic preservation tax credits. It was a very successful two year endeavor.
The hotel’s name changed to Ashland Springs Hotel. Because it has been beautifully restored and also modernized to increase its appeal, The Ashland Springs Hotel enjoys a high occupancy due to its convenient location near to many tourist-drawing events.
The restorations of the common rooms and gardens have drawn in local business as well. Most popular for social or business events is the Crystal Room. The restored English Gardens are a great Wedding Venue as well. The immense ballroom is perfect for large sit-down meal events like receptions.
Apparently, the spirits who have a connection to this structure also approve of the vast improvements and visit to enjoy it, or stay to work out their issues.
HISTORY OF MANIFESTATIONS
When a structure is restored to its former glory, this can act like a paranormal trigger that draws spirits who are connected to it to become active.
Geiser Grand Hotel, OR (When restoration began, spirits were so excited that they tried to encourage the workers who had started to transform it from bird habitat to upscale hotel).
Hartford Twain House, CT (When Mark Twain’s dilapidated forever home was transformed into the historic Twain House Museum, the spirits of the Mark Twain family and their servants moved back).
The Historic Kewaunee Inn, WI (All the spirit activity began during and after the huge restoration/renovation efforts done by the Schmitt brothers, in 1966).
The Ashland Springs Hotel, OR (During the 1998 restoration efforts, the spirits became very active, though they had been there for a long time).
Places built over graveyards, cemeteries often have paranormal activity from disturbed, or puzzled spirits. Some try to make the best of it.
Cincinnati Music Hall, OH (It was built on top of what was once the mass pauper graveyard for the Commerce Lunatic Hospital and the Pest House, causing hauntings by upset spirits who took the consolation prize of having free seats to all the concerts).
Montauk Manor, NY (When they built Montauk Manor’s foundation, not only did they dig up many bones of chiefs and tribal leaders, they crushed the bones and mixed them in with the cement used to build the manor, which caused restless, sometimes angry spirits. One spirit gave himself the job of protecting the guests).
The Easton Library, PA (To build the new Carnegie Library on the old German Cemetery land, relatives were asked to move their loved ones to another place. Two unclaimed graves of important people were moved to the front lawn of the library, while the rest of the unclaimed were thrown into a mass grave in the parking lot and paved over. Not only were living patrons enjoying the new library, but restless spirits as well).
The Ashland Springs Hotel, OR (In 1925, The Lithia Springs Hotel was built over an Indian burial ground. OOPS! Apparently, these spirits have been enjoying the hotel as well).
Sudden death from accidents can cause spirits to stay where they died.
Shanley Hotel, NY (The daughter of the in-house barber fell down the well and drowned. Her spirit continues to play in her favorite places here).
Ashley’s of Rockledge, FL (One small boy was run over by a train that used to run behind the restaurant and bar, and one young girl was hit by a car in the front).
Bee-Bennett Mansion, CA ( One active little boy fell down the staircase and broke his neck. His spirit has found the other little boy who died of disease, and they tease the staff).
Ashland Springs Hotel, OR (On opening day of The Lithia Springs Hotel, a young boy fell out of a window and died).
Murder victims often can’t rest and continue on in their favorite place or their place of death.
Kahler Grand Hotel, MN (The spirit of a woman who was brutally killed by underworld thugs, visits/stays here for peace and possibly justice).
Saint John’s Twin Cinemas and Pub, OR (A vaudeville actor was mugged and murdered in the alleyway next to the theater. His spirit feels better by finding ways to support the staff).
Bissman Building, OH (The traumatized spirit of Peter Bissman’s granddaughter, nine-year-old Ruthie, was assaulted and brutally murdered in the building’s basement and found in a pickle barrel. She finds comfort through interacting with the spirit of her aunt, living people, and finding ways to play).
The Ashland Springs Hotel, OR (A former guest may have been murdered here or nearby. His spirit finds peace here).
MANIFESTATIONS
The Spirits of Past Guests
Are still enjoying the hotel as seen/unseen visitors.
Perhaps some of the dark shadow people that float around at night in the common areas and their favorite rooms are former guests.
The Well-Mannered Spirit
In room 517, his benign presence is unseen but felt, being too much of a gentleman to appear and scare the guests and staff.
This is probably the male spirit murder victim who is mentioned below under Paranormal Findings.
He is willing to share the room with living guests.
The Spirit of a Boy
His spirit runs around and likes to play all over the hotel, like a living boy would do.
He must have appeared to the living who have described him as being a boy.
Shadow People
They may be spirits from the graves that were destroyed when the hotel was first built.
They have adapted and moved into this fine hotel, enjoying the interior while looking for their missing graves.
PARANORMAL FINDINGS
The Ashland Springs Hotel has a strong reputation of being haunted. While many staff and guests can’t talk about the many paranormal experiences that have been witnessed here, some staff have admitted that guests have had personal experiences with the benign spirits.
The one informal investigation that I found online was posted by investigator Paul Dale Robert. His partner, psychic medium Christine, saw the spirit of a well-to-do male sporting a mustache, with his hair parted in the middle, sometimes wearing a bowler hat, who is still enjoying the grand hotel. She feels that he was murdered here. He holds no grudge and likes to look out the windows on the 5th and sixth floor.
Though no EVPs were recorded, a dark mass was captured on film by Paul Dale Roberts (https://www.unexplained-mysteries.com/column.php?id=224014)
STILL HAUNTED?
Most Probably so. Guests and staff have had experiences for a very long time.
The owners haven’t come out of the paranormal closet for several reasons. They don’t want to scare away guests after all their hard work in restoring this grand lady.
As the spirits are benign, the owners don’t want a bunch of ghost hunters descending upon their hotel, annoying spectral guests as well as living ones too.
Our report of hauntings here was briefly referred to in Kent Goodman’s book, Haunts of Western Oregon, published in 2009.
LOCATION
212 East Main Street
Ashland, Oregon 97520
http://www.ashlandspringshotel.com/
In the heart of downtown Ashland, Ashland Springs Hotel can be found sitting on a large corner lot at the intersection of E. Main and First Street. The building’s first and second floor stretches along both E Main and First Street.
SOURCES INCLUDE
- “Haunts of Western Oregon” by Kent Goodman
Schiffer Publishing Ltd. pg 25, 2009 - ashlandspringshotel.com
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cd6QD1UsecQ
- https://www.nps.gov/nr/travel/ashland/mah.htm
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ksZlLxwaRCc
- https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ashland_Springs_Hotel
- https://www.unexplained-mysteries.com/column.php?id=224014
Our Haunted Paranormal Stories are Written by Julie Carr
Our Photos are copyrighted by Tom Carr
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