For 30 years, as Yuma has grown, updated and modernized, the Hotel Del Sol has done the opposite, gradually deteriorating as it goes unused by everyone but a few squatters and the occasional moviemakers who love the location for its eerie, dilapidated facade.few others share their enthusiasm, however, and multiple restoration firms have been contacted since its closure in 1981 to give plans for how to spruce up the old building. Sadly, these ventures have all gone the same way: deference of the project until times when the money isn’t needed more urgently elsewhere.There was a time, however, when the Hotel Del Sol was the jewel of downtown Yuma, attracting travelers from across the country. when it opened in 1926, it was hailed by the Daily Sun for its beauty and innovation, being the first hotel of its kind in Yuma. In contrast to the few existing old West-styled inns, the Del Sol — then called the Del Ming after its principal owner — was a 70-room resort boasting modern light fixtures and opulent Spanish Colonial decor.The hotel was built on the inspiration of Frank S. Ming, a prominent businessman and the mayor of Yuma at the time, who convinced a group of investors to join him in the project after witnessing the explosive growth of the downtown area in the 1920s. The group called their venture The Southern Pacific Hotel and Investment Company, though the group had no relation to the Southern Pacific railroad company.“I don’t know how they got away with that,” said Carol Brooks, Yuma curator for the Arizona Historical Society. The group of six raised $150,000 for the structure (the equivalent of $1.8 million in today’s money) and an unknown amount for the hotel’s fixtures and furnishings. “Given the quality of the hotel, the cost was probably quite substantial,” said Brooks.A 2003 historical report done by Milford Wayne Donaldson, an architecture firm tasked with evaluating the cost of restoring the hotel, gives extensive detail of the building’s original construction. to design the grand hotel, the investors hired Edward Cray Taylor and Ellis Wing Taylor, acclaimed architects from Los Angeles. The design, completed in July of 1926, sported an open lobby where hotel guests could socialize, screened balconies, and — as a testament to its state-of-the-art luxury — private bathrooms in each room. The Daily Sun ran multiple stories on the hotel, its architecture and its owners. The group chose a prime spot on Gila and 3rd streets for the hotel’s location, directly across from the new train station. Over the next months, the building rapidly rose, becoming the most notable structure in the area. on Dec. 18, 1926, Ming, who was then the hotel’s proprietor, greeted the hotel’s first patrons in the grand opening of the Hotel Del Ming. From start to finish, construction had taken only four months.to add a little extra attraction to the location, Ming promised “free meals for every day the sun doesn’t shine.” as far as Brooks can tell, it was Ming who pioneered the now-popular Yuma promise. when Ming died in 1936, the remaining owners leased the building to Jack Zeller, a Texas oil tycoon who had moved to Yuma with a great abundance of wealth. Zeller updated the furnishings and changed the name to Del Sol. Either due to losses or disinterest, Zeller didn’t stay with the hotel for long. In the 1940s, Avani and Andy Patel purchased the Del Sol.The early years of the Del Sol spawned fantastical tales of its opulence. The hotel was the leading spot to see celebrities in Yuma, said Brooks.“Owners were claiming big movie stars like Marilyn Monroe had stayed there. but I don’t know,” Brooks said skeptically. There is one movie star who Brooks confirmed to have visited the Del Sol, but it was Alec Baldwin filming the movie “The Getaway” in 1994, long after the hotel had closed for business. Local filmmaker Robert Gwinn also used to the location in 2010 to film a thriller.by the end of World War II, the glory days of the Del Sol were running short.“With the decline of rail passenger traffic in the 1950s, the hotel fell on hard times,” said Dave Nash, public affairs coordinator for the city of Yuma. The historical report also pins much of the blame on the proliferation of automobile travel, which caused Yuma to become more spread out. Strip malls and dispersed entertainment venues drew crowds away from the downtown area and into more decentralized locations. No longer was the Del Sol in the center of the action.The hotel limped on in this manner until 1981 when Sam Kram of Santa Barbara, Calif., purchased the property from the Patels. Kram bought the property and closed it for a large-scale renovation plan but failed to go through with any of it except a sprinkler system, the historical report states. Meeting little success, the deal fell through, and ownership reverted to the Patels. After their reaquisition of the property, the hotel stayed closed.In 1988, Jeff Dorroh purchased the building from the Patels, also with the intent of restoring it. Dorroh never did so, however, and the vacant building remained in his possession until the city bought it in 2003.Nash said the revitalization of downtown Yuma has led the city to believe it would be worthwhile to restore the building and turn it into a transportation center, though no action to do so has been taken yet. Nash hopes that as Yuma recovers from the recession, private investors will once again consider joining with the city to restore the building.

<a href="http://www.yumasun.com/news/hotel-71673-yuma-sol.htmltag:news.google.com,2005:cluster=http://www.yumasun.com/news/hotel-71673-yuma-sol.htmlSun, 24 Jul 2011 22:59:50 GMT 00:00″>Barren hotel has storied history