The Glen Tavern Inn is a hotel located in

Santa Paula Santa Paula (Spanish for " St. Paula") is a city in Ventura County, California, United States. Situated amid the orchards of the Santa Clara River Valley, the city advertises itself to tourists as the "Citrus Capital of the World". Santa Pau ...

Ventura County, California Ventura County () is a county in the southern part of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 843,843. The largest city is Oxnard, and the county seat is the city of Ventura. Ventura County comprises the Oxn ...

. The building was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

in 1984 and is an official City of Santa Paula and Ventura County Landmark. It is in the

Santa Clara River Valley The Santa Clara River Valley is a rural, mainly agricultural, valley in Ventura County, California that has been given the moniker Heritage Valley by the namesake tourism bureau. The valley includes the communities of Santa Paula, Fillmore, Piru ...

, approximately inland from the Pacific Ocean.

History

The hotel was built in 1911 when Santa Paula was growing and prospering as an oil town and was headquarters to

Union Oil Union Oil Company of California, and its holding company Unocal Corporation, together known as Unocal was a major petroleum explorer and marketer in the late 19th century, through the 20th century, and into the early 21st century. It was headqu ...

. The Tudor-Craftsman hotel was designed by famed architects Burns and Hunt and funded by a consortium of twenty-five wealthy townsmen each of whom wanted one thousand dollars for its construction. It was erected directly opposite the train depot to provide accommodations to the many newcomers lured to the area by the burgeoning oil and citrus industries, and to provide a gathering place for Santa Paula's growing high society circles. Beginning in the 1910s, Hollywood discovered the valley hamlet of Santa Paula. Its ruggedly picturesque vistas and hills – improbably close to the sprawl of

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

- provided a setting for numerous Westerns. Many Universal film professions either stayed at the hotel or ate in the restaurant during these early years. The hotel also hosted

William Jennings Bryan William Jennings Bryan (March 19, 1860 – July 26, 1925) was an American lawyer, orator and politician. Beginning in 1896, he emerged as a dominant force in the History of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, running ...

and famous pianist

Ignacy Jan Paderewski Ignacy Jan Paderewski (; – 29 June 1941) was a Polish pianist and composer who became a spokesman for Polish independence. In 1919, he was the new nation's Prime Minister and foreign minister during which he signed the Treaty of Versaill ...

. In later years, western stars like

Randolph Scott George Randolph Scott (January 23, 1898 – March 2, 1987) was an American film actor whose career spanned the years from 1928 to 1962. As a leading man for all but the first three years of his cinematic career, Scott appeared in a variety of ...

visited the hotel while on location. Because of its popularity, the hotel struggled to house visitors to Santa Paula. After city leaders sold the hotel in 1919, the Glen Tavern's new owner, Charles Estep, converted the hotel's unused attic space into a third floor for guests, completing the conversion around 1920. Eventually, as oil money and old Hollywood moved on, Santa Paula settled down into a quieter constancy of agriculture and small-town life Americana. In June 1943, during World War II, the U.S. Federal Public Housing Authority leased the property from Estep. The government then converted the hotel into a woman's dormitory for employees working at nearby Port Hueneme. In 1946, the lease ended and the Glen Tavern once again functioned as a hotel. By the 1960s, the train depot became defunct, and likewise, economic development bypassed the town. For the next half-century the hotel endured a marginal existence, alternating owners and uses many times as it slowly sank into

flophouse A flophouse (American English) or dosshouse (British English) is a place that offers very low-cost lodging, providing space to sleep and minimal amenities. Characteristics Historically, flophouses, or British "doss-houses", have been used for o ...

decrepitude until it was eventually rescued by developers with intentions of restoring its original grandeur. From 2005 through 2007, the Glen Tavern Inn was extensively renovated by the Jennett Investment Group. Mid-renovation, in April 2006, the hotel sustained a fire. Fortunately, firefighters were able to douse the blaze in time to save the landmark from major harm, and the burned portion was rebuilt. It reopened as a full-service hotel, restaurant and lounge in 2007. The renovation preserved the Inn's historical attributes alongside the addition of more modern amenities. On February 24, 2008, the Glen Tavern Inn was awarded Certificates of Special Recognition from the

United States Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and pow ...

United States Congress The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is bicameral, composed of a lower body, the House of Representatives, and an upper body, the Senate. It meets in the U.S. Capitol in Washing ...

and the

California State Assembly The California State Assembly is the lower house of the California State Legislature, the upper house being the California State Senate. The Assembly convenes, along with the State Senate, at the California State Capitol in Sacramento. The A ...

for the successful restoration project.

Ghost stories

Keeping with the hotel's motto "Where the Past Comes to Life" the Inn is allegedly haunted. In July 2007, the Ventura Paranormal Society held its annual convention there. In 2013, the inn was featured on an episode of ''

Ghost Adventures ''Ghost Adventures'' is an American paranormal and reality television series that premiered on October 17, 2008, on the Travel Channel before moving to Discovery+ in 2021. An independent film of the same name originally aired on the Sci-Fi Chann ...

'' with special guests

Brit Morgan Brittany Morgan Dengler (born September 24, 1987) is an American actress. Early life Morgan was born and raised in the Marlton section of Evesham Township, New Jersey, where she was a 2005 graduate of Cherokee High School. Career Morgan's fi ...

and

Mimi Page Mimi Page (born February 2, 1987) is an American singer-songwriter, record producer and composer. Musical style Page's original music blends ethereal vocals with piano-driven, atmospheric soundscapes. She attributes her ethereal sound to her u ...

. In 2014, the inn was featured on an episode of ''

The Dead Files ''The Dead Files'' is an American paranormal television series that premiered September 23, 2011, on the Travel Channel. The program features physical medium Amy Allan and former NYPD homicide detective Steve DiSchiavi, who investigate allegedly ...

''. One common urban legend maintains that during

Prohibition Prohibition is the act or practice of forbidding something by law; more particularly the term refers to the banning of the manufacture, storage (whether in barrels or in bottles), transportation, sale, possession, and consumption of alcoholic ...

, the Inn's third floor was utilized as a

speakeasy A speakeasy, also called a blind pig or blind tiger, is an illicit establishment that sells alcoholic beverages, or a retro style bar that replicates aspects of historical speakeasies. Speakeasy bars came into prominence in the United States d ...

, brothel and gambling parlor. But this is not the case. The third-floor brothel story was invented in the mid-1980s to promote the hotel's haunted reputation and does match historical records. Many other legends, including tales of a murdered prostitute and gambler, were also fabricated for the same purpose.Owens, Craig. ''Haunted by History Vol. 1: Separating the Facts and Legends of Eight Historic Hotels and Inns in Southern California'', Sad Hill LLC, , pages 353-372.

References

External links

* {{National Register of Historic Places in California Hotels in California Buildings and structures in Santa Paula, California Santa Paula, California Hotel buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in California National Register of Historic Places in Ventura County, California Commercial buildings completed in 1911 Hotels established in 1911 1911 establishments in California Reportedly haunted locations in California Sumner Hunt buildings Tudor Revival architecture in California

History

Ghost stories

See also

References

Further reading

External links