The Hotel Congress is a federally-recognized historic building located in downtown

Tucson , "(at the) base of the black ill , nicknames = "The Old Pueblo", "Optics Valley", "America's biggest small town" , image_map = , mapsize = 260px , map_caption = Interactive map ...

. It was built in 1918 and designed by the Los Angeles architectural firm

William and Alexander Curlett William F. Curlett (County Down, Ireland, March 3, 1846 – January 21, 1914, San Francisco) and Alexander Edward Curlett (called Aleck) (San Francisco, February 6, 1881 – September 5, 1942) were a father-and-son pair of architects. They w ...

as part of an expansion of Congress Street and in conjunction with the theatrical venue Rialto Theatre, which sits north of Congress Street. The rear of the building faces the historic

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Southern Pacific train station, built by

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in 1907. In addition to being a hotel, the Hotel Congress building also houses a restaurant, bar and music venue. The name "The Congress Hotel" was chosen through a naming competition organized by the Arizona Daily Star newspaper in 1918. The winning suggestion was announced on April 30, 1918, and it was submitted by Dorit Dinkel, who won $15 worth of baby bonds for having their name chosen. The Hotel Congress and its owners since 1985, Richard Oseran and Shana Oseran, have been a key cultural institution and boosters in the early 21st Century redevelopment of Downtown Tucson. The Hotel is known for being the site of the capture of gangster and bank robber

John Dillinger John Herbert Dillinger (June 22, 1903 – July 22, 1934) was an American gangster during the Great Depression. He led the Dillinger Gang, which was accused of robbing 24 banks and four police stations. Dillinger was imprisoned several times and ...

in 1934. After a series of bank robberies, the Dillinger Gang arrived in Tucson to hide out. On January 22, 1934, a fire started in the basement and spread up to the third floor, where the gang resided under aliases. After the desk clerk contacted them through the switchboard the gang escaped by aerial ladders. On the request of the gang, two firemen retrieved their luggage, identifying who they were. After being transferred to a jail in

Crown Point, Indiana Crown Point is a city in and the county seat of Lake County, Indiana, United States. The population was 33,899 at the 2020 census. The city was incorporated in 1868. On October 31, 1834, Solon Robinson and his family became the first settlers to ...

, Dillinger escaped again and was eventually shot down in

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. Local Tucson architect

Roy Place Roy is a masculine given name and a family surname with varied origin. In Anglo-Norman England, the name derived from the Norman ''roy'', meaning "king", while its Old French cognate, ''rey'' or ''roy'' (modern ''roi''), likewise gave rise to ...

rebuilt the upper floor in the same style as the original. A historic plaque on the south entrance of the hotel bears Place's name so it is often believed to be of his original design. The Hotel Congress building was added to the National Historic Register in 2003. The Hotel Congress received a

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Choice distinction award in 2006 and again in 2008. According to the National Registration listing, Alexander and William Curlett, Curlett and Son Architects of Los Angeles were the actual designers/architects. A newspaper article from the ''

Arizona Daily Star The ''Arizona Daily Star'' is the major morning daily newspaper that serves Tucson and surrounding districts of southern Arizona in the United States. History L. C. Hughes was the Arizona Territory governor and founder of the ''Arizona Star'', ...

'', dated April 23, 1920, reported:

Club Congress

In 1985, a music venue was opened in the hotel, and has become a venue for touring bands playing in Tucson. In February 2005, the stage was completely redesigned by local

Latino Latino or Latinos most often refers to: * Latino (demonym), a term used in the United States for people with cultural ties to Latin America * Hispanic and Latino Americans in the United States * The people or cultures of Latin America; ** Latin A ...

artist

Daniel Martin Diaz __NOTOC__ Daniel Martin Diaz is an American artist and musician based in Tucson, Arizona. His work has been exhibited worldwide and has been published in LA Times, NY Times, Juxtapoz, High Fructose, and Low Rider Magazine as well as in five books ...

, and it was named Best Functional Art Installation by Tucson Weekly in 2006.

ZZ Top ZZ Top is an American rock band formed in 1969 in Houston, Texas. For 51 years, they comprised vocalist-guitarist Billy Gibbons, drummer Frank Beard and vocalist-bassist Dusty Hill, until Hill's death in 2021. ZZ Top developed a signature sound ...

guitarist

Billy Gibbons William Frederick Gibbons (born December 16, 1949) is an American musician who is the guitarist and lead singer of the rock band ZZ Top. He began his career in the band the Moving Sidewalks, which recorded a full-length album entitled, ''Flas ...

has said that the Tap Room at Hotel Congress is his favorite bar. Club Congress is regarded as being the longest-running venue of its kind west of the Mississippi, and, in part because of this distinction, Arizona Governor

Janet Napolitano Janet Ann Napolitano (; born November 29, 1957) is an American politician, lawyer, and university administrator who served as the 21st governor of Arizona from 2003 to 2009 and third United States secretary of homeland security from 2009 to 20 ...

issued a proclamation on July 25, 2005, that

Labor Day Weekend Labor Day is a federal holiday in the United States celebrated on the first Monday in September to honor and recognize the American labor movement and the works and contributions of laborers to the development and achievements of the United St ...

would be known as "Club Congress Weekend". In 2004, the hotel's entertainment director David Slutes started a three-day, three-night live music event known as "HOCO Fest".

The Cup Cafe

The Cup Cafe, colloquially known as The Cup, can be found just off the Hotel Congress lobby and offers breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

Hotel Interior

The hotel has basically maintained the inside decor as it was during the 1930s when the notorious gangster John Dillinger and his gang were arrested in 1934.

References

External links

Official Hotel Congress website
*For more on the original architectural firm, William Curlett and Son: http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~npmelton/lacurl.htm **Aleck Curlett, William Curlett's son, was still working under the family firm of William Curlett and Son. William died in 1914, and the hotel was designed in 1918. ("History of California and an Extended History of Los Angeles and Environs" by James Guinn, published 1915.) {{DEFAULTSORT:Congress

Hotel Congress The Hotel Congress is a federally-recognized historic building located in downtown Tucson, Arizona, Tucson. It was built in 1918 and designed by the Los Angeles architectural firm William and Alexander Curlett as part of an expansion of Congress ...

Hotel buildings completed in 1919 Hotels established in 1919 Hotel buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in Arizona