Posts Tagged ‘lee marvin’

The Monte Vista is a love it or hate it kind of place, I doubt there are many people in the middle, and a sense of humor is a must.

In the 1920s, the people of Flagstaff got together and decided that if they were going to be an up-and-coming city, they needed a world class hotel. The citizens (including novelist Zane Grey) privately donated, raised, and otherwise scraped up the cash, and it was truly a community project with profits invested back into the city.

It opened for business Jan 1st, 1927, and quickly became the hub of the sleepy little town. Western movies were shot in and around the town, and the Monte Vista was where all the stars stayed. In a town with not a lot of options (not to mention stars to keep happy), it’s not surprising that the lounge became the main speakeasy during prohibition.

Over the years, the hotel has gone from the most modern place in an downtown with bigtime aspirations to being part of Flagstaff’s quirky, funky, historic district, with a bit o’ kitch.

Charlie had done the research, thought it would be a hoot, and we were off. We in room 401, the Lee Marvin room, complete with his boots nailed to the wall. Supposedly the place is majorly haunted, but the creepiest thing we saw was in our own bathroom, staring in horror directly at the toilet:

We were firmly in the ‘love’ category. With this kind of a back story, how could we not?

The photo the hotel had of the room’s namesake was from Cat Ballou- a horror that I just couldn’t get through, and it certainly doesn’t look like the most dignified role the man ever had, but I’d assume that must’ve been what he was filming while there, so…here goes:

I have a soft spot for certain screwiness- the messed up faucet handles, the mismatched lamps in the bedroom, etc. “The Noble Red Man” and “The S*X maniac?” ug. And to think that movie won an Oscar.

More Monte Vista pics here.