The Colonial Hotel (taller yellow building on the left) as it appeared circa early 1890s. On March 18, 1895, the hotel caught fire from a home next door and burned to the ground. In September of the same year, a new frame was erected and in November, the hotel was again open for business. James Shanley would purchase the Colonial Hotel on October 1, 1906, renaming it the Shanley Hotel.
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The building of the Colonial Hotel’s new frame in September 1895 following the devastating fire just a few months earlier.
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The Shanley family on the porch of the Shanley Hotel in 1906, shortly after James Shanley purchased the property. James is standing behind the first woman seated on the left.
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The property’s well in which the live-in barber’s 4-year old daughter, Rosie, fell into and drowned while playing near it on June 1, 1911. The well has since been covered by a heavy slab of concrete, though occasionally uncovered for certain filming opportunities.
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On February 26, 1932, the Shanley Hotel was raided by authorities for illegally distributing alcohol during prohibition. Two gangsters named Oscar and Grover (left) were arrested in the raid. The same two men were shot at from outside while staying at the Shanley Hotel at another time. The bullet hole remains in the window and at the top of the door frame (right) of the room they stayed in to this day.
