Hotel San Carlos

The hotel was built in 1930 by a local named Charles Harris, who spent $300,000 on the project. When it opened, it boasted 107 rooms, a piano bar, rooftop garden, and an air conditioning system consisting of a well in the basement and fans that blew air into the building. Since it was the only building in Yuma with such a system, a number of wealthy Yuma families rented rooms during the summer. Another interesting aspect about the old hotel is that between the 1930s to 1950s movie stars and other famous people of the time stayed here including Ty Cobb, John Wayne, Marilyn Monroe, and Herbert Hoover (the lobby features a plaque with their signatures). Many guests, including some celebrities, came to Yuma to take advantage of the "accelerated" weddings allowed in the state (it is rumored that Marilyn Monroe and Joe DiMaggio got married here). Movie crews often stayed here as well. The hotel was the city's main social gathering place until 1960 and eventually closed and fell into disrepair. It remained vacant for a time but was converted into a residential facility in the mid-1980s.

"Hotel San Carlos." John Archuleta - News 11 [video]. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=irJ7IXbM46U&feature=youtu.be

"San Carlos Hotel." Arizona State Historic Property Inventory. April 12, 1984. https://npgallery.nps.gov/NRHP/GetAsset/NRHP/84000754_text.