The Rockefellers, the Roosevelts, and the Kennedys have all stayed at the Arizona Inn.
But it is more than just a retreat for the rich and famous.
After 95 years, the storied hotel serves as a piece of Tucson history, standing the test of time in a quiet neighborhood, northeast of the University of Arizona.
Isabella Greenway opened the Arizona Inn on Dec. 18, 1930.
Her great-grandson and one-time owner of the Inn, Will Conroy, details why she opened the Inn near the U of A.
"She wanted a small, home-like cottage hotel to give her guests privacy, quiet and sunshine," Conroy said.
Arizona's first-ever congresswoman, and a bridesmaid at Eleanor and Franklin D. Roosevelt's wedding, Greenway was a visionary.
In the 1920s, Greenway started a successful business, the Arizona Hut, that employed World War 1 veterans to build furniture.
But that all ended with the financial crash of 1929.
"Orders dried up," Conroy said. "And she very quickly made the decision to start a hotel in order to create her own market for the furniture."
With the Great Depression underway, Greenway opened the Arizona Inn in the small town of Tucson, population 32,000.
It's been a thriving destination resort ever since.
The Audubon Bar is a favorite spot for guests, transporting them back to the 1930s.
"Frank Lloyd Wright once paid it a compliment," Conroy said. "He once said it's the nicest room he's seen west of the Mississippi. There were a lot fewer rooms west of the Mississippi, but we'll take it."
The Arizona Inn has always been discrete about the rich and famous who've stayed over the past 95 years.
"The ones I'm most impressed with are Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn," Conroy said. "I guess they would come and book separate rooms. So now I'm getting very indiscrete. But I think history has shown that was the case."
There is a Hollywood feel to the pool area as well.
"This was added in 1938, about eight years after most of the inn was built," Conroy said. "This and the tennis courts, which are clay. So yeah, it really has a lot of history."
Earlier this year, a group of Tucson investors, including former Arizona Wildcat standout Steve Kerr, purchased the Arizona Inn from the Greenway family.
"This is one of the iconic hotels and we just felt really fortunate that we have the opportunity to buy it," said Brian Strange, head of the ownership group.
Strange said they are attempting to bring the Inn into the modern era.
"It's difficult, but yet it's easy because the community loves the hotel," Strange said.
Strange said, among the changes, that they will be upgrading the spa.
"We're turning the Greenway House into a beautiful spa," he said. "So, we're doing a wellness aspect. We're trying to respect the legacy, but just improving certain parts of the hotel."
The 14-acre oasis will have new guidance as it enters its next 100 years.
"The family started this hotel, and they created it, and they nurtured it," Strange said. "We just want to continue that legacy and respect it, and make it part of the culture and the history of this community."
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Pat Parris is an anchor and reporter for KGUN 9. He is a graduate of Sabino High School where he was the 1982 high school state track champion in the 800 meters. While in high school and college, he worked part-time in the KGUN 9 newsroom. Share your story ideas and important issues with Pat by emailing pat.parris@kgun9.com or by connecting on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
