Staying at the Annex Hotel in 1919, Phoenix, Arizona


Let's time-travel back to 1919 in Phoenix, Arizona and stay at the Annex Hotel, which was at 515 N. Central Avenue.

It's summertime, and I see by the ad that they have the coolest sleeping rooms in the city. It's open all summer, and there are special rates. Let's go.

They used to call this the Adams Annex, because it was built right after the original Adams Hotel burned down in 1910. Of course the new Adams Hotel was built in 1911, but in my opinion it's too fancy, and they charge too much. The Annex is fine with me.

Of course there are drawbacks, the main one being that this hotel is so darned far away from downtown. It's on Taylor, so it's quite a walk to downtown. Well, I suppose that's part of the reason that the rates are lower.

Wow, it's hot here in Phoenix! Must be about a hundred degrees. And I thought I heard some thunder, it might be fixing for a storm. People always say that it's not humid in Phoenix, but today it is. I expect they're going to get a regular monsoon! What are you laughing at? Well, a thunderstorm at the very least. Maybe tonight, or tomorrow night. No one seems to know around here. The clouds gather, then they break, then they come back. Maybe the storm will hit next week. When that sun comes out, it's blinding, so I wish that I had some of those smoked glasses that I've seen people use in California. I could use a wider brim on my hat.

Our room faces west so I'd recommend that we stay out of it until the sun goes down. Looks like they serve some tasty grub, so let's go eat. Then maybe we can walk downtown, and look around.

That was a good walk, and now I'm ready for some sleep. Let's see, the manager explained to me how this works, you just get the cot wet and hang up some wet sheets and he says you'll sleep in cool comfort.

It's three a.m. and I haven't slept a wink. This is miserable. Are you still awake? If these are the coolest sleeping rooms in the city I'd hate to see the hottest! It sure would be nice if those clouds would rain!

The Annex Hotel remained in Phoenix, as the Apache Hotel, through the 1960s.
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