Progress at the Casa Grande Hotel

New windows being installed at Elk City’s Casa Grande Hotel.

Elk City’s Casa Grande Hotel is getting a little bit of a facelift after many years of inactivity. New windows were being installed last week at this long-shuttered four-story hotel, which stands alongside Historic Route 66.

The Casa Grande was built in 1928, two years after Highway 66 was given its number. In 1931, it hosted the US 66 Highway Association National Convention – an annual gathering of Good Roads boosters that were encouraging communities along the highway to pave the road and improve travel conditions. The hotel closed in the 1960s and was added to the National Register in 1995. Preservation Oklahoma highlighted it as one of the state’s Most Endangered Places list in 2022.

“The plan is to first secure the building by replacing the upper story windows on three sides,” said Don Mullenix, local preservationist. After that, the plan is to put new coverings on the north-facing windows, replace fire escape doors, and move on to ground-level work. More work is planned in future phases, such as creating a welcome center and renovating the commercial areas, including the spot that housed a geology and oil/gas museum in the 1990s.

The former restaurant space and hotel room renovation isn’t part of the work plan…yet, anyway. Don said it didn’t make financial sense at this time due to the expense. “But, if someone wants to partner with us and can present a viable business plan, we are willing to listen.”

There have been many efforts over the years to revive the historic structure and the Oklahoma Route 66 Association is pleased to see some positive movement at last! To stay up-to-date on the latest happenings at the site, you can join the Casa Grande Hotel Facebook group.

UPDATE: Here is a video of the inside from Visit Elk City: https://www.facebook.com/watch?v=1207722260789979