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Jul. 11, 2009
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal

Boulder Dam Hotel forced to close doors

Property behind on mortgage; pleas for aid fail

By BENJAMIN SPILLMAN
LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL

The Boulder Dam Hotel in the heart of Boulder City was built in 1933, two years before Hoover Dam was complete. The property housed famous guests such as James Cagney, Bette Davis and Howard Hughes and holds much of Boulder City’s past in journals, photographs, tools and supplies related to the dam’s construction.
Photo by Duane Prokop.



A sign in front of the Boulder Dam Hotel announces the closure of the 76-year-old landmark, which includes a hotel, restaurant and museum. Twenty-two workers will lose jobs.
Photo by Duane Prokop.

Barring a miracle worthy of a Frank Capra script, the historic Boulder Dam Hotel won't open for guests, diners and history buffs Sunday.

The 20-room hotel and museum in downtown Boulder City is three months behind on its mortgage and last-minute appeals for money from the local government failed.

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    • That leaves operators no choice but to shut down at midnight, which means the 76-year-old hotel, restaurant and museum will become a dark spot in the middle of Boulder City's historic district.

    It also will leave 22 mostly part-time workers without jobs and two on-site caretakers looking for a new place to live.

    "I got a 30-day notice, too," said innkeeper Roger Shoaff who, along with his wife, Roseanne, runs day-to-day operations on behalf of the Boulder City Museum and Historical Association.

    Some independent small businesses and offices inside will remain open for now.

    The nonprofit association that owns the property hopes to raise $250,000 by Sept. 10 to reopen the property.

    But Shoaff was planning to lay off staff, close the restaurant and shutter the guest rooms by midnight.

    The two-story, white-brick structure, with 10 stately wood columns and green trim, originally opened in 1933, two years before Hoover Dam was complete.

    In addition to housing famous guests such as James Cagney, Bette Davis and Howard Hughes, the property houses much of Boulder City's past as well in the form of journals, personal photographs, tools and supplies related to the construction of Hoover Dam -- the Great Depression-era edifice that altered the flow of the Colorado River, brought electricity and reliable irrigation supplies to much of the desert Southwest and put Boulder City on the map.

    Those treasures, as Shoaff calls the artifacts, and the fact the hotel serves as a tourist attraction and community gathering place for Boulder City cultural events, aren't enough to keep the property viable through the current recession.

    The hotel-museum has about $8,000 in monthly mortgage obligations, Shoaff said, and the occupancy rate has fallen from about 68 percent to 57 percent since the national economy went into a tailspin last year.

    The historical association sought to raise private money before turning, unsuccessfully, to Boulder City's redevelopment agency on Monday to ask for about $135,000.

    The group is also seeking grants from the federal government, but now that it is 90 days past-due on the mortgage, foreclosure appears imminent.

    "We can't compare ourselves to a casino that can give away a room for $9 and make money from other things," said Shoaff of the historic property's niche in the marketplace.

    Shoaff and others say characterizing their request to the city as a ploy to prop up a business with government money is unfair.

    They say the hotel is merely one asset of a beloved local institution that has seen other sources of funding, such as grants from Clark County, dry up in hard times.

    "That is really what I find offensive, this isn't about making a multimillion-dollar mortgage payment or paying off big bondholders," said Michael Green, a history professor at College of Southern Nevada.

    Green, who was married at the hotel, said it appears the fate of the property has become mired in local politics. He said the Boulder City community has the resources to step in and keep the property viable.

    "There are enough residents there to put something forward that they should be ashamed of themselves if they don't," Green said.

    So far, though, there hasn't been enough political momentum to rescue the hotel and keep the museum open.

    The redevelopment agency deadlocked 2-2 Monday on a vote to provide a loan that would carry it through the summer.

    "I think they really dropped the ball there," said redevelopment agency and City Council member Travis Chandler, who voted against the loan proposal. "Maybe it needs new management, a fresh perspective."

    Chandler said he didn't consider the merits of the hotel and museum when he cast his vote because, as far as he was concerned, it is improper for a redevelopment agency to fund ongoing operations.

    "This is simply a question of getting past the law," he said.

    Cam Walker, another member of the redevelopment agency and the City Council, has a different take. He voted in favor of the loan and said politics is at play.

    "It goes back to a decision of elected officials," Walker said. "Our motion was not to be throwing money around because someone asked."

    Meanwhile, the hotel and museum is set to close and the cost to preserve it as-is keeps growing.

    Shoaff said depending on how long it is closed, there could be new costs for business licenses and health code obligations.

    Contact reporter Benjamin Spillman at bspillman@reviewjournal.com or 702-477-3861.reviewjournal.com or 702-477-3861.

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    Gary wrote on July 12, 2009 01:36 PM: Once again a landmark has been foresaken for the almighty dollar. Shame on the council and residents of Boulder City. When downtown becomes a ghost town like so many other cities, look back on you lack of will to save not only the hotel but your city.


    boulder peon wrote on July 11, 2009 06:45 PM: A 8000 mortgage, 20 rooms, 2 full time on site managers and 22 employees. Hard to feel sorry for that operation, Giving money to this place is like flushing it. Knowing Boulder City, I am sure the City itself will bail it out,that's just how things are done in Boulder City


    FastTracker wrote on July 11, 2009 04:23 PM: It appears as if somebody mortgaged the property during the 'high times'.

    Opened during the 'Great Depression', closed during the 'Greatest Depression'.


    William D. Tomany wrote on July 11, 2009 02:56 PM: Closing The Boulder City Hotel is sad.

    For all of you new people I think there is no gambling in Boulder City perhaps there are a few places with slots but there are no Casino's


    Summerlin Res wrote on July 11, 2009 02:42 PM: Thank you obama ... more jobs saved .. you the man .. keep up the good work.

    Every day more and more businesses are closing and more people are unemployed everyday.

    Thank you to all of you obama voters. How is the hope and change working out for all of you there at the Boulder Dam Hotel?


    VegasSucks wrote on July 11, 2009 02:29 PM: Eight thousand dollars in monthly mortgage payments?? How did the current owner EVER make a go of it?
    But it is a gorgeous and historical hotel. They should have promoted it's celebrity history..."the Bette Davis suite"..."the James Cagney room". There are millions of baby boomers who are re-discovering old Hollywood. Oh well.
    Maybe Boulder City should have changed it's name when the Boulder Dam was renamed Hoover Dam. ""Hoover Dam City"--where it all began." "Stay at the Hoover Dam Hotel--Bette Davis did."
    Too late now. C'est la vie.


    ...Temujin...Khan..of..the..Yakka..Mongols... wrote on July 11, 2009 02:11 PM: .
    ..
    ...Every week I watch and sometimes tape PBS travelogues, Rick Steve's,Burt Wolf's and Rudy Maxima's shows..
    ... Always there is a recommended bed and breakfast of reasonable means.

    ...What about UNLV and a special project of rehabilitating nearby historic properties and hotels or restaurants..

    ...Northern Nevada has a slew of old hotels and ghost towns that have been restored. These towns had their day in the Sun during the times of Mark Twain and the Gold and Silver Booms..

    ...Certainly that growing Hotel and Restaurant school and the Architectural Department could show some talent using Boulder City as a business model before that new phony lake dries up..

    ...I don't believe a business of this size would support a large staff but there are many retired twilighters who may relish a life long dream of running a restaurant or inn that may compliment this enterprise..
    ..
    .


    ET wrote on July 11, 2009 01:52 PM: Whats got John O,so fired up ? The police did shoot a runner and must shoot all runners, they kill a lot of innocent children, mothers and father trying to escape justice .Innocent citizens do not run or rape children.The drag race was a isolated event that happens occasionally.A police Officer was killed,let it go ,enough suffering already.Oh,and if you do not like it ,leave.


    Green Dragon Regular wrote on July 11, 2009 11:53 AM: @Joe and "the man"-

    If you can't or won't appreciate the respite that B.C. is from the aesthetic offense that is Las Vegas, don't go. I suppose you'd rather see a theme park put up at Red Rock and high-density housing on Mt. Charleston. Not all of us think UFC, Bud Light, video poker, and chicken fingers with ranch are the best things in the world.

    As for the hotel's problems, the biggest one is the government's involvement in its operation. I've never seen more amateur operators of a hospitality operation. Most of the people who've been in charge there were either retired or operating a "hobby business"- witness Matteo's, the former restaurant operation.

    Nothing wrong with a little taxpayer- supported support of a place that recalls a more elegant and civilized time, as long as the government gets dedicated, qualified pros to oversee its operation and stays out of the way of their success. These operators should be entitled to the bulk of any profits realized, with a small amount going back into an investment fund that would eventually wean the operation from tax revenues and generate sufficient money to continue upkeep and re-investment.


    ken w. wrote on July 11, 2009 11:49 AM: good ,uptight white people in boulder city .
    these are the same people that did not want the bus line running from las vegas to B.C.because it would bring shady people. dirty little town .
    i will miss "the spillway" bar


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