Dudley House: First Real Hotel in Prescott

It is the Juniper House that is rightly designated as Prescott's first hotel. However, the Dudley House was the first hotel to offer something more substantial than a canvas roof!

Congress Hotel Fire Changed Prescott

The Congress Hotel was located on Gurley St.
on the western lot of today's Hassayampa Inn.

It was just before 3 am, July 12, 1923. EA Chase, a guest at the Congress Hotel, was awakened by a woman screaming, “Fire!” As soon as he raised up, he noticed his room was quickly filling with smoke. When he placed his feet on the floor, his heart filled with trepidation as it had already grown sizzling hot...

A nursemaid caring for the grandson of US Senator Henry Ashurst panicked when she saw the flames and left the building without the 1-year-old child...

Unfortunately, the city’s fire siren was out of order. Someone fired three pistol shots into the air to try to attract attention, but it would be 10 minutes before the fire department finally arrived at the scene...