The Ashland Springs Hotel – HauntedHouses.com

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Paranormal Overview

• Entities of past guests are still enjoying the hotel.

It was designed by architect firm Tourtellotte and Hummel; who later designed the Idaho State Capitol, The Boise Hotel and the glorious Baker Hotel. The Ashland Springs Hotel is a reinforced, L shaped concrete structure, borrowing style elements from the Romanesque, English Tutor, Gothic and Neo-Classical architecture. It was built with a nine story central tower with two short wings…

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The Ashland Springs Hotel – HauntedHouses.com

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ADDRESS:

212 E. Main Street
Ashland, Oregon 97520

Website

LOCATION:

In the heart of downtown Ashland, Ashland Springs Hotel can be found sitting on a large corner lot at the intersection of E. Main and First Street. The building first and second floor stretches along both East Main and First Street.

DESCRIPTION:

The guest was wowed by the main entry with its “catenary arch, with inset windows, flanked by two round arches. Tiffany-type stained glass was used in the upper windows and in the three arched openings along First Street.” Stepping through the entrance is like stepping back to 1925!

HISTORY:

“Nine Stories of safety and comfort.”

This hotel had the distinction of being the tallest building between Portland and San Francisco; becoming the most prominent landmark in Oregon. The original name of this hotel when it opened in 1925 was The Lithia Springs Hotel, described as a luxury, health resort, and vacation hotel for the well-to-do. The Lithia Springs Hotel offered mineral waters to drink and soak in to help a variety of ailments. All was great for a number of years until the railroad stopped coming through town. They found ways to continue in business.

The Lithia Springs Hotel survived through The Depression, WW2, but started to slide in the 1950s’. When The Oregon Shakespeare Festival located in Ashland became a roaring success, The Lithia Springs Hotel became The Mark Anthony Motor Hotel in hopes of improving their occupancy.

In 1978, an attempt to improve and modernize the structure turn into a disaster, that didn’t help the hotel’s financial distress. This grand old building continued to go down the path of becoming a real fixer-upper opportunity that needed a boatload of money to make improvements that were needed to stay competitive. They closed in 1990, and it was put on the real estate market; a poor reflection of its once glorious past.

Thankfully, in 1998, the structure was rescued by new owners, Doug and Becky Neuman who both had gumption and a vision when they bought this property. The new owners found the money for an extensive restoration and renovation through the National Park’s Service’s Certified Rehabilitation Program that gives motivated owners historic preservation tax credit. It was a very successful two year endeavor.

The hotel’s name changed to Ashland Springs Hotel. Because it has been beautifully restored and also modernized to increase its appeal, The Ashland Springs Hotel enjoys a high occupancy due to its convenient location near to a lot of tourist-drawing events.

The restorations of the common rooms and gardens have drawn in local business as well. Most popular for social or business events is the Crystal Room. The restored English Gardens are a great Wedding Venue as well. The large ballroom is perfect for large sit-down meal events like receptions.

Apparently, the spirits who have a connection to this structure also approve of the vast improvements and visit to enjoy it, or stay to work out their issues.

HISTORY OF MANIFESTATIONS:

When a structure is restored to its former glory, this can act like a paranormal trigger that draws spirits who are connected to it to become active.

(Geiser Grand Hotel * Hartford Twain House * Brumder Mansion * The Historic Kewaunee Hotel)

Places built over graveyards, cemeteries often have paranormal activity from disturbed, puzzled spirits.

(Cincinnati Music Hall * Montauk Manor * The Easton Library * Topeka High School * El Campo Santo Cemetery)

In 1925, The Lithia Springs Hotel was built over an Indian Burial ground. OOPS!

Sudden death from accidents can cause spirits to stay where they died.

(Shanley Hotel * The Biltmore * Ashley’s of Rockledge * Bee-Bennett Mansion)

On opening day of The Lithia Springs Hotel, a young boy fell out of a window and died.

Murder victims often can’t rest and continue on in their favorite place or place of death.

(Kahler Grand Hotel * The Lumber Baron Inn * Saint John’s Twin Cinemas and Pub)

A former guest may have been murdered here or nearby.

MANIFESTATIONS:

Entities of Past Guests

Are still enjoying the hotel as seen/ unseen visitors. Perhaps some of the dark shadow people that float around at night in the common areas and their favorite rooms are former guests.

Strange Presence in 517 – Perhaps this is the male spirit mentioned below under Paranormal Findings, or it could be another former guest. Whoever he or she is, they are willing to share the room with living guests.

Entity of a boy – Runs around and likes to play all over the hotel.

Dark shadow people – some of whom may be spirits from the graves that were destroyed when the hotel was first built.

PARANORMAL FINDINGS:

The Ashland Springs Hotel has a strong reputation of being haunted. While staff and guests can’t talk about the many paranormal experiences that have been witnessed here, some staff have admitted that guests have had such experiences.

The one informal investigation that I found online claims that its psychic Christine saw a spirit of a well-to-do male sporting a mustache, with his hair parted in the middle, sometimes wearing a bowler hat, who is still enjoying the grand hotel. This psychic feels that he was murdered here. He holds no grudge and likes to look out the window on the 5th and sixth floor.

Though no EVP’s were captured, a dark mass was captured on film by this investigation team of two.

STILL HAUNTED?

Probably so. The Ashland Springs Hotel has long had the reputation of being haunted.

The owners won’t allow talk about anyone’s experiences. They don’t want to scare away guests after all their hard work in restoring this grand lady.

As the spirits are benign, the owners don’t want a bunch of ghost hunters descending upon their hotel, annoying any spectral guests as well as the living ones too.

Though the Asher Springs Hotel hasn’t come out of the paranormal closet yet, this report of hauntings here was briefly referred to in Kent Goodman’s book, Haunts of Western Oregon, published in 2009.