Southern California Club Xterra
Southern California Club Xterra => Off Topic => Topic started by: JFanaselle on June 15, 2020, 05:17:48 PM
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In case you hadn't seen the news yet, an overnight fire has destroyed several buildings at the Cerro Gordo ghost town in Inyo County. Sadly, the American Hotel, the crown jewel of the town, was completely destroyed. Also destroyed were the Ice House and the Billy Crapo House, and a unique wooden ore cart.
The American Hotel was built in 1871, using hand-forged square nails. It is said to be the oldest California hotel located east of the Sierras. The Ice House was reportedly the first ice house in all of Inyo County, and the Crapo House was the location where an infamous squabble ended in murder in December of 1892.
According to numerous Facebook groups, Robert (the caretaker) and a few other folks who were at the property are all OK and uninjured, which is of course great news. However, several amazing pieces of history are now gone forever. I am SO thankful for the opportunity to have visited and seen these buildings, but I am so saddened for those who will never be able to.
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damn it, I been wanting to visit and check it out. Now I wont be able too.... any news on how it started?
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That really sucks ,thanks for posting Joe.
That is a trip I will never forget
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Sorry to hear this.
Thanks for letting us know.
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Well just when I thought maybe bad news would maybe start taking a turn for something positive. This is very sad indeed, especially for future generations to come see some real Americana.
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The rumor I heard is that they are suspecting an electrical issue, but the fire inspector still had a lot of work to do. It was a total burn down that got very hot, so they may unfortunately never be able to pinpoint the exact cause.
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Okay, that's it. I'm going to bed. Someone wake me up when it's 2021. :'(
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If anyone is interested, the owners of the town of Cerro Gordo have started a fundraising campaign in an effort to generate enough funds to rebuild the hotel. There is a go-fund-me page here: https://www.gofundme.com/f/cerro-gordo?utm_source=customer&utm_campaign=p_cp+share-sheet&utm_medium=copy_link-tip&fbclid=IwAR3vNfa7u6hPbVAY6A8FYZVL2UuLbhcq3aX-feWgv1hilIepS60_tdFpylA
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It would certainly be nice to see it rebuilt. Even better if they could start it back up as a operating historical setting hotel/bar/restaurant. The way insurance and the like goes here in this state it might be really cost prohibitive.
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I also wanted to share that there is a volunteer effort being put together to clean up the site of the fire. If you wish to volunteer, you can enter your name and contact information into a web based document and they'll reach out to you when they have more details. If you're on Facebook, you can also join the "Friends of Cerro Gordo" group to see more info.
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfuuWJ_1MBEHjpjEo4VzGjkLCwg8rwmtz8W_md2-MzK2j-WJQ/viewform?fbclid=IwAR2x8URXXe6aOUDAgBkVcI0Tdm1RQ1IwrD4dOf68gQxrHP3smVZeSQS2RJo
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Scanning through YouTube today I came across a couple of interesting videos. It appears the new owner of Cerro Gordo has got the help to rebuild the Hotel and a few other building from the Diesel Bros. The latest video they are taking the heavy equipment up to start the foundation. According to the owner,he has the permit to operate the hotel once it's complete. Let's hope he's succesfull in bringing back this landmark.
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The guy that bought it, Brent Underwood, has a really good youtube channel. Ghost Town Living (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCEjBDKfrqQI4TgzT9YLNT8g)
He seems to have a pretty cool vision for the future of Cerro Gordo.
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We need to do another trip
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Great Videos
Part 1:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6c3aehC2ZBI&t=6s
Part 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yVoCQRHrwrE
Part 3 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_muhaWvkH6I
Part 4 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A8AnEtbd2YA&t=732s