Yuma’s historic Hotel Del Sol being made into new transportation hub

YUMA, AZ (AZFamily)— Federal and state funding will help retrofit the historic Hotel Del Sol in downtown Yuma into a transportation hub.

City engineers are working to preserve elements of the hotel’s exterior, but a large part will be demolished to build Yuma’s first Multi-Modal Transportation Center.

The city was awarded $10.6 million from the U.S. Department of Transportation’s RAISE grant.

RAISE stands for Rebuilding America’s Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity. It’s a USDOT program that invests in the nation’s transportation goals.

Arizona’s Family Yuma bureau toured the hotel and captured some of its last images before it’s transformed.

Hotel Del Sol was built in 1916. It was originally called Hotel Del Ming, named after then mayor of Yuma, Frank Ming.

It’s sat empty for nearly four decades and is home to impressive architecture.

“It was designed by two architects from Los Angeles, Taylor and Taylor. They came and built this beautiful Spanish revival hotel. It’s so near and dear to Yuma’s history,” said Amanda Dahl, Yuma historian and director of the Sanguinetti House Museum and Gardens.

The hotel retains much of its original design, with wood framing and crown molding decorating the inside.

Dahl said the hotel was in a centralized part of town across from the train station.

“You could get off from your travels and immediately have a place to stay,” she said.

Plus, it had the ultimate amenity for the summer heat- an air conditioner in all 300 rooms.

“In 1937 they were able to advertise that every room had air conditioning so it was probably one of the most popular places to stay at in Yuma,” said Dahl.

It also appeared on the silver screen, serving as a backdrop for the 1994 action film The Getaway.

“One of the signs on the hotel was put in for that movie and they never removed it. So it looks pretty historic like it’s original to the building, but it was added later and never removed,” said Dahl.

The hotel will now be repurposed as a public transportation hub. Construction is expected to start next summer.

Folks will be able to access a lobby in the hotel. The city said some of the hotel’s artifacts will be incorporated into the lobby in some fashion.

While Dahl welcomes the restoration, she hopes it will stay true to the 1926 Hotel Del Ming.

“I would really hope that they would leave it as original as possible,” said Dahl.

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