The story
The Skirvin opened on September 26, 1911, with 224 rooms in a ten-story, two-winged tower, named for founder William Balser Skirvin. A twelve-story third wing came in 1925, and in 1929 and 1930 all three wings were raised to 13 floors, giving 525 rooms. Dan James bought it in 1945 and added air conditioning and a pool.
It closed in 1988 for low occupancy and sat abandoned for 19 years. The city bought it in May 2002 for $2.875 million, and developer John Weeman bought it in 2005. After a renovation of about $51 million it reopened in 2007 as a Hilton. The hotel's haunting rumors are tied to Room 1015 and an 'Effie' maid story, but reporters Steve Lackmeyer and Jason Kersey found no real-life evidence for it. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1979.
What's There Now
It operates as a 13-story Hilton-branded hotel with 225 rooms.
Everything that was here
- 1911–present · still open
Skirvin HotelHotel
A hotel that opened in 1911, sat empty for 19 years, and reopened in 2007 with a ghost story local reporters could not trace.
See the map in 1912 →
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