Goldfield Hotel

02/28/2026

A crowd of miners stands at the hoist in Goldfield, Nevada, in 1905.

A crowd of miners stands at the hoist in Goldfield, Nevada, in 1905, waiting their turn to head underground. Some clutch simple lunch bags, others carry the classic tin pails. A few hold candles, a necessity when your workplace is carved out of rock and lit by flame.

No hard hats, no reflective vests, no safety briefing. I am fairly certain OSHA would have needed a moment before signing off on this operation 😂.

We do not know which mine this was, but the photograph says enough on its own. It is a straightforward look at the men who powered Goldfield’s gold rush, lined up and ready to drop into the dark for another day’s work.

Image courtesy of the Huntington Digital Library.

02/09/2026

Photograph from 1934, showing the Goldfield Hotel.

Photograph from 1934, showing the Goldfield Hotel.
Built in 1908, during the peak years of the gold discoveries, the four story hotel replaced two earlier buildings on the same site, both lost to fire. Designed in the Classical Revival style, it was meant to project confidence, wealth, and permanence in a town built almost overnight.

For a time, it delivered exactly that. The hotel hosted miners fresh from the hills, investors chasing the next strike, politicians, and well known visitors drawn by the money flowing through Goldfield. Behind its grand facade were stories of ambition, risk, success, and collapse, all unfolding as the gold veins slowly played out.

As mining declined, so did the fortunes tied to it. The hotel eventually closed in the mid twentieth century and slipped into disuse. Over the decades, its empty halls earned a reputation for unexplained activity, drawing curiosity from paranormal investigators as well as photographers and explorers fascinated by what remains. Though there have been restoration attempts and changes in ownership, the building still stands largely silent, currently still offered for sale.

Image courtesy of the Pomona Public Library.

12/08/2025