The Hotel Adams has been constructed on a grand scale three times since 1896 – twice rising from literal ashes to become a symbol of Phoenix’s stubborn survival.
By Douglas Towne | Phoenix Magazine
Great hotel nicknames are usually the result of clever marketing campaigns or a guest’s epiphany, like San Diego’s Hotel del Coronado known as “The Del.” For one Downtown Phoenix hostelry, however, there was no human involvement. The building branded itself. As the soaring rooftop sign atop the Hotel Adams flickered to life one evening in the 1950s, four letters malfunctioned and remained dark. The crimson neon spelled out, “HOT DAM.”
The phrase sums up the love affair between Arizona and three iterations of the hotel, which has provided upscale hospitality for more than 120 years at the northeast corner of Central Avenue and Adams Street. Twice, the Adams has been destroyed only to rise from its ashes. No other building better embodies the spirit of Phoenix, the city that sprouted from the ruins of the Hohokam civilization and continues to grow despite hellish heat, brackish politics and wily haboobs.
