This photo was taken by me. This is where Ellen McNarama fell to her death
The famous Davenport Hotel has been one of Spokane's landmarks for over 90 years. Guests from all over the world come and stay at the Davenport. More often than not, they will leave with the desire to return someday. In the past, there have been some guests who had passed away while staying at the hotel. There is no actual proof of the existence of ghosts inside of the Davenport, over the years, there have been many unexplained occurences in the hotel.
It is well known that Louis Davenport, the founder of the Davenport Hotel died in his apartment; which is now room 1105, on the 11th floor of the hotel, in 1951. His wife Verus died in the same room in 1967. Many of the staff believe that the spirit of Louis Davenport still resides in the hotel.
About a year ago, a bellman was rolling a full baggage cart down the hallway. When it was struggling, the cart rolled itself down the hall and stopped at room 1105. The bellman figured that there was a dip in the floor. When he tried this experiment the next day, the cart did not move on its own.
Another occurrence happened on one New Year's eve, a couple from Alaska was staying at room 1105. After returning from the festivities downstairs, the couple went to their room, placed their noisemakers on the counter, and then went to bed. When they woke up the next morning, the noisemakers were on the floor. They placed the noisemakers back on the counter and left for breakfast, and when they returned from breakfast, they found the noisemakers on the floor again. After this happened a few more times, they went to the desk and told the clerk what happened. The staff replied that Mr. Davenport wanted to celebrate New Years.
It was said that Louis Davenport was a cigar smoker. Though the Davenport Hotel is a nonsmoking hotel, some guests have reported smelling the cigar smoke.
“If the founder was still here,” said Tom McArthur; Communications Director of the Davenport Hotel. “I would be honored. If he was here, helping the guests and holding doors open, then I say bring it on.”
One well-known legend that actually has a root to it, is the story of Ellen McNamara. According to an article published in the Spokesman Review on August 18, 1920, Mrs. Ellen McNamara; a widow of a prominent New York business man, was staying at the Davenport with her sister and her cousins. Feeling ill, she had told her companions that she would not be attending dinner.
Feeling the need for some fresh air, Ellen went out onto the promenade on the third floor and went through a door, believing that she could cross the court, by way of the skylight. With the glass not having the strength to bear her weight, she crashed through, her shoulder hit the floor and her head hit the stone upon impact.
When physicians carried her to the second floor Mezzanine, her last words were,” Where did I go?” Since then, guests have been reporting a woman dressed in 1920's attire walking around in the Mezzanine and the lobby , stopping them and asking,” Where did I go?” On the anniversary of her death, McArthur laid a rose on the spot where she died. If one stands on the area, a scent of flowers just might hit their nostrils.
“The closest thing I have experienced to a ghost story was on Halloween of 2003,” said McArthur. “I went over to MAC (Museum of Art and Culture) to over the original blueprints. After looking over the drawings, I noticed the stamp on the blueprints was from Cutter and Malmgrem Architecture, dated October 31 1913, 3:20 p.m. When I looked at the clocks in the lobby, they read 3:20 p.m.”
There have been other occasions where people thought they had expeirenced an encounter with a ghost in different areas of the hotel.
A flower designer was setting flowers in the Marie Antoinette Ballroom (Verus Davenport's favorite room in the hotel) for a wedding, when they heard the sound of fabric rubbing against fabric. She called one of the housekeepers who said that the ghosts were dancing.
Down in the spa, on the B level, people have reported seeing a gentleman holding a towel, directing them to where the pool is. The gentleman may have been a butler, as it was common for guests to bring their butlers. They would bunk downstairs, waiting for their master's call.
A week ago, a woman who was staying in room 1103, said she felt her bed move, as if someone was sitting opposite of her. She also felt the sheets rustling. Despite the experience being more surprising than frightening, she asked if she could be moved to another room.
“People are just curious about this sort of thing,” said Susan Skeen, a concierge at the Davenport. “They ask if I have ever experienced anything. Unfortunately I haven't, but I would love to.”
Guests, who have been lucky enough to make contact on what they might think to be a spirit, will usually find their experience to be benevolent, helpful, or puzzling. Whether these occurences with the unexplained are actually ghosts or some other unexplained phemonenon, the Davenport is a structure filled with all sorts of human history. If someone listened closely, they might just hear voices in the walls, speaking about the hotel’s rich past.
“Though I can't officially say that we have ghosts at the Davenport Hotel, I can say that we might have ghosts at the Davenport Hotel,” said McArthur. “If there was an afterlife where we could choose where to stay for eternity, who would not choose the Davenport.”
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