Restore the Historic Cochise Hotel in the Old West!

Help us bring the historic Cochise Hotel (Historic Registry 1976) back to all its glory, and then come stay in the oldest Hotel in Arizona.  Stay tuned to the history and  progress of the project at the hotel website  www.cochisehotel.net.

The Cochise Hotel is one of the most authentic landmarks in the Southwest.  The Bed and Breakfast is rich in the history of the region like Tombstone and Bisbee, where people like Wyatt Earp, Big Nose Kate and Governor George Hunt have stayed.  Through its 116 year run it has only had 5 owners and twice has nearly slipped into becoming among the ruins of a ghost town.  Back in the fifties it was brought back to life by Elizabeth Husband, of the famous South-western museum and research centre, the Amerind Foundation, and since 2007, until now, it sat vacant.

We want to bring back a piece of the real Old West and restore the Cochise Hotel as a museum and Bed & Breakfast for people who love the authenticity of an era gone by. 

Phillip Gessert, a Western historian and filmmaker, acquired the Hotel this past year.  He has made great strides in breathing life back into the old place, but the amount of work and expense that it will take to open it again has exceeded his financial reach.  He has received so much interest and moral support from the people who visit, the guests who once stayed and the local historical societies that he is convinced that through public support, the Hotel can live again.  The effort to restore the hotel has already been featured in the April 2014 issue of Wild West magazine, written by Dan Flores.

By funding the important basic needs for restoration of this Historic Hotel, for example, digging a new well for water and repairing the damaged Adobe walls, it will preserve this iconic project for another generation.  If it is not cared for, it will not survive and will only be remembered in archival pictures and patron's memories.

What do we need the money for?

We have extended all our personal financial resources to come up with the first monies to secure the hotel for restoration; as well as have already made the first round of repairs within our means.  Much of the furnishing requirements have been supported by our personal collection of antiques and original gambling tables of the Old West. The next round of renovations that need to be made include a new well, restoration of the existing double adobe walls, replacement of most of the existing shower and bath plumbing, new gas and water lines, exterior reinforcement with new paint, water heaters, air conditioning units, landscaping and walkways. This project is wholly historically cool, and can be accomplished with our continued hard work and your gratefully appreciated additional cash.  We hope you can help and then be able to be a VIP guest; become involved and make your mark in the history of the Old West in helping with the preservation of the Cochise Hotel!

Needs to restore the hotel are as follows:

• Digging a well and buying a pump.
  
• Water tank to hold water for dissemination.  
  
• Re-doing and plumbing the ten bathrooms.
  
• Re-painting the whole exterior
  
• Interior painting and wall designs
  
• Structural damage repair of the double adobe walls and metal roofs.
  
• Landscaping and walkways.
  
• New gas and water lines.
  
• Air conditioning and heating need for out buildings.
  
• Renovation of the old Bath House and Laundry.
  
• State Licenses and Legal requirements to open.
  
• Purchase of new linens, bedding,
  
• Drapes and floor cover for all rooms and outbuildings.
  
• Start up public relations and advertisement.
  

The whole project will need minimally nearly 200K but we thought that if we could just get the well dug for water and plumbing and other utility underground lines to the hotel, plus basic cosmetics for 115K, that'd be great; although of course any additional funds will be greatly appreciated and applied.

This IndieGoGo campaign has been initiated by Phillip Gessert.  Phil has been in the film business based in Los Angeles for 40 years, including television, movies, commercials, music videos and industrial films.  In 2012 his documentary “American Songwriter” won numerous awards at film festivals around the world.  He is the writer of several screenplays and books including a script based on the Wyatt Earp and Big Nose Kate adventure of 1900 at the Cochise Hotel.  Phillip Gessert is also a noted Western Historian and maker of turn of the century gambling equipment, as well as being one of the most famous Faro dealers of today.  He currently lives at the Cochise Hotel in the unincorporated city of Cochise in Cochise County, Arizona.  No more than an hour from Tucson and surrounding historical sites such as Tombstone, Bisbee, Kartchner Caverns, Chiricaua National Monument, Willcox, Fort Bowie, Ghost towns, the Cochise Stronghold and many more Old West sites.

Are contributions tax-deductible?

No, at present this is not a 501(c)3.  Even so, this restoration is for the purpose to help preserve the Old West as it was at the turn of the last century.  It is so important not to lose this treasure, the historic registered Cochise Hotel, as it played a big part in the Old West!  Upon completion, it can be available for guests, especially those who have helped with this campaign, to “walk back 100 years.” Phil has had a love for the Old West since he was a child and believes that others feel the same way!

Can I help if I love the project, but can not extend any money?

YES, any help in exposing the project to more and more people can help.  Send to your facebook friends, to your e-mail lists, to your Uncle and Aunt who love the Old West.  If you live in the area, come help (bring your work gloves)!  Come take pictures and help point people to IndieGoGo; and last but not least come support the hotel when it is open, come stay the weekend!