You don’t have to go home, but you can’t stay here…
Jerome Arizona is one of those quirky, artsy places with tons of character that I have always wanted to see. It feels exactly like the kind of place where you would expect to find art in unexpected corners. It’s filled with galleries, old storefronts, and other unique finds. My sister had this quick trip all planned out for us when we popped in for a night after our trip to the Spring Tempe Art Festival.
A Town Built Into the Cliffside
Just to paint the picture, Jerome was a small mining town built onto the side of a steep hill in the late 1800’s/early 1900’s. The buildings seem to cling to the cliffside and the streets narrowly switchback and forth next to them. I am not going to lie, I was terrified to drive there, constantly feeling like there wasn’t enough room to maneuver. But it was all worth it when we finally landed at the Jerome Grand Hotel, overlooking the rest of the town from the top of the cliff.
The Hotel Everyone Warns You About
The Grand Hotel is known one of the most haunted hotels in North America and to be honest, Jerome seems like the perfect backdrop for a haunted hotel. The original hotel was lost to a fire in 1915 and was later rebuilt as the town hospital until 1950. In the mid-90’s it was re-opened as the Grand Hotel, one of the most haunted hotels in North America.
Music, Galleries, and the Unexpected
My sister and I did what we do best, dropped our bags, drank heavily, and explored the city. The first thing we heard was music playing from down the cliff side, and of course, we followed it. We found ourselves in a bar full of character and decorated with skeletons, seated at the perfect table to watch the house band. Great first stop to get the creative juices flowing.
The city has stairs winding all up and down the street levels to accommodate the cliff side layout. As we zig and zag up and down the stairs, we find such a cool gallery filled with kaleidoscopes. Kaleidoscopes of every kind and every material. Turns out that my favorite store was also the favorite of everyone else there! A kaleidoscope is not something I would normally think about or seek out, but darn it, I wanted one!
Sticking to the theme of music and creativity, we found Caduceus Cellars, a wine bar owned by the singer of the band Tool. Side note don’t ask “Is the place owned by the Tool guy” when you enter as I don’t think they appreciated my humor. We had a good time, but found a place to eat and made our way back to the hotel.
Ghost Hunting at Midnight
In true horror fan fashion we decided to conduct our very own ghost hunting tour of the hotel later that night. We explored every floor of the hotel, carefully studying the blueprints framed in the hallways to see which rooms used to house the most gruesome parts of the old hospital. We took pictures of the doors, the hallways, public rooms, and each other, trying to catch a glimpse of apparitions in our photos. Neither of us caught anything. Nor did we hear anything frightening in the night. An utter disappointment to us. We both came to the conclusion that we didn’t spend enough time there for the ghosts to feel comfortable enough to make us scared.
Why Jerome Stays With You
Although I came up empty handed with this short trip…no art….no ghosts, Jerome is not a place to bypass. For me, it was less about bringing something home and more about leaving with the feeling of the place itself, which was creative, strange, historic, and worth returning to. Jerome is one of those old Arizona towns where art galleries, history, and architecture all seem to blend together.
