From the Ground Up
An exclusive peek inside the historic Murray Hotel's massive renovation.
Story and photos by Donna Clayton Lawder
Things are cooking at Silver City's historic Murray Hotel on Broadway. Though the building's new owners don't expect to be actually cooking in their restaurant's new kitchen until next fall, they say they are happily out from under the heavier rubble, figuratively at least. Certainly tons of plaster lathe and concrete remain, awaiting final disposal.
 |
Murray Ryan (plaid shirt, back
to camera) gestures and gives the history of a room serving as the
renovation's central workshop. Kurt Albershardt (right)
listens, as members of the nine-person work crew stand by. |
Tightly closed doors and a work crew's sealed lips have kept the massive renovation's progress a closely guarded secret since its current owners bought the hulking building in July 2005. Kurt Albershardt, who now co-owns the Murray with his wife Julianna Flynn, says a full-time crew of nine is working on the project. They're removing heavy old plaster lathe in massive sheets and chipping out decayed ceilings to reveal the original cement beams, in remarkably good shape.
Albershardt opens the security doors for a private tour of the downtown Silver City landmark to a few very special guests: Murray Ryan, grandson of W.D. Murray, the hotel's namesake, and some of his immediate family.
Amidst the construction dust dancing magical patterns in the sunbeams streaming through the building's myriad windows, Albershardt goes over the blueprints mounted on the wall. He commences a floor-by-floor tour of the renovation, to the delighted imaginings of the Ryan clan.
Murray Ryan, with his familial entourage in tow, recounts the building's past function and layout. He notes with a smile his brother Jim's old room, and shares fond memories of the banquet business and the regular—albeit "a little rough"—clientele of ranchers.
The previous owners removed the mountains of pigeon guano that stood two feet high and replaced the upper floors' many broken windows, Albershardt says. Indeed, it was a sad, hard road from the Murray's heyday to its decline and now, finally, its restoration.
The old hotel's construction in 1937 was an astonishing feat, Ryan recalls, taking just six months and two weeks. The original structure had 52 guest rooms. In 1949, an addition boosted the hotel's occupancy with 48 more rooms. In the hotel's current state of reconstruction, Albershardt points out the division between the old and the new, evident by a crack in the concrete floor of the hallway.
Ryan recalls the hotel's path from his family's ownership through several re-sales and eventual decline. "Well, the 'moment of truth,' you could say, came in late 1962 or early 1963," he recalls. "We sold it to a fly-by-night outfit called the Milner Hotel group out of Wisconsin. They just ran it into the ground, never made any reinvestment in the property." He says the property changed hands several times over the years, and there were attempts to revive it.
Years after the Murray shut down its hotel operations, the Branding Iron Saloon—the last functioning part of the facility—closed its doors as well, in the early 1990s. Sadly, graffiti shows the evidence of years of vandalism and vagrancy.
Progress will be from the ground up, Albershardt says, with the new restaurant and ballroom opening on the second floor by next fall, he hopes. The last phase will be the hotel rooms on the fourth and fifth floors.
Asked how long it will be until hotel guests can be accommodated, Albershardt responds with a laugh and shrug. Though sturdy pipes stand bared and ready to service the next generation of tubs and toilets, the gutted walls and piles of concrete hint it will be a while before weary travelers and tourists may stay the night.
Long-time locals may remember some of the Murray's layout from its heyday, and Albershardt confirms the goal is to return the hotel and restaurant to its 1938 "late period deco" look.
But changes will abound, too. The old banquet room, also known as the "party room" or "Martha Room," named for Murray's sister, will become a breakfast lobby. The lobby itself will be significantly expanded westward into the first retail space. An added mezzanine stairwell will give access to the restaurant and lead to rooftop dining.
"It's just too good not to take advantage of the view and the opportunity for outdoor dining. The wonderful climate here is just calling out for it," Albershardt says, giving a peek out over Broadway from one of the hotel's ancient upper-floor windows.
There will be a full restaurant on the second floor, with a "show kitchen" allowing diners to see dinner prepared. New fire and safety codes are driving some of the changes. The main "prep" kitchen on the first floor, the restaurant on the second floor and the basement all will be connected by a new service elevator.
Albershardt says the new Murray will "ultimately be able to hold an event on the patio, in the banquet room and the ballroom, all while serving dinner in the main restaurant."
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