The Historic Squaw Peak Inn

The Restoration Process

By December of 1979, the property had been in complete disuse for 6 years. Time and vandalism had taken a serious toll. So much so, that most of our friends were profoundly lacking in enthusiastic support for the task we had taken on. When we would give a tour of the place and talk through our plans, our enthusiasm was consistently dampened by polite silence or statements ranging from "are you sure you want to do this?" to "you must have lost your mind!". Nevertheless, we trudged on; doing most of the work we could (due to financial limitations) by ourselves.

The most extensive damage was to the original adobe walls. Large breaches, caused by rain water seepage, some as big as a double garage door, created daunting challenges. In some cases, the structural integrity of the building was threatened. Engineers were consulted and walls were rebuilt. The roof required total refabrication. The vast majority of windows required reglazing. Extensive reworking of plumbing, electrical and mechanical systems was required.

Significant effort was committed to "invisible" upgrades to the infrastructure such as electrical, sewer, water service and other code upgrades required. Through the years, other additional and improvements have been made. Kitchens and bathrooms have been modernized. The front façade has been changed; the fountain courtyard created; numerous landscaping changes along with exterior walls have been added. The most notable change has been the 1994 addition of a large dining room and covered patio.

All changes have been undertaken with the primary objective of preserving the historic integrity of the buildings.

MICKEY & RUTHIE SMITH
4425 E. Horseshoe Road
Phoenix, AZ 85028
(480) 532-0129

Mickey.Smith@LegacyInternational.org
Ruthie.Smith@LegacyInternational.org