The historic Coronado Motel is demolished with little fanfare

It happened without warning to the neighbors of the derelict but instantly recognizable old building. A ragtag group of demolition workers arrived Monday morning and razed a nearly century-old historic motel in downtown Phoenix. 

Workers maneuvered two large excavators to tear down the landmark Coronado Hotel, which was built in the late 1920s, just two blocks south of Roosevelt Row. The motel’s iconic, faded sign, Color TV advertisement and Phoenix New Times red box were no longer outside. But its blue awning and mid-century modern railing remained as the yellow excavator swung overhead like a dinosaur. 

Seeing such an iconic, historic landmark come down on a Monday afternoon was odd. Most passers-by remained indifferent as a small piece of Phoenix was reduced to rubble.

Professionals and visitors strolled past to lunch at nearby restaurants. Nearby residents sat on electrical boxes to watch. Valley photographers snapped photos. Students walked by with their headphones on, not even glancing at the block’s destruction. Arizona State University employees on their mid-day stroll paused to watch and reminisce, chatting with the workers.

A small strip of yellow construction tape marked off the building’s entrance, but the streets and sidewalks remained open. Workers used a long hose to spray water on the destroyed wood and brick. Water dripped as the excavator’s claws lifted heaps of debris.

After the excavator snapped off the top-floor railing, a construction worker handed it to a man seeking a souvenir. The original Matt’s Big Breakfast location — now just on the other side of an apartment building — was also torn down on the site Monday. 

The new developer, True North Studio, submitted an application to demolish the building in late February. Historical advocates pushed to save the building. The motel’s items were auctioned off. Eight months later, the building finally came down. 

The building became the Lamb Hotel in 1929 — less than two decades after Arizona became a state — and was renamed the Coronado Hotel in 1932, according to Preserve Phoenix. The property changed in 1964 when it was torn down and an 800-square-foot building went up in its place. 

The small, faded orange building, with visible in-unit air conditioning units, is an uncommon sight in a downtown area that’s been overtaken by new builds and high-rise luxury apartment complexes charging exceptionally high rents. While the building was arguably an eyesore toward the end of its life, it housed many low-income long-term residents. It provided a cheap, no-frills refuge for residents trying to stay off the streets.

Now, it’ll be cleared to build more new unaffordable housing units.