Brief History: The San Carlos was the luxury hotel to the stars in downtown Phoenix, including Clark Gable and Marylin Monroe. Built on the former sight of the city’s first schoolhouse (which had closed some time after a Spanish Flu epidemic), employees say they hear a little girl crying. Besides children, the hotel has experienced several deaths as recent as 2004. The most famous of their spooks is that of Leone Jensen. In 1928, the 22 year old Jensen leapt from the roof and was found dead near the corner below. The legend is that she was heartbroken over (or possibly even murdered by) a boyfriend who worked at the rival hotel The Westward Ho. She left a cryptic, messy suicide note and some of her despair behind. Evidence of her has been seen in the room she’d occupied and the stairway leading to the roof.
Analysis: The stories behind the hotel are true, however embellished by local legend. There was indeed a schoolhouse on the sight and the school’s well is still in the basement, covered and locked up. The man who jumped from the pool deck to his death in 2004 really did happen, although his story can only be speculated since he wasn’t a guest at the hotel. I’m not saying it’s easy to just walk upstairs at the San Carlos but it is an old building without a ton of security. And the popular bar on the first floor (recently renamed the Ghost Bar) must make it hard to the staff to know who is a guest or not. As for Leone Jensen, she did exist. However, according to the hotel, her story is not quite the romantic tragedy local kids spread around. Tuberculous patients were told to come to Arizona for decades, thinking the dry air could slow the deterioration of their lungs. Ms. Jensen was sick and living at the hotel. Yes, there are still rumors that she dated someone while in Phoenix, but chances are that was not the reason for her suicide. The reason why her note was illegible was not the pain of love gone wrong, but most likely the disease finally claiming her. She would have been in pain at the end and losing strength. Many historians think she jumped to make her death quicker.
Blame it on the Flappers: The 1920s was a time of liberation, rebellion, and a sort of “free love” for young women. The story of a young woman on her own in a hotel made for a better cautionary tale than her simply dying of consumption. Remember ladies. If you rouse your knees and stay out all night at a speakeasy, your boyfriend will eventually cause (whether directly or not) your death.
Final Thoughts: Below are photos from the San Carlos Ghost Tour held in Phoenix each year.
