Formerly: Hotel Warshauer
Baker City, Oregon · Founded 1889 · Building: 1889
An 1889 Baker City landmark that opened as Hotel Warshauer, became the Geiser Grand in 1902, and returned from a 1968 closure through a major 1990s restoration.
The Geiser Grand Hotel began as Hotel Warshauer when it opened in Baker City in November 1889. Albert Geiser purchased the building around 1900 and reopened it under the Geiser Grand name in 1902, turning it into one of Eastern Oregon's grandest mining-boom-era hotels. After closing in 1968 and standing vacant for decades, Barbara and Dwight Sidway bought and restored it in the 1990s; it now operates again as a hotel, restaurant, and bar.
The hotel opened in Baker City as Hotel Warshauer, associated with original proprietor Louis F. Cook. Historical accounts describe advanced amenities for the period, including electric lighting, an elevator, and a stained-glass skylight.
Source: Geiser Grand Hotel historical summaries; Country Living, "History of Geiser Grand Hotel in Baker City, Oregon," October 20, 2016; Oregon historical compilations
Albert Geiser purchased Hotel Warshauer and began updates that led to its new Geiser Grand identity.
Source: Here is Oregon, "The Lady in Blue supposedly haunts the Geiser Grand ...," October 19, 2022; Geiser Grand historical summaries
The hotel reopened under the name Geiser Grand Hotel.
Source: Geiser Grand historical summaries; Oregon historical compilations
The Geiser Grand Hotel closed after decades of declining business. Local histories say the cast of the nearby film production "Paint Your Wagon" were among its final guests.
Source: Country Living, October 20, 2016; Explorer Sue, "Opulence in the Wild West: The Geiser Grand Hotel," February 15, 2020; Here is Oregon, October 19, 2022
Historical listings place the Geiser Grand Hotel on the National Register of Historic Places in 1978, associated with Baker City's historic-district context. The exact listing type and nomination record require direct National Park Service verification.
Source: Geiser Grand Hotel historical compilations; National Register listing summary, requiring direct NPS confirmation
Barbara and Dwight Sidway purchased the closed hotel when demolition for a parking lot was being considered and began a multimillion-dollar restoration.
Source: Oregon Wine Press, "A Historic Win," March 1, 2017; Country Living, October 20, 2016; Here is Oregon, October 19, 2022
A detailed Oregon history reports that the restored Geiser Grand reopened with 30 rooms. Other accounts give 1997 or 1998 for reopening, so the exact reopening timeline needs additional documentation.
Source: Here is Oregon, October 19, 2022; Country Living, October 20, 2016; Explorer Sue, February 15, 2020
The Geiser Grand Hotel continues operating at 1996 Main Street with lodging, Palm Court dining, and the 1889 Café.
Source: Geiser Grand Hotel official website, accessed September 1, 2026; Travel Oregon, "Palm Court at Geiser Grand Hotel," March 6, 2026
Every claim gets rated. A business's own website can never earn "documented."
Historical accounts consistently say the building opened as Hotel Warshauer in November 1889, associated with Louis F. Cook, and that Albert Geiser bought and renamed it around 1900–1902. The sequence is strong, but the original deed, hotel registration, corporate filing, and 1902 newspaper reopening notice were not directly reviewed.
The historic nickname "Queen City of the Mines" or "Queen of the Mines" applies to Baker City during its gold-boom era, not to the Geiser Grand Hotel itself. The hotel was one of the city’s most prominent luxury properties, but the candidate incorrectly transferred the city nickname to the building.
Multiple historical summaries describe the hotel’s 1889 elevator as the third built west of the Mississippi River or one of the earliest in the region. The reviewed record does not support the candidate’s stronger claim that it was the first commercial elevator outside Portland or first in Eastern Oregon; original engineering, permit, and elevator-company records are needed.
The hotel closed in 1968 and stood vacant or largely unused until Barbara and Dwight Sidway purchased it in 1993 and restored it for a mid-1990s reopening. Its operating history is one of major preservation and revival, not uninterrupted hotel service.
The hotel has a widely repeated modern ghost-story tradition involving a Lady in Blue, alleged nighttime sightings, and other past guests. The reviewed materials do not identify a confirmed historical person behind the story, verify any apparition, or establish the earliest published account. The reputation is documented as folklore, not as proof of paranormal activity.
Oregon Wine Press, Country Living, and later Oregon coverage identify Barbara and Dwight Sidway as the 1993 purchasers who led a multi-year, approximately $7 million restoration. Their work preserved the hotel’s architecture and returned it to active hospitality use.
Everything below has been reported by two or more independent sources — this is an informational record of what's said about this place, not a verified account of paranormal activity. Still Open America doesn't certify hauntings as real.
The best-known Geiser Grand legend describes a woman in a blue Victorian or Edwardian-style dress, usually called Annabelle or Granny Annabelle. She is reported in Room 302 and on the grand staircase, where witnesses say she descends or glides along the stairs and disappears near the bottom.
Genealogical research cited by Here is Oregon did not locate an Annabelle Geiser, although Annie Bernice Geiser, known as Birdie and married to Albert Geiser, has been proposed as a possible basis for the story.
Guests and staff have reported hearing music, laughter, and the sounds of a party in hotel rooms late at night. In the recurring story, the noise stops when someone opens the door to investigate and no gathering is found.
A young female apparition is reported in the third floor and basement, with accounts describing a child who giggles, runs away, or vanishes after turning a corner. Other versions place the sound of her eerie laughter in hotel hallways.
A male figure believed in hotel lore to be a cowboy has been reported around the building since the 1990s restoration. Accounts also describe the sound of jingling spurs on the staircases, with the figure disappearing when approached.
No historical record identifying a cowboy who was killed at the hotel was located in the reviewed sources.
Several stories place women in 1920s flapper clothing at the second-floor banister overlooking the Palm Court. They are said to watch activity below, appear in the old bar area, or disappear after being noticed.
The Geiser Grand Hotel opened in 1889 under the Geiser name, financed and built by mining magnate John Geiser.
The hotel opened in November 1889 as Hotel Warshauer, associated with original proprietor Louis F. Cook. Historical accounts say Albert Geiser acquired it around 1900 and reopened it as the Geiser Grand in 1902. The reviewed record does not establish John Geiser as the 1889 builder or original hotel proprietor.
Source: Here is Oregon, October 19, 2022; Country Living, October 20, 2016; Geiser Grand historical summaries
The Geiser Grand Hotel was known as the "Queen of the Mines."
The "Queen City of the Mines" nickname referred to Baker City during the gold boom. The Geiser Grand was a prominent luxury hotel in that city, but the city nickname should not be assigned to the hotel.
Source: Country Living, October 20, 2016; Explorer Sue, February 15, 2020
The Geiser Grand Hotel has operated continuously since 1889.
The hotel closed in 1968 and was restored after Barbara and Dwight Sidway bought it in 1993. It reopened in the mid-1990s, so its present success is a preservation revival rather than uninterrupted hotel operation.
Source: Oregon Wine Press, March 1, 2017; Country Living, October 20, 2016; Here is Oregon, October 19, 2022
The Geiser Grand had Oregon's first commercial elevator outside Portland.
Historical accounts describe the hotel’s 1889 elevator as one of the earliest west of the Mississippi River, often calling it the third. The reviewed sources do not establish a first-outside-Portland or first-in-Eastern-Oregon ranking.
Source: Country Living, October 20, 2016; Geiser Grand historical summaries
Geiser Grand survived because Baker City residents recognized that an abandoned boomtown hotel could become an asset rather than a demolition problem. Its 1889 architecture, early elevator, glass ceiling, and prominent Main Street site gave Barbara and Dwight Sidway a building worth saving when they acquired it in 1993. Their multimillion-dollar restoration returned lodging, dining, and social life to the structure while allowing its closure-and-revival history to become part of the appeal.
The building now called the Geiser Grand Hotel opened in Baker City in November 1889 as Hotel Warshauer. Albert Geiser acquired it around 1900 and reopened it as the Geiser Grand in 1902, making it a major hotel of Baker City's mining-boom era. The hotel closed in 1968, then Barbara and Dwight Sidway bought and restored it after 1993, returning it to operation in the mid-1990s.
No oldest-hotel title is established for the Geiser Grand Hotel in this record. It is an important 1889 Eastern Oregon hotel, but it closed in 1968 and did not reopen until the mid-1990s. The record does not compare it against Oregon's older lodging properties or support claims that it is the oldest or most completely restored hotel in the Pacific Northwest.
The Geiser Grand Hotel originally opened as Hotel Warshauer in November 1889. Albert Geiser purchased the hotel around 1900, updated it, and reopened it as the Geiser Grand on January 1, 1902. The name change is important because the 1889 founding date belongs to the building and predecessor hotel, not to an unchanged Geiser Grand brand.
The Geiser Grand Hotel closed in 1968 and remained vacant or largely unused for decades. Barbara and Dwight Sidway bought the building in 1993 and began a major restoration. Sources vary on the reopening year, with detailed accounts giving December 31, 1996 and others citing 1997 or 1998, so the mid-1990s restoration/reopening period is the most reliable formulation.
No reliable earliest published source for the Geiser Grand Hotel's Lady in Blue or other ghost stories was identified in this review. Modern ghost-tour accounts describe alleged sightings on the staircase, in the elevator, and elsewhere, but they do not establish when the stories began or identify a confirmed historical person behind the Lady in Blue. The haunting is local folklore, not verified history.
The Geiser Grand is widely described as having an early elevator when it opened in 1889, with several historical accounts calling it the third built west of the Mississippi River. This review did not locate the elevator manufacturer, engineering records, installation permit, or a regional elevator comparison that would prove a precise rank. It is accurate to call it an early and notable hotel elevator, not the first outside Portland.
1996 Main St, Baker City, OR 97814
(541) 523-1889
The Geiser Grand currently offers lodging, Palm Court dining, and the 1889 Café in downtown Baker City. Check current room, dining, ghost-tour, and special-event availability directly before traveling.