Everyone thinks they know Flagstaff. Mountain town, college town, gateway to the Grand Canyon. But scratch the surface of these downtown blocks and the story gets stranger: sheep money, staged suicides, sealed tunnels, and a man on a hill hunting Martians. Consider this a pop quiz from the locals who walk it every night.
When did the railroad actually reach Flagstaff?
1882. Before that, Flagstaff was a scatter of sheepherders and ranchers under the Peaks. The railroad’s arrival turned it into a boomtown almost overnight, and the vices of the West arrived on the same schedule: saloons, gambling halls, and the colorful characters who drifted between them looking for a card game or a fight.
Who built downtown?
Merchants and lumbermen, mostly, and a few names still on the buildings. The Babbitt brothers built a mercantile empire that touched nearly everything sold in northern Arizona. Michael Riordan came here to heal his lungs, fell in love with Walnut Canyon, and stayed; the Riordan brothers ran the lumber operation that fed the boom. And John Weatherford came to Flagstaff to build his fortune, leaving behind the hotel that still carries the name.
Was someone really hunting Martians here?
Yes. Percival Lowell built his observatory on Mars Hill and spent years mapping what he believed were canals dug by a dying Martian civilization. The Martians did not pan out, but the observatory did: real astronomy has happened on that hill ever since, and Flagstaff’s obsession with dark skies started there.
Are there tunnels under downtown Flagstaff?
There were: historic steam tunnels that once ran beneath the district. They were sealed shut long ago, and nobody tours them today. If an outfit ever promises you an underground Flagstaff tour, ask what you will actually be shown. The full story is in our post on Flagstaff’s underground tunnel systems.
And the ghosts?
The old saloons became sports bars and clubs, but the old-timers never fully checked out. The Hotel Monte Vista, the center of the action in the 1930s and 40s, keeps a phantom bellboy at Room 210, a crying baby in the basement, and the memory of a bank robber who bled out in the cocktail lounge. Add the gamblers, the drinkers, and the ladies of the evening, Flagstaff’s soiled doves, and you have a downtown that talks back after dark. For the fuller roster, start with Flagstaff’s haunted history.
Walk this story
The best way to actually know Flagstaff is on foot, at night, with someone who has done the research. The Flagstaff Haunted History Tour covers the boom, the buildings, and the hauntings in 75 minutes: nightly at 7 PM, with an 8 PM walk Friday and Saturday, $29 for adults. Come take the walk through history, the good, the bad, and the truly freaky.
