Monarch Building Saved Moments Before Being Condemned – To Become Historic Hotel

One of Pocatello’s oldest buildings that was on the verge of being torn-down, was rescued by two local women who decided the piece of Pocatello history needed to not only be preserved, but to also be brought back to life.

The scraping and clanging of rod iron and wood could be heard from outside the 108-year old building, where inside, you’re bound to find co-owners Tiffani Wilson and Ali Gorney on a treasure hunt…of sorts.

“When we saw it a year and a half ago, we thought, ‘Oh yeah. That would be a cool project,'” Gorney said.

On Monday morning, the cleanup and demolition phase of the dilapidated, crumbling building began, and that’s when Gorney and Wilson discovered beautiful, hardwood floors underneath the current, grimy flooring that had been laid overtop years ago.

“Most people think everything’s ruined inside,” Gorney added. “But once you peel-away what’s on the outside, I couldn’t believe what we found.”

In 2014, the building caught on fire, and then sat abandoned for years until the two women bought the historic building back in March.

“We bought it literally as city was sending-in the paperwork to have the building condemned,” Wilson said.

Now, they plan to renovate it, keeping as much of the original building in tact as possible, while turning it back into what it once was decades ago – The Monarch Hotel.

The plan is to also include a rooftop space for social gatherings, and commercial use in other parts of the building.

“It’s not everyday you have the opportunity to buy a building that’s over 100 years old, and yeah, it’s run-down and broken, but it’s still here,” Gorney added.

Neither of the women have ever taken-on this sort of project of this magnitude before, but hope the community could come together to help them restore one of Pocatello’s oldest gems that had been lost for a handful of years.

Years before it burned, the Monarch was part of the annual Haunted History Tour.

“This has always been one of my favorite buildings here in Pocatello,” Brian said. “We’ve had so much activity here…and we have a lot of really cool stories about this building we can’t wait to tell.”

In October 2018, the building will join the tour lineup once again.

This year, Brian said the Monarch will be part of the Haunted History Tour given to the celebrities who will fly in for the Snake River Comic Con event later this month.

Visit this site to find out more information about this year’s Haunted History Tour lineup: http://www.oldtownpocatello.com/tours/walking-tours/