Tucson's Historic Hotel Congress
The Original Hotel Congress
Built in 1919 Hotel Congress located on 311 E. Congress Street, Tucson Arizona. The hotel was built as an upscale hotel for train travelers. Located at 311 E.Congress Street right across the street from the Southern Pacific Railroad Station which is historic in its own right.
The original historical hotel was a three story brick structure that offered 80 rooms. The second and third floor were reserved for the guests and the first floor offered a variety of businesses. These businesses were Blue Bird Beauty Shop, Triplett Brothers Construction Company, the Congress Barber Shop, Art Craft Stationery Company and the Congress Hotel Cafe.
John Dillinger Gang
Hotel Congress is most known however for the part that they played in the capture of John Dillinger (to the left) and his gang members. By January of 1934, 30 year old John Dillinger was a “most wanted” internationally and was considered public enemy #1 by the FBI. His crimes mostly took place in the midwest where he and his gang participated in bank robberies, murders and jailbreaks. His gang included three to four other professional criminals under the names of Charles Makley, Russel “Art” Clark and Harry Pierpoint. All members of the Dillinger Gang used machine guns, automatic rifles and even bullet-proof vests.
The months leading up to the gang arriving in Tucson, Dillinger had led his gang into murdering 10 men, wounding seven, robbed eight banks and staged three jailbreaks. On January 21st the four members and three girlfriends arrived in Tucson. Makely, Art Clark and his girlfriend, Opal Long, checked into Hotel Congress under aliases. Dillinger and Pierpoint along with Mary Kinder and Evelyn Frechette checked into The Arizona Tourist Court.
Hotel Congress Fire, 1934
On January 23, 1934 Hotel Congress suffered from a fire due to an effective oil furnace having ignited a stack of firewood. The fire was centered on the top two floors where the guests were staying. Firefighters helped guests staying at the hotel down ladders and among these guests were the three people who were traveling/a part of the Dillinger Gang; Makley, Clark and Long. After getting to the ground Makley and Clark offered to pay $12 for the firefighters to go back up the ladder and get their stuff. The firemen took the money but struggled to get the luggage down because it was very heavy. Later that day the two men were reported due to them being recognized from a magazine. On January 25th the whole Dillinger gang was arrested and captured. The Gang pictured to the left attended their hearing just a day later at the Pima County Justice Court. Dillinger, Pierpoint, Clark and Makely were arraigned on fugitive warrants and resisting arrests. The two girlfriends Evelyn Frechette and Opal Long were tried for the possession of having guns and Mary Kinder was held as a 
material witness. Three of the men were killed later that year including John Dillinger in Indian and Charles Makley and Russell Long in Ohio, for trying to escape from their respective prisons. Harry Pierpont was the only one who made it to his execution on October 17, 1934 at the Ohio State Prison.
Rebuilding The Congress Hotel
The rebuilding of the hotel happened after the fire and throughout the 1940s. Hotel Congress felt the need to reinvent the hotel due to the very public scandal of the Dillinger Gang having stayed there days before their capture. The hotel remained two floors but the number of rooms was cut to 40 instead of the original 80. The iconic Hotel Congress red sign was also added during the repairs.
Sadly there was another fire in 1971 but just on the first floor was affected, meaning that the hotel bar needed to be repaired. Since the second fire Hotel Congress has focused on maintaining a steady amount of guests in order to continue adding new amenities to the hotel to make it stand out. In 2003 Hotel Congress was added to the National Historic Register due to the part it played in capturing John Dillinger. Over the years the hotel has maintained a stellar reputation and acquired many awards such as the “Fodors Choice” distinction in 2006 and 2008. This distinction is granted to only the best hotels and restaurants around the world.
Dillinger Days
In 1992 Hotel Congress started putting on reenactments of the capture of John Dillinger and his gang in the Congress hotel lobby. Over time the event had become so big that the hotel turned the reenactment into a two day event titling it, “Dillinger Days.” The two day event takes place every January to remind the Tucson community of the important role that Tucson played in a truly historic event. The activities include the historical reenactment of Dillinger’s capture, a courthouse tour, lecture series, film series, museum exhibits, historic walking tours, and family-friendly activities like vintage car shows, music and culinary events, arts and craft shows, and carnival games. 
Hotel Congress Restaurants
The restaurants on the first floor of the congress have changed over the years but the restaurants that currently reside on the first floor of the Hotel Congress are Cup Cafe, Plaza Eats Food Truck, The Lounge (bar inside Hotel Congress), Maynards, The Century Room Bar, and Tigers Tap Room. Some of these establishments are very iconic to the Tucson area such as Cup Cafe and Tiger Tap Room. Cup Cafe was opened in 1990 and has been named the “best neighborhood gem” by opentable. Tiger Tap Room is one of the oldest and most famous bar in Tucson. The bar is considered to be a Tucson landmark due to the fact that it was one of the first operating bars after prohibition.
Sources
The Hotel Congress Fire and the capture of John Dillinger ... (n.d.-b). http://www.tucsonfirefoundation.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/Hotel-Congress-Fire-and-the-Capture-of-John-Dillinger.pdf
Cup Cafe. Hotel Congress. (2024, September 3). https://hotelcongress.com/restaurants/cup-cafe/
Tiger’s tap room. Hotel Congress. (2024b, September 5). https://hotelcongress.com/restaurants/tigers-tap-room/
