Tucson Oddity: Phone booths recall hotel's past

Among the odd treasures at 311 E. Congress St. are the antique mahogany telephone booths standing side by side in the lobby of the hotel, which was built in 1919 to serve the cattle industry and passengers of the Southern Pacific Line.

The working telephone booths are classic - with a mahogany swivel chair, working fans and a light that turns on when the door is shut.

"I can't verify that the phone booths were there in 1919, but I do know they have been there since 1934," said Shana Oseran, who along with her husband, Richard, bought the hotel in 1985.

"You see, there was a fire in 1934, and the lobby was remodeled and changed. I do know the lobby floor tiles are from 1919," Oseran said.

She explained that in the aftermath of the fire, bank robber John Dillinger and his gang were captured.

During the fire, they had escaped from their third-floor rooms by ladder. Police later captured them at a house on North Second Avenue.

One can only wonder about Dillinger's possible conversations in those telephone booths.

Sitting in the booth can easily take you back in time - even with the push-button, coin-operated or prepaid phone-card-option telephone.

"The phone booths are part of the lobby landscape, and we would never take them out even though people nowadays use cellphones," Oseran said. "The booths are great-looking. A real dying oddity is the telephone directory. On the outside of the booth is a directory stand, but everyone Googles the directory."

The late Vince Szuda used to frequent the booths daily as he searched for coins to add to his jars. He also gathered coins from the jukebox inside the hotel's Tap Room bar.

"Vince was among 12 elders who lived at the hotel when we bought it. He and the others became our family," Oseran said. "Vince collected quite a bit of money over the years. He would buy meals and coffee with the coins he found."

"Vince was a marvelous person - shuffling around in search of coins with a pipe in his mouth," remembered Tom "Tiger" Ziegler, 78, who has bartended at the Tap Room for 52 years.

In 1965, Szuda traveled from Chicago to Tucson by train and made Hotel Congress his home. The Army veteran's military tag is embedded in the wooden bar at the Tap Room.

Numerous jars filled with coins were found in Room 220 after Szuda died on Feb. 18, 2001. He was 84.

A year after his death, a housekeeper was a bit shaken after repeatedly finding a plate and knife inside a clean, locked Room 220. When alive, Szuda would eat bagels in his room and leave a stack of plates and knives for the housekeeper.

So in addition to Szuda's coin collecting from the telephone booths and jukebox, some wonder about the ghost stories circling Room 220, said David Slutes, the hotel's entertainment director.

ON SALE NOW

The Tucson Oddities book is now available. The full-color book contains 50 oddities that readers of the Arizona Daily Star have inquired about over the years. You can buy the book online at azstarnet.com/store or in the lobby of the Star, 4850 S. Park Ave. The book costs $14.99 plus tax and shipping and handling, if you want it mailed. Questions can be referred to oddity@azstarnet.com or 573-4232.

Got an oddity?

Is there something you've noticed while driving through Tucson that has piqued your curiosity? Or is there some piece of Old Pueblo history you've wondered about? Drop us a line, and we'll look into it.

Call the Star newsroom at 573-4232 or send an email to oddity@azstarnet.com

Contact reporter Carmen Duarte at 573-4104 or cduarte@azstarnet.com