T for Tuesday

  T Stands For is hosted by Elizabeth and Bleubeard

Tucson AZ

As is normal for me I came across these photos while looking for something else.

I had breakfast at the Hotel Congress on our itinerary for Tucson on one of our drives across the US.

I didn't actually have a photo of our coffee, but breakfast was in the Cup Cafe.

Menu and why Dillinger (see below)? 

The Hotel Congress is a federally-recognized historic building located in downtown Tucson. It was built in 1918 and designed by the Los Angeles architectural firm William and Alexander Curlett as part of an expansion of Congress Street and in conjunction with the theatrical venue Rialto Theatre, which sits north of Congress Street.  

The name "The Congress Hotel" was chosen through a naming competition organized by the Arizona Daily Star newspaper in 1918. The winning suggestion was announced on April 30, 1918, and it was submitted by Dorit Dinkel, who won $15 worth of baby bonds for having their name chosen. 

The Hotel is known for being the site of the capture of gangster and bank robber John Dillinger in 1934. After a series of bank robberies, the Dillinger Gang arrived in Tucson to hide out. On January 22, 1934, a fire started in the basement and spread up to the third floor, where the gang resided under aliases. 

After the desk clerk contacted them through the switchboard the gang escaped by aerial ladders. On the request of the gang, two firemen retrieved their luggage, identifying who they were. After being transferred to a jail in Crown Point, Indiana, Dillinger escaped again and was eventually shot down in Chicago, Illinois.

The hotel has basically maintained the inside decor as it was during the 1930s when the notorious gangster John Dillinger and his gang were arrested in 1934.

The Cup Cafe floor is made of 177,000 pennies. Sadly, as of 2021 the penny floor is gone in lieu of the original tile laid down in 1919.

I'm pretty sure this wasn't there in 1919 either.