Bakersfield's 1927 Sullivanesque office tower where two construction deaths seeded decades of reported paranormal activity
1901 Chester Ave, Bakersfield, CA 93301
Research updated June 2026
Age
All Ages
Cost
$$
Escape room tickets through Bakersfield Escape; pricing varies by room and group size
Access
Limited Access
Five-story office building; elevator access may vary
Equipment
Photos OK
Est. 1927 · National Register of Historic Places · Sullivanesque Architecture · Bakersfield Commercial History
Construction of the Haberfelde Building was completed in 1927 at the northwest corner of 19th Street and Chester Avenue in downtown Bakersfield. At five stories, it was among the tallest buildings in the region south of the Tehachapi Mountains at the time of its completion. The design drew on the Sullivanesque tradition — the ornamental vocabulary developed by Louis Sullivan and his contemporaries, characterized by intricate terra cotta detailing and vertical emphasis.
The building bears the name of its original developer and took its place among the professional office stock that defined Bakersfield's downtown core through the mid-twentieth century. Tenants across its history included doctors, lawyers, and commercial enterprises. Local accounts hold that two construction workers died during the building's erection, though the specific circumstances of those deaths are not documented in surviving historical records — the claim appears consistently in local oral tradition and in a 2011 Bakersfield Magazine feature on the building's paranormal reputation.
The Historic Marker Database documents the building's architectural history and its listing on the National Register of Historic Places, recognition of its significance to Bakersfield's architectural heritage. The building's most recent notable tenant, Bakersfield Escape, has operated escape rooms inside it and leans into the property's haunted reputation as part of its marketing. Bakersfield Magazine's October 2011 issue cited the Haberfelde Building as 'a hub for paranormal activity,' reflecting its standing in local lore.
Sources
The Haberfelde Building's reputation in Bakersfield's paranormal community rests primarily on two pillars: the reported deaths of construction workers during the 1927 build, and the accounts of more recent occupants encountering unexplained phenomena inside.
The construction deaths appear in local oral tradition and in print coverage — including the Bakersfield Magazine feature that called the building 'a hub for paranormal activity' in October 2011 — but do not appear in any available archival documentation. They function as founding mythology for the building's haunted status rather than as verified historical events.
Bakersfield Escape, which operates themed escape rooms in the building, has documented the paranormal reputation as part of its presence. The Bakersfield.com feature listing the building among the city's most-cited haunted locations draws on accounts from staff and visitors describing cold spots and sounds that don't correlate with any obvious mechanical source. The building's age, its long history of professional tenancy, and its surviving period architecture provide the kind of environmental texture that tends to generate and sustain these accounts.
Bakersfield Escape operates themed escape rooms inside the historic Haberfelde Building, marketing the property's paranormal reputation as part of the experience. The building's architectural character — original ironwork, aged corridors, and period details — adds texture to the atmosphere.
Every HauntBound history is researched from documented sources. We clearly separate verified historical fact from paranormal folklore.
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