1911 Tudor-Craftsman Hotel with Prohibition-Era Third Floor
134 N Mill Street, Santa Paula, CA 93060
Research updated May 2026
Age
All Ages
Cost
$$$
Overnight rates typically $150-$250 depending on room and season.
Access
Limited Access
Historic three-story building; check directly for accessible rooms
Equipment
Photos OK
Est. 1911 · Santa Paula Historic District · Tudor-Craftsman Architecture · Prohibition-Era Speakeasy
The Glen Tavern Inn was constructed in 1911 in Santa Paula, California, then a booming oil town in Ventura County. Architects Burns and Hunt designed the building in the Tudor-Craftsman style, with half-timbered gables and brick chimneys still visible today. The hotel sits in what is now the Santa Paula Historic District and is a federally recognized landmark.
During Hollywood's silent and golden eras, Santa Paula's proximity to Los Angeles made the Glen Tavern a regular stopover for film productions and traveling stars. Sources document stays by John Wayne, Harry Houdini, Steve McQueen, and Clark Gable.
The inn's third floor took on a different character during Prohibition, operating as a speakeasy with associated gambling and brothel activity. This period is the documented source of much of the property's later folklore. The building has been continuously operated as a hotel for more than a century, with periodic restorations preserving the original woodwork, leaded-glass windows, and lobby millwork. The inn appeared in episodes of paranormal television series including Ghost Adventures and The Dead Files.
Sources
The Glen Tavern Inn's reputation as one of California's most-documented haunted hotels rests largely on its third floor, the former speakeasy and brothel level. Room 307 is the most consistently cited room in published paranormal accounts.
Two named figures are associated with 307. The first is Calvin, described in regional folklore as a cowboy or gambler killed during a card-game dispute on the third floor. The second is a woman remembered as Rose, framed in local accounts as a sex worker who met a violent end during the Prohibition years. These are folkloric attributions; the underlying historical record of a specific, named victim has not been confirmed by primary sources.
Reports from other rooms include Room 23, where guests have described an apparition seen at the window, and Rooms 103 and 305, which are mentioned as recurring sites of activity in regional paranormal coverage.
A child has been reported running on the second floor and in the lobby after hours, and the lobby piano is said to play occasional notes without a visible player. The Glen Tavern markets its history openly — the hotel's motto is "Where the Past Comes to Life" — and the property has hosted paranormal investigation crews including those from Ghost Adventures and The Dead Files. Reports gathered by those productions are part of why Room 307 books out quickly during October.
Notable Entities
Media Appearances
Request Room 307 — widely reported as the inn's most active room, associated with two named figures from the third floor's Prohibition-era speakeasy and brothel period. The 1911 Tudor-Craftsman building is a federal landmark in the Santa Paula Historic District.
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