HauntBound archive · catalog record
Reported phenomena — as catalogued
Newsom Brothers' 1887 Queen Anne, never a paying guest
121 N San Dimas Avenue, San Dimas, CA 91773
Research updated May 2026
Age
All Ages
Cost
Free
The San Dimas Hotel / Walker House houses the San Dimas Historical Society; check their hours for tours.
Access
Limited Access
Historic Queen Anne with porches and stairs
Equipment
Photos OK
Est. 1887 · Newsom Brothers Queen Anne architecture · Walker House family home (1889 onward) · San Dimas Historical Society · Getty Trust-supported restoration
The San Dimas Hotel was built in 1887 by the San Jose Ranch Company as a planned railroad hotel and is also known as Walker House, the Carruthers Home, and the San Dimas Mansion. The owners hired Joseph Cather Newsom of the Newsom Brothers firm, with his brother Samuel, to design the structure. The Newsoms had built many prominent buildings across California in the late nineteenth century, including the Carson Mansion in Eureka.
The 15,000-square-foot Queen Anne Victorian contained thirty-three rooms and fourteen fireplaces, with a sunburst medallion, ornamental cupola, balconies, corner towers, seven chimneys, a large front porch, 140 feet of veranda, twelve-foot ceilings, eighteen bedrooms, and colored glass windows. By the time of completion, Southern California was hit by an economic depression and the hotel never had any paying guests. James W. Walker, a Kentucky merchant, purchased the building and forty acres in 1889 for use as the family home.
In 1998 the San Dimas Festival of Western Arts acquired a lease-option that was later assigned to the City of San Dimas, which bought the house in 2000. A $6.5 million restoration followed, with a portion funded by a Getty Trust preservation grant. The house now serves as the San Dimas Historical Society headquarters.
Sources
Visitors to the Walker House have reported banging on windows, the doorbell ringing on its own, sounds of someone trying to pull open a locked door, and noises of items sliding across the floor. The house's never-occupied hotel rooms and long family occupancy (the Walker family lived in the home for eight generations before the City of San Dimas acquired it) are the most frequently cited folklore origins for the activity.
The Walker House appears regularly in San Gabriel Valley paranormal writing and is occasionally featured on regional ghost tours. The phenomena reported tend to be benign and architectural rather than dramatic.
Tour the 1887 Walker House, designed by Joseph Cather Newsom and his brother Samuel of the Newsom Brothers firm, now home to the San Dimas Historical Society. The 15,000-square-foot Queen Anne includes thirty-three rooms, fourteen fireplaces, and 140 feet of veranda.
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