We prepared stunning photos of the abandoned and closed Wyoming Hotel in Mullens, West Virginia. The Wyoming Hotel was a source of community pride and community history. The hotel was designed by Bluefield architect Alex Mahood but the building was facing an uncertain future and threat of imminent collapse in recent years.
The Hotel Wyoming was once a symbol of everything grand and prosperous that the industrial age brought to the county. Legends such as baseball giant Babe Ruth, President John F. Kennedy, and even Mark Twain all stayed there.
The History of the Wyoming Hotel in Mullens
The Wyoming Hotel was built in 1918, destroyed by fire in August 1919, and rebuilt in 1920 by J. C. Sullivan, the owner of the coal mines at Tralee, Meade Poca, and Barker’s Creek. He transferred his Bank of Wyoming from the company store building in Meade Poca or South Mullens to this location in 1922. The hotel has five floors with a mezzanine over the lobby as well as social rooms on the second floor. The sleeping rooms on the 3rd, 4th, and 5th had a sink and some shared a bathroom.
There was one bathroom in the hall on each floor. The 1st floor contained the lobby, dining room, kitchen, and “The Hub” grill. The Bank of Wyoming was in the front corner room. The vault for the bank remains in the building. Guests included then-Senator John F. Kennedy, UMW President John L. Lewis, Admiral Richard Bird, Babe Ruth, Jack Dempsey, Will Rogers, and many senators, congressmen, and governors. J. C. Sullivan went bankrupt in 1925, and the hotel was bought by the Shenandoah Life Insurance Co. of Roanoke, VA.
The new People’s Bank of Mullens moved in and took over the Bank of Wyoming in January 1926. The hotel was sold to Mr. M. H. Hodel, the owner of the Beckley Newspaper Co. in the 1940s, and was later sold to Sam and Nelva Webster.
Declining demand for coal from the Winding Gulf Coalfield and the mechanization of coal extraction led to regional population collapses. Unable to fill rooms and compete with larger chain hotels along the West Virginia Turnpike and Interstates 64 and 77, the Guyandotte Hotel was forced to close circa 1978. In 2001 flood brought utter devastation to the Wyoming Hotel and caused the concrete floors in the rear of the building to collapse.
In 2019 the Mullens Community Development Corporation has received a $5,000 grant through the 2019 FOCUS WV Brownfields program to address barriers to the redevelopment of Wyoming Hotel.
As for 2021, the development plans for the abandoned Wyoming Hotel call for a commercial-residential mix, catering to outdoor recreation tourists. In 2021 the Wyoming Hotel received a $6,000 grant from the Preservation Alliance, a nonprofit organization dedicated to preserving historically significant properties throughout the state.
What were design elements of the Wyoming Hotel?
This massive five-story brick hotel, designed by Alex Mahood, was built in the form of an “H”, contains five street-level commercial bays, 68 guest rooms, and a dining/ballroom with a 250 person seating capacity. A simple but unique entrance elaboration consists of two attached concrete pilasters on either side of the main entrance over which is situated a glassed oval arch fanlight.
The original 2 over 2 sash-type windows rest on mortar sills and are prevalent throughout the building. A dropped decorative masonry cornice accentuates the upper facade of the hotel building and consists of scroll-like modillions attached to a fascia and masonry dentils are situated directly beneath the modillions.
Who designed and built the Wyoming Hotel in Mullens?
Once a showplace in the coal-mining town of Mullens, West Virginia, the Wyoming Hotel was designed by Alexander Mahood and built-in 1918 by town banker and mine baron J.C. Sullivan. Mahood was the architect for the West Virginia Hotel and many of his major residential works are in South Bluefield.
Alexander Mahood also designed a number of coal company offices and stores in the southern West Virginia region.
How do you get to the Wyoming Hotel in Mullens?
At the end of Howard Avenue in Mullens, WV stands this old, abandoned hotel. It looked like a movie set or a street in a ghost town, but it was neither. Mullens is one of those American towns that virtually requires a vehicle for any kind of practical travel. If you plan to spend your entire trip in Mullens, WV, it’s feasible to use taxis or public transportation to get to the abandoned hotel.
Stunning Photos of the Wyoming Hotel in Mullens, WV
Wyoming Hotel, Mullens, West Virginia. The logo over the doorway
These old ads were painted on the backside of the Wyoming Hotel. An ad for the hotel itself and an ad for Keystone Gasoline.
Abandoned and neglected for quite some time.
Fire Escape on the Wyoming Hotel.
A lot of history and a ton of old antiques inside an abandoned hotel.
Wyoming Hotel, Mullens, West Virginia. A classic neon sign.
One more photo of abandoned Hotel Wyoming in Mullens, West Virginia
The hotel is named for the county the town is in, Wyoming County. The hotel has been vacant for several years and is decaying quickly.
Hotel Wyoming Fire Escape
