TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — For the first time since the devastating Pioneer Hotel fire exactly 54 years ago, there will be a holiday party held inside the old Pioneer dining room on Friday evening.
"I don't think I've been here since 1970," said Bettina Lyons as she walked into what was the Pioneer Hotel dining room earlier this week.
"I think they've done a remarkable job on the ceiling," Lyons said.
The Pioneer Tucson is now an office building in downtown. With the help of Tucson artist Joe Pagac, they've restored the dining room back to how it looked when it opened in 1929.
"It's wonderful that it's still here," said Lyons. "It was built to last."
To appreciate the building built to last you have to go back to the beginning -- when Bettina Lyons' grandfather, Albert Steinfeld, first came to Tucson in 1872.
He was just 18 years old, and came to work in his family's store, the Zeckendorf mercantile on Main Street.
"Eventually, he bought out his uncle, Louis Zeckendorf and built Steinfeld's Department Store," explained Lyons.
Opened in 1906, Steinfeld's was a fixture downtown at the corner of Stone and Pennington. By 1928, Albert Steinfeld was the largest landowner in Tucson.
That's when investors came to see him with an idea.
"We think it's time to build a first-class hotel in Tucson and we want your property," said Lyons. "Albert Steinfeld thought that was a really good idea because it would benefit his stores across the street and he donated the property."
Well-known Tucson architect Roy Place designed the Spanish Revival hotel. But midway through the build, the investors backed out.
"Son, Harold Steinfeld went to his father and said, 'Congratulations, you're in the hotel business, because I want to continue this project,'" Lyons explained.
And he did. Harold Steinfeld oversaw the completion of the Pioneer Hotel.
At 11 stories, it was Tucson's tallest skyscraper, one story taller than the Consolidated National Bank down the street.
"They had a grand opening in 1929 and invitations went out," Lyons said. "It was $10 apiece. I looked it up. That's $250 in today's money. They had a grand opening and the hotel was a huge success."
Now managing the property, Harold Steinfeld and his wife Peggy moved into the Pioneer Hotel.
"They had the top floor and they had a big suite of rooms up there," recalled Lyons.
Lyons remembers spending many nights eating formal dinners with the Steinfelds on that top floor.
"They were very much loved, and they lived their whole married life in the Pioneer Hotel," Lyons said.
Bettina Lyons began her married life at the Pioneer Hotel. Her wedding reception was held in the ballroom the day after Christmas in 1957.
The Pioneer Hotel was the spring training home of the Cleveland Indians and continued to be the place for big events in Tucson.
Then tragedy struck at just after midnight on Dec. 20, 1970. Fire broke out on the fourth floor.
Staff told Bettina Lyons' Uncle Harold and Aunt Peggy to stay put. Bettina's husband called and talked to Peggy as the fire was burning several floors below.
"She said, 'I'm fine, don't worry.' So we went to bed. And we didn't know what happened until we woke up the next morning."
Tragically, both Harold and Peggy Steinfeld died in the fire.
"The only flaw in the building was the opening stairways," said Lyons.
It turned out to be the deadliest fire in Arizona history. Twenty-nine people lost their lives.
By the mid-1970s, the hotel was converted into the office building we see today at the corner of Stone and Pennington.
There is a plaque in the lobby remembering the 29 lives lost.
There is also the dining room — refurbished to look as it did in 1929.
Bettina Lyons has written a book on the history of her family called Zeckendorfs & Steinfelds: Merchant Princes of the American Southwest. She is also passing along the Absolutely Arizona history of the Pioneer Hotel to her grandchildren.
The public event at the Pioneer takes place Friday, Dec. 20, from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. Entry is free. Food and drinks are available for purchase. The Pioneer is at 100 N. Stone Ave.
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Pat Parris is an anchor and reporter for KGUN 9. He is a graduate of Sabino High School where he was the 1982 high school state track champion in the 800 meters. While in high school and college, he worked part-time in the KGUN 9 newsroom. Share your story ideas and important issues with Pat by emailing pat.parris@kgun9.com or by connecting on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.