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The Magma Hotel as it is today.
The Magma Hotel in Superior, Arizona was built in 1912 or 1913. John M. McPherson, sometimes spelled MacPherson, is given credit for building it, but it may be that he did not become involved with the hotel until after 1915. Jack Davey was the architect, builder for the building. He was with the firm of Davey & Hausner, brick contractors and builders in Phoenix. Frank Ennis was listed as the first owner in 1914. In 1916 an adobe structure was added. A two-story red brick building was constructed in 1923. It was known as MacPherson’s Hotel Magma. This is also the building that Jack Davey was involved with. Davey & Hausner provided brick construction for the Monroe School in Phoenix, and the girl’s dormitory and the industrial arts building for the Tempe Normal School, now known as Arizona State University.
J.M. McPherson was a realtor, developer, entrepreneur and mining speculator. He worked and lived in Globe before moving to Superior. Newspaper articles and ads of the times show that he was the Assistant Manager Miner’s Consolidated Mercantile in Globe in 1905. In 1906 he was listed as the Secretary of the Globe & Pinto Mining Company and was President of King Trail Development Company in 1908. From 1908 – 1910 he worked for Consolidated Realty Company, Globe Realty and Alex Simpson & Company. Alex Simpson & Company was located at 230 N. Broad Street. His wife was the Treasurer of the Superior Branch of the Central Arizona Chapter of the Red Cross during World War I. She was also appointed as a member of the Pinal County Child Welfare Board in 1921.
The Magma Hotel was a stop and departure point for the Phoenix – Ray – Superior Stage Line which offered a round trip to Phoenix for $12. It housed “the only exclusive barbershop in Superior” and the Magma Café. The hotel and café hosted mining executives, U.S. statesmen and travelers. An ad in the Arizona Republic in 1919 shows that An Gee was selling two “big paying” restaurants in Superior: the American Kitchen on Main Street and Magma Café.
In 1920, O.C. Wing was listed as the proprietor of the Magma Café. According to Lucy Wing, owner of the Jade Grill restaurant in Superior, O.C. Wing was not related to her as far as she knows. Her family did not come to Superior until the 1930s. Her family did own the Magma Hotel at one time in the 1960s or 70s.
On May 30, 1914 the Arizona Republic reported, “What might have been a serious fire occurred at the Magma Hotel owned by Frank Ennis, but owing to the energetic work of Walter Easton and other fellow citizens it did not do such great amount of damage.” The fire began on a tent adjoining the hotel and had caught the frame work of a window of the hotel on fire. The damage was estimated at $500.
The Magma Hotel was one of the first businesses to own a Delco Light system. According to the Arizona Republic, “Delco Light is a complete electric light plant, easy and inexpensive to operate, which enables schools, churches, stores and ranches to have all the conveniences afforded by electricity in the city.” In 1917, the light plant made up of a gas run generator and multiple batteries sold for $385 for the 47 light capacity and $465 for the 62 light capacity.
In October 1921, it was reported that three men had been killed and two men had been seriously injured in a blasting accident in Devil’s Canyon along the new Miami to Superior Highway. The Arizona Republic identified the two injured men as Dick Pedersen and Clint Rapier. The paper said, “Pedersen was burned by the blast, while Rapier was burned and sustained three broken ribs” and “both are at the Magma Hotel in Superior under the care of nurses.”
In its prime, the Magma Hotel was a landmark for the once thriving town of Superior. It is the hope of Superior that the newly restored historic building can give more life to Superior’s Main Street and bring more tourists to this old mining town.
Magma Hotel Timeline
The original Magma Hotel, erected in 1912, boasted screened-in upstairs sleeping rooms. This building later became the site for a drug store and was a center of activity during the day and evening hours.
In 1994, through the effort of then owners Mary and Charles Sanchez, the Magma Hotel was placed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Magma Hotel after partial collapse.
December 7, 2007, the Magma Hotel suffered a partial collapse of the front exterior wall off the two-story adobe structure in the center of the three adjoined buildings that made up the Magma. Over a period of months, the hotel continued to crumble and a state of emergency was declared and the town removed the center portion, a project that included asbestos removal and other work. Two structures of the three remain on the site.
Magma Hotel after successful foreclosure by the Town of Superior.
April 13, 2010, the Town of Superior successfully foreclosed on the Magma Hotel. A lien in the amount of $164,000 was placed on the property. The lien arose from the town’s abatement for safety reasons of a portion of the hotel.
Miguel Sfeir
August 10, 2010, the Magma Hotel sells to new owner Miguel Sfeir from Chile, South America.
Plans for the Magma Hotel.
October 15, 2014, Magma Hotel owner Miguel Sfeir addresses the Superior Chamber of Commerce about his continuing renovation of the hotel. they will be decorating and furnishing the hotel with the furnishings to match when the hotel first opened in 1912. The Magma Hotel will feature 21 rooms, 6 in the adobe section and 15 in the brick section. Each of the hotel rooms will feature a historic photo of Superior blown up to be the wall paper in each room and other artifacts of Superior’s history will be on display, he said.
The Magma Hotel
June 2016, renovations and interior decorating continue. Owners hope to have the hotel open soon, although no date has been set.
John Hernandez lives in Oracle. He is retired and enjoys writing and traveling. He is active in the Oracle Historical Society. He covers numerous public events, researches historical features and writes business/artist profiles.
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