The Royal Elizabeth Bed and Breakfast Inn, Tucson Arizona

The Royal Elizabeth is the oldest Victorian era inn operating in Arizona. All of the spacious guest rooms feature period antiques, private bathrooms and comfortable sitting areas. The home also features many modern amenities including zoned heat and air conditioning, wireless internet throughout the house, home theatre lounge and free local and long distance calling from all guest rooms. Each room also offers satellite television, VCR, safe deposit box and refrigerator tucked inside antique armoires. Most rooms can be made into adjoining suites and have private entrances. Guests enjoy a two-course gourmet breakfast each morning as well as afternoon refreshments.

The home was built in 1878 by Charles R. Drake, a former US Army officer, who was commissioned to provide contract labor and supplies to the Southern Pacific railroad in the laying of track between Los Angeles, CA and El Paso, TX. Drake’s additional responsibilities included helping out at Fort Lowell and the tent city which occupied what is now Armory Park. With a basic knowledge of medicine, he assisted in primitive surgeries and prescribing of medicine to personnel injured during the Arizona Indian wars of the turbulent 1870’s.

Having been in the mercantile business in San Francisco prior to his arrival in Tucson, he purchased the lot on Scott Avenue and ordered the original woodwork, hardware, and leaded skylights to be shipped from San Francisco to the frontier settlement of Tucson to be used in the construction of his new home. While in Tucson, Drake opened a number of businesses and was responsible for the building of many commercial structures in the downtown area. While residing in Tucson, Drake represented Hercules Powder Co., and was receiver for the land office, county recorder and member of the Territorial legislature. While in Tucson, Drake married Agripina Moreno, whose family had moved from Hermosillo, Mexico some years before.

Drake sold the home in 1891 to Charles Blenman, an English attorney who had sailed around Cape Horn en route to San Francisco. Blenman practiced law in Tucson for more than 45 years and was affectionately known as “Judge” or “Barrister” throughout his career. The flagpole in the front yard is the original one which Blenman erected and he was known for his patriotism, raising and lowering the flag on a daily basis. The “judge” entertained frequently at his home, being a brilliant storyteller and was known for a wide circle of friends and hospitality. His two sons, Charles Jr. and William, grew up in the house and both received appointments to the Naval Academy, with both eventually retiring to Tucson with the rank of Admiral.

When the last living Blenman family member moved from the house in the early 1990’s, the stipulation of the “Judges” will was that the home’s ownership be transferred to the Arizona Pioneers Historical Society. The will written in the 1930’s did not anticipate that by the 1990’s so few members of this group survived that the house would have to be sold. The home which had been subdivided into apartments in the 1940’s stood vacant for several years before being restored by Royal Henry, a Colorado contractor in 1998. The Royal Elizabeth Inn opened in 1999 after extensive remodeling and refurbishing, which included the restoring of all woodwork, doors and trim which had been stored in the carriage house since the home had been partially converted to apartments in the 1940s.

Subsequent owners Jack Nance and Robert Ogburn meticulously cared for the home and were responsible for further improvements to the inn including the garden areas, pool, outdoor spa and furnishings reflective of the Victorian era. Among Nance and Ogburn’s greatest contributions was the full restoration of the historic outbuildings—the carriage house, barn and historic kitchen—into an 1,100 square foot innkeepers’ residence. The inn, now owned and operated by Jeff DiGregorio and Chuck Bressi, contains 6 guest rooms, 4 of which are two-room suites.

We trust that the reputation of fine hospitality and conversation which were the hallmark of this home for over a century will be continued throughout the years ahead as guests continue to enjoy the legacy befitting The Royal Elizabeth Inn.