It almost seemed typical for the history of the Arizona mining and small towns to once be ravished by fires. In 1897, Flagstaff was almost wiped out by a string of fires destroying most of the structures. Trying to avoid another disaster of this magnitude, the City passed an ordinance requiring all buildings to be made of brick, stone, or iron. In 1889, John W. Weatherford built his brick building in downtown Flagstaff, and named it the Weatherford Hotel. The two-story structure had a general store on the bottom, while the Weatherford family lived upstairs. In March of 1899, he added a brick third floor and celebrated the opening on New Year's Day, 1900. The third floor was used as a ballroom for dances and parties. It was named the Zane Grey Ballroom after the author who wrote the novel, "The Call of the Canyon". It was told that he wrote the famous novel in that very room. He wasn't the only famous person who laid their tired bones at the hotel, ma