FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Legendary Inn for Sale. Spirit and Cat Included.
JOSHUA TREE,
Calif.-July 10-John Wayne slept here.
John Belushi dropped acid and snorted cocaine here.
In one of rock music’s most legendary tragedies, Gram Parsons
overdosed here. The Rolling Stones’ Keith Richards, the Eagles, the
Byrds, Donovan and Emmy-Lou Harris have all dropped in here, as have
countless other celebrities. Yet, for all its notoriety, the Joshua Tree Inn remains a
low-key haven for all.
The hacienda-style
bed-and-breakfast is now on the market for $1,500,000.
The sellers and others familiar with the Joshua Tree Inn hope that
the buyer will preserve its iconic essence.
“The owners are looking for a buyer who respects the inn’s
legacy,” says Peter Spurr, Broker Associate for Joshua Tree Realty.
Tim Easton, a Joshua Tree-based musician proclaims, “The Joshua
Tree Inn has been a source of inspiration for musicians and artists
worldwide. That spirit should carry on.”
The inn’s unassuming charm and mythical flavor reflect the character of Joshua Tree, the high desert village where the inn is located. Dubbed a “new bohemia” by the Los Angeles Times and the “the Anti-Los Angeles” by the New York Times, Joshua Tree retains an unpretentious, small-town air, even as L.A. denizens and global travelers flock to it.
Among Joshua Tree’s visitors are those drawn by a devotion to Gram Parsons, known as the father of country rock. Parsons died at the Joshua Tree Inn in 1973, at the age of 26. Before his death, Parsons often stayed at the Joshua Tree Inn and spent hours in what is now Joshua Tree National Park with Keith Richards “watching the sky for U.F.O.’s.” Since Parsons’ death, the Joshua Tree Inn has become known as the “resting place of Gram Parsons’ spirit.”
All who have sensed
Parsons’ spirit attest to its benevolence.
“I’ve felt something in there,” a handyman once remarked, referring to room 8, where Parsons died.
“It’s not a ghost; it’s a presence, a positive one.”
In the room 8 guest book, a visitor writes, “Love envelopes this
room.”
Volumes of room 8 books, filled over the years with scrawled eulogies to Gram Parsons, testify to fans’ abiding adoration. While many guests write of feeling Parsons’ presence, some attribute odd occurrences to Parsons’ spirit. “Richard asked Gram to give us a sign, and the radio came blaring at us with country music at 2:39 a.m.,” reports one guest. “Gram, it was a little trippy when you locked me in here,” writes another.
A number of guest book entries mention Sky, a cat who mysteriously appeared one day and has stayed on at the Joshua Tree Inn ever since. “Gram…was that you in the shape of the big white cat that spent the night with us?” “…She had one blue eye and one golden eye…your spirit is in her.”
Sky the cat and Gram Parsons’ spirit will remain with the Joshua Tree Inn when it sells. For more information on the Joshua Tree Inn, visit http://www.JoshuaTree-RealEstate.com or call (760)861-5895.
Contact: Peter Spurr, Broker
Telephone: (760)861-5895
Joshua Tree Realty
61325 29 Palms Highway, Ste. C
Joshua Tree, CA 92252
Fax:
(760)366-8600
The Joshua Tree Inn. Now listed for sale at $1,750,000. (Click image for larger photo.)
The inn's notorious room 8. Gram Parsons overdosed here in 1973. Devotees come from across the globe to pay tribute to Parsons. (Click image for larger photo.)
