Oct 16, 8:17 PM (ET)
BLUEFIELD, W.Va. (AP) - The search for a leaky water pipe led to the recent discovery of a hidden room at the former West Virginian Hotel in Bluefield. Maintenance worker Dan Kirby was knocking down a wall looking for pipes two weeks ago when he found an entire room.
The below-street level room is about 10 feet wide, 18-20 feet long and about 7 feet in height. Wooden cabinets lined one wall and a vintage toilet filled with concrete was found behind a partition. A door that led up to street level had long since been sealed shut, its access covered up by a sidewalk.
With high hopes of uncovering some treasures, Vicki Miller and Faye Reeves sifted through the cabinets and the clutter that was scattered about.
They are managers at the retirement home that now calls the circa 1923 hotel home.
Miller and Reeves found an odd assortment of items - optical instruments dating to 1931, newspaper clippings from 1958, vintage Philip Morris cigarette packs, cork-sealed lids for soft drink bottles and fruit crates.
"It was kind of neat finding it," Miller said of the mystery room. "We had a good time searching through the room to find all of this."
At the time it was built, the 12-story hotel was one of the tallest buildings in the world. It eventually was converted into apartments and reopened in June of 1978 to serve elderly and disabled individuals.
Miller said the original architectural renderings developed by noted architect Alex B. Mahood have long since been lost or destroyed.
"We hope somebody here in Bluefield may be able to shed some light on it," she said.
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