Seven years ago this month, Alice Sliger, the matriarch of the Buckhorn resort empire, passed away at age 103.

After her husband and partner, Ted, died in 1984, Alice continued running the famous spa until age finally caught up with her. In 1999, she closed down the hot mineral baths that had operated continually for six decades.

Eight years later, in 2007, just shy of her 101st birthday, Alice shuttered the Buckhorn motel.

For the next decade, lacking Alice’s business acumen, tenacity and love for the place, the Buckhorn languished – slowly deteriorating – in need of some TLC.

Old motel remains a draw

Daily, passers-by pull onto the property next to the now unlit, monumental neon sign created about 1949 by legendary signmaker Paul Millet. Some get out of their cars and wander about a bit, peeking in windows looking for hints of the Buckhorn’s glory days.

RELATED: Exploring the paranormal side of Mesa’s Buckhorn Baths

The question that has been asked continually since 2010 is “What is going to happen to the Buckhorn?”

In the years after Alice closed the Buckhorn, her No. 1 concern was its future. She called upon longtime friends like the late Robert Brinton, CEO of Visit Mesa, preservation architect Ron Peters, and others, entreating them to find a way to preserve the Sligers’ legacy, and save the iconic property for new generations to enjoy – and appreciate Ted and Alice’s remarkable accomplishments.

In its 70 years, the Buckhorn tallied an impressive list of firsts. With the discovery of hot, mineral-laden water the Buckhorn introduced health spas to the Valley.

Celebrities followed suit

As a result of New York Giants owner Horace Stoneham’s introduction to the Buckhorn’s therapeutic benefits and sending his star baseball players out for pampered treatment a week or so before baseball seasons, we can make a direct link from the Buckhorn to Mesa and the start of the Cactus League.

MORE: How the Cactus League got its start in Arizona 70 years ago

Over the decades, the Buckhorn was popular with the glitterati – baseball players of course, Hollywood stars, and other celebrities like President Harry Truman’s daughter Margaret, who enjoyed an extended stay at the Buckhorn.

Alas, in private hands now

The Mesa Preservation Foundation was formed in 2010 to help honor Alice’s wish to save the Buckhorn. Working with the City of Mesa, it was in 2012 able to place on the ballot as part of a bond package to upgrade and improve long-neglected city parks, money to purchase the Buckhorn and begin stabilization.

Voters overwhelmingly gave their approval. But after two years of negotiations, the city was unable to affect a purchase, and the property went on the market.

As of Sept. 1, Buckhorn ownership was transferred to a Phoenix investment group whose initial plans, we are told, are to save only the iconic sign and the wildlife museum’s custom-built rock fireplace. Other than those, the apparent intent is to demolish one of Mesa’s most unique pieces of history.

Save a strong, vocal public outcry, it would seem the Buckhorn’s days are regretfully numbered.

READ MORE:

Neighborhood that sparked Mesa’s growth finally gets historic status

Kwok: Want to preserve the Chinese Cultural Center? Show the money

Phoenix Trolley Museum gets reprieve before it moves from Hance Park

Read or Share this story: http://azc.cc/2A0XNuv