Haunted hotel guide · Benicia, California
The Haunted Union Hotel, Benicia: The Woman at the Upstairs Window
A white Victorian hotel on First Street in California’s old capital, where passers-by say a young woman still looks out from an upstairs window.
The Union Hotel stands at 401 First Street in Benicia, the small waterfront town on the Carquinez Strait that served as California’s state capital for about a year in 1853 and 1854. The white clapboard Victorian has a bar and dining room on the ground floor and twelve historically decorated guest suites above, a short walk from the old capitol building, the antique shops and the water. It is about an hour from San Francisco.
Its ghost story is a sad one. Local legend says a young woman took her own life in one of the rooms in the late 1800s, and people in the street say they have seen her standing at an upstairs window of a room that should be empty. Guests describe a woman’s voice talking and quietly crying. Locals sometimes call her Disappointed Mary. It is one of the smaller and more personal haunted hotels in California.
Union Hotel at a glance
Haunted Rooms Score
- Address 401 First Street, Benicia, CA 94510
- Built Around 1880 to 1882 (first known as the Solano House); restored from 1970
- Most haunted spots A street-facing upstairs window, the guest rooms, the stairs
- Best-known ghosts A young woman, sometimes called Disappointed Mary; Victorian couples; a chef
- Booking the haunted room No room is named in the stories. Ask for a front room overlooking First Street
- Good to know Twelve suites above a bar and dining room; book through the hotel’s website or by phone. Expect some evening noise from downstairs
The ghosts of the Union Hotel
The woman at the window
The Union Hotel’s best-known ghost is a young woman. The story says she hanged herself in one of the upstairs rooms in the late 1800s, and the local nickname for her, Disappointed Mary, hints at a story of lost love. People walking along First Street at night say they have looked up and seen her standing at a street-facing window, looking out, when the room behind her was known to be empty.
Inside, guests have reported hearing a woman talking softly in a room next to theirs, and sometimes crying, only to learn that the room was unoccupied.
A different ending
Not every version agrees on how she died. Former employees quoted by the San Francisco Chronicle described her as a woman who either hanged herself or died after being thrown down the stairs. No name, date or record has ever been tied to her, and the Benicia library’s local history collection mentions her only as part of the hotel’s lore.
Victorian couples and a chef
The same former employees told the Chronicle of other figures: couples in Victorian dress, and a chef, along with unexplained noises in the building. None of them has a name or a story attached, but they fit a building that has been a bar, a dining room and a hotel for well over a century.
The most haunted rooms and places to look
- Front rooms over First Street: The rooms with the street-facing windows where the young woman is seen from outside.
- The upstairs hallway and stairs: Where guests hear a woman talking and crying, and where one version of the story says she fell.
- The bar and dining room: The old saloon-style ground floor where former staff describe noises and figures after closing.
History of Union Hotel
Benicia sits on the Carquinez Strait, the narrow water passage that links the delta to San Francisco Bay. It was briefly California’s seat of government, from February 9, 1853, to February 25, 1854, and its capitol is the only one of the state’s capitols before Sacramento that still survives. Through the rest of the 19th century it was a working port town, and the San Francisco Chronicle describes the hotel as being at the center of plenty of its drama.
The hotel’s own website says it has welcomed travelers since 1852, which likely refers to earlier lodging on the site. The building you stay in today is usually dated to around 1880 to 1882. The Benicia Public Library’s local history collection records that it first opened as the Solano House and was later known as the Newport, before taking the Union Hotel name.
By the late 20th century the building needed work, and a restoration began in 1970 that turned it into the hotel, dining room and bar it is today. It now has twelve suites, each with its own name and decor, on the upper floors.
Tips for a haunted stay
- Ask for a front room overlooking First Street if you want to sleep behind the window the young woman is seen in.
- Step outside after dark and look up at the upstairs windows from across First Street; that is where most sightings happen.
- Visit the Benicia Capitol State Historic Park a few blocks up the hill to see the only surviving early state capitol.
- The bar downstairs can be lively on weekends. Light sleepers should ask for a quieter room.
- Benicia is an easy add-on to a Bay Area ghost trip: combine it with the Claremont in Berkeley or the Hotel Majestic in San Francisco.
More haunted hotels nearby
- Claremont Club and Spa: the haunted hillside resort in Berkeley
- Hotel Majestic: Room 407 in San Francisco
- Haunted hotels in San Francisco: the city’s haunted hotels
- Haunted hotels in California: every haunted stay in the state
- Haunted hotels in California
Stayed in one of these hotels? Tell us what happened
We collect first-hand accounts from guests and add the best ones to our guides, with your first name and the date of your stay. We read every story before it’s published.
Frequently asked questions
Is the Union Hotel in Benicia haunted?
Local legend says it is haunted by a young woman who took her own life in one of the rooms in the late 1800s. People report seeing her at an upstairs window and hearing a woman talking or crying in empty rooms.
Who is Disappointed Mary?
The local nickname for the Union Hotel’s ghost, the young woman said to have died in the hotel after a disappointment in love. No historical record of her has been published.
How old is the Union Hotel in Benicia?
The current building dates to around 1880 to 1882 and first opened as the Solano House. The hotel says travelers have stayed on the site since 1852. It was restored beginning in 1970.
Was Benicia the capital of California?
Yes. Benicia was the state capital from February 1853 to February 1854, and its capitol building is now a state historic park a few blocks from the hotel.
How many rooms does the Union Hotel have?
Twelve suites on the upper floors, above a bar and dining room.
Sources
Facts on this page are checked against the hotel’s own website, historic records and news coverage. Ghost stories are reported as guests, staff and local historians tell them. Read how we rate haunted hotels.
- Benicia Public Library: Union Hotel (c1880)
- Union Hotel Benicia: official site
- San Francisco Chronicle: The creepiest places to fall asleep in California
- Legends of America: Sleeping With Ghosts in California
- California State Parks: Benicia Capitol State Historic Park
- Only In Your State: Stay overnight at the Union Hotel
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About the authors
The Haunted Rooms Team runs public ghost hunts and overnight investigations at historic venues across the United States. We research every hotel in our guides using hotel histories, local archives, news coverage and the accounts of guests and staff, and we review each guide regularly so you are not booking a hotel that has closed or changed its name. Spotted something out of date? Let us know.
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