When the chapel first opened, California marriage licenses normally required three days to become official. It was the job of other employees to rush people to the chapel from the train and bus stops.įamily members have always lived in chapel, and Bob Lutes has fond memories of growing up there, including meeting all of the famous people that have passed through Yuma in order to get married. The entire family was involved in the process, and Bob Lutes was responsible for making the corsages for the brides and playing the organ during the ceremony. Not everyone could afford to pay in cash, so the family allowed people to leave possessions as collateral until they could pay off their debt, but many couples were never heard from again. Lutes performed around 150 weddings per week.

The family offered weddings 24 hours a day, and many couples were married in the middle of the night.ĭuring WWII, R. They also moved the pool so that newlyweds could swim. According to his son Bob, the family had the chapel moved to First Street from its original location on Fourth Street because it was close to the bridge where people crossed into Arizona. The buildings are condemned and therefore closed to the public, but they have often been filmed for TV shows about ghost sightings and haunted buildings.Įlected as Justice of the Peace in the 1940s, Lutes needed a place to marry couples, so he opened the Gretna Green Wedding Chapel, naming it after a popular elopement destination in Scotland.

also owned the Lyric Theater, located next to Lutes Casino, and the Central Hotel above it – both currently owned by his two grandsons, Mike and Bob Lutes. Lutes was given a casino on what is now known as Main Street, because a gambler was not able to pay back his debt, and Lutes started up the restaurant that became known as Lutes Casino – still a popular meeting place for locals and tourists alike. Next to the Yuma Theater, he also opened a local soda fountain named The Green Spot Sweet Shop.

By starting these two popular businesses, Lutes created a legacy that is now shared by families who are both local and out of state.

Robert H Lutes was a Justice of the Peace, coroner, and businessman who brought many people together through his Gretna Green Wedding Chapel and Lutes Casino.

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