When the Pioneer Hotel in downtown Tucson burned days before Christmas in 1970, 29 people died.
The fire was determined to be arson and 16-year-old Louis Taylor was arrested and tried for the crime. He was convicted and sentenced to life in prison.
The case made headlines again when Taylor was released in 2013. He has always proclaimed he is innocent, and now there are many who believe him, though his conviction still stands.
The Pioneer Hotel was Tucson's first "skyscraper" when it was built in 1929.
– Arizona Daily Star
Photos © Arizona Daily Star or Tucson Citizen, where applicable
The Pioneer Hotel never recovered from the 1970 fire, said Bettina Lyons, niece of the couple who owned the hotel. "Even though they put money into it and put sprinkler systems in, people did not come to stay."
Victims are removed from the front entrance to the Pioneer Hotel in Dec. 1970.
A injured firefighter is wheeled to an ambulance at the Pioneer Hotel fire on Dec. 20, 1970.
In the end, the Pioneer Hotel fire killed 29 people, some of them jumping from windows to escape the flames. Louis Taylor was convicted of arson. The first articles ran in the Star Dec. 20, 1970.
The Pioneer Hotel in 1961.
Firefighters on an old Tucson Fire ladder truck help a woman down from the upper floors during the Pioneer Hotel fire on Dec. 20, 1970.
A firefighter sprays water on windows of the upper floors of the Pioneer Hotel fire on Dec. 20, 1970.
A man stands at the window on one of the upper floors of the Pioneer Hotel fire on Dec. 20, 1970, as the fire rages above.
A firefighter helps an unidentified man after plucking him from a room near the top of the Pioneer International Hotel which caught fire early in Dec. 1970.
Tucson firefighers apply a steady stream of water during the Pioneer Hotel fire in Dec. 1970. Tucson's firefighting equipment was ruled inadequate following this fire when they were unable to aid many trapped on the higher floors.
Flames and smoke shoot from the windows in the upper floors during the Pioneer Hotel fire in Dec. 1970.
Flames and smoke shoot from the windows in the upper floors as firefighters extend the ladder to save those below during the Pioneer Hotel fire in Dec. 1970.
Victims are removed from the front entrance to the Pioneer Hotel in Dec. 1970.
Victims are removed from the front the entrance to the Pioneer Hotel in Dec. 1970.
Smoke billows from the upper floor of the Pioneer International Hotel as three firemen work to rescue survivors of the early-morning blaze. The firemen at the bottom is helping an elderly Pioneer tenant to walk down the ladder.
Fireman help the injured at the Pioneer Hotel blaze in Dec. 1970.
A hotel patron is helped down the ladder to safety during the Pioneer Hotel Fire in Dec. 1970.
Pioneer Hotel Fire
Tucson firefighters climb a ladder at the Pioneer Hotel Fire in 1970. Courtesy of Tucson Fire Department
Tucson firefighters help an elderly patron down the ladder at the Pioneer Hotel fire in Tucson on Dec. 20, 1970.
G.L. Scoggins, catering manager, talks to exhausted Tucson firefighers at the Pioneer Hotel fire in Tucson on Dec. 20, 1970.
An exhausted Tucson firefighter at the Pioneer Hotel fire in Tucson on Dec. 20, 1970.
People draped in blankets outside the Pioneer Hotel in Tucson after a fatal fire on Dec. 20, 1970.
People in downtown Tucson gaze up at the Pioneer Hotel the morning after the deadly fire in Dec. 1970.
People in downtown Tucson gaze up at the Pioneer Hotel the morning after the deadly fire in Dec. 1970.
Aftermath of the Pioneer Hotel Fire in Dec. 1970.
The aftermath of the Pioneer Hotel Fire in Dec. 1970.
The bedroom suite at the Pioneer Hotel kept by the Steinfelds, owners of Steinfelds Department Store. The couple died in the massive hotel fire on Dec. 20, 1970.
Aftermath of the Pioneer Hotel in Dec. 1970.
Funeral of victims of the Pioneer Hotel Fire in Dec. 1970.
Louis Taylor in 1970. Taylor was tried and convicted of 28 counts of felony murder in connection with the fire at the Pioneer Hotel, Tucson.
Arizona prison inmate Louis C. Taylor, serving a life sentence after being convicted in the deaths of 28 people in the 1970 Pioneer Hotel fire. A 29th person died later of injuries from the fire.
Louis Taylor shakes the hand of his first attorney from 1972, Howard Kashman, back to camera, as his current defense team from Phoenix surrounds him after a hearing in Pima County Superior Court in Tucson, Ariz. on Tuesday April 2, 2013. Taylor, who was originally convicted of 28 counts of felony murder in connection with the fire, was released from prison after 42 years.
Rick Wiley
Photo editor
A Tucson man who has spent 42 years behind bars in connection with the downtown Tucson Pioneer Hotel fire that killed 29 people is expected t…
Pima County Attorney Barbara LaWall supports the plea agreement in the 1970 Pioneer Hotel fire case in part because if Louis Cuen Taylor was r…
Louis Cuen Taylor was driven away from a Tucson prison this afternoon, ending 42 years behind bars for the deadly Pioneer Hotel fire.
Articulate and sometimes emotional, Louis Cuen Taylor spoke Wednesday afternoon about his case, the legal system and his first days of freedom…
Before leaving office Barbara LaWall tried to make it impossible for newly-elected county attorney Laura Conover to handle a lawsuit filed by Louis Taylor, the man convicted of setting the deadly Pioneer Hotel fire in 1970.
Edward Montaño worked the 1970 Pioneer Hotel fire and he focused his TFD career on fire prevention after that deadly blaze.
Laura Conover announced she will not remove the conviction of Louis Taylor, who served 42 years in prison after being convicted of starting the fire that killed 29 people in 1970.
Court records: Conover 'threatened' in Pioneer Fire case exoneration effortFor Star subscribers: Pima County Attorney Laura Conover reversed her plan to exonerate Louis Taylor — the man freed in the case after 42 years in prison — but changed her mind after pressure from Phoenix lawyers, court records show.
For Star subscribers: The Pima County attorney chose not to exonerate Louis Taylor in the deadly 1970 Pioneer Hotel fire because her legal career was threatened, a sworn affidavit from a surprising source alleged.
Tucson and Pima County officials apparently are considering settling financially with Louis Taylor over his long imprisonment in the 1970 case.
David Berkman is seeking access to records related to the civil suit involving Louis Taylor, who served 42 years in prison in the the deadly fire at Tucson's Pioneer Hotel in 1970.