Agua Caliente Casino — Prohibition-era ghosts haunt Tijuana's former gambling palace

The Agua Caliente Casino and Hotel in Tijuana was one of the most glamorous casinos in North America during the U.S. Prohibition era (1920-1933), attracting Hollywood stars and wealthy Americans who crossed the border for legal gambling, drinking, and entertainment. The complex included a casino, a hotel, a racetrack, and a spa. After the Mexican government banned gambling in 1935, the building was converted into a school — the Centro Escolar Agua Caliente — creating one of the most surreal transformations of any haunted building in Mexico. Students and teachers at the school have reported seeing figures in 1920s and 1930s clothing — women in flapper dresses, men in tuxedos — walking through the corridors and ballrooms that were converted into classrooms. The sound of jazz music, roulette wheels, and champagne glasses has been described echoing through the building during evening hours. Some students have reported encounters with a woman who appears to be a showgirl, complete with feathers and sequins, who walks through walls that were added during the conversion. The building's Art Deco architecture retains much of its original glamour despite its institutional repurposing.