The Hotel del Coronado, also known as The Del and Hotel Del, is a historic beachfront hotel in Coronado, California, just across San Diego Bay from San Diego. A rare surviving example of an American architectural genre—the wooden Victorian beach resort—it was designated a California Historical Landmark in 1970 and a National Historic Landmark in 1977. The Hotel del Coronado was inducted into Historic Hotels of America, an official program of the National Trust for Historic Preservation, in 2018. It is the second-largest wooden structure in the United States (after the Tillamook Air Museum in Tillamook, Oregon).
When the hotel opened in 1888, it was the largest resort hotel in the world. It has hosted presidents, royalty, and celebrities, and been featured in numerous films and books.
History
San Diego land boom In the mid-1880s, the San Diego region was experiencing one of its first real estate booms. At that time, it was common for a California developer to build a grand hotel as a draw to an otherwise barren landscape; examples include The Hollywood Hotel in Hollywood, the Raymond Hotel in Pasadena, the Hotel Del Monte in Monterey, and Hotel Redondo in Redondo Beach.
Coronado Beach Company In November 1885, a group of five investors bought Coronado and North Island, about 4,000 acres, for $110,000. They were E. S. Babcock, a retired railroad executive from Evansville, Indiana; Hampton L. Story, of the Story & Clark Piano Company of Chicago; Jacob Gruendike, president of the First National Bank of San Diego; Heber Ingle; and Joseph Collett.
In April 1886, Babcock and Story created the Coronado Beach Company, then additional enterprises to support Coronado's development. The Coronado Ferry Company built wharves and storage facilities and developed a ferryboat service between Coronado and San Diego; The Coronado Water Company piped fresh water under San Diego Bay from the San Diego River; The Coronado Railroad Company provided rail lines in Coronado, and eventually a "Belt Line" connected Coronado to San Diego via the Strand. The Hotel del Coronado had one of the state's largest electrical power plants, providing service to the entire community of Coronado until the 1920s.
The men hired architect James W. Reid, a native of New Brunswick, Canada, who first practiced in Evansville and Terre Haute. His brother Merritt Reid, a partner in Reid Brothers, the Evansville firm, stayed in Indiana, and his brother Watson Reid helped supervise the 2,000 laborers needed.
Babcock's vision Babcock's visions for the hotel were grand:
Construction
If the hotel were to be built, one of the numerous problems to overcome was the absence of lumber and labor in the San Diego area. The lumber problem was solved with contracts for exclusive rights to all raw lumber production of the Dolbeer & Carson Lumber Company of Eureka, California, one of the West's largest. Planing mills were built on site to finish raw lumber shipped directly from the Dolbeer & Carson lumber yards on the shores of Humboldt Bay. To obtain brick and concrete, Reid built his own kilns. He also constructed a metal shop and ironworks.Baker, Gayle, San Diego, HarborTown History Publications, 2007, p. 53, (print), 9780987903853 (on-line)
Construction of the hotel began in March 1887, "on a sandspit populated by jack rabbits and coyotes". The hotel opened for business on February 19, 1888. Labor was provided largely by Chinese immigrants from San Francisco and Oakland.
The Crown Room was Reid's masterpiece. Its wooden ceiling was installed with pegs and glue, and not a single nail was used.Historic American Buildings Survey: 5
Landscaping for the hotel was completed by Kate Sessions.
Planning for fire hazards Reid's plans were constantly being revised. To deal with fire hazards, a freshwater pipeline was run under San Diego Bay. Water tanks and gravity flow sprinklers were installed. He also built two giant cisterns with concrete walls a foot thick in the basement to store rainwater. These were never used for rainwater, but were reputedly handy for storing alcohol during Prohibition. Reid also installed the world's first oil furnace in the hotel, prompting a Los Angeles oil company to build tankers to carry the oil to Coronado. Electric lighting in a hotel was also a world first. The electric wires were installed inside the gas lines, so if the electricity didn't work, gas could illuminate the rooms. Contrary to popular rumor, Thomas Edison was not involved in the installation of The Del's electrical system. The electricity was installed by the Mather Electric Company of Chicago (sometimes called the Mather-Perkins Company). An early Del brochure touted its "Mather incandescent electric lamps, of which there are 2,500." Electricity was still new to San Diego, having been introduced in 1886.
In 1904, the Hotel del Coronado introduced the world's first electrically lighted, outdoor living Christmas tree. From the San Diego Union, December 25, 1904: "The tree selected for the honor is one of the three splendid Norfolk Island pines on the plaza [grassy area in front of the hotel]. It has attained a height of fifty feet and its branches stand proudly forth. All day yesterday electricians were busy fitting it up and by night 250 lights of many colors gave beauty to the fine old pine. Lanterns, great and small, hung from its boughs. And now that an open-air Christmas tree has been introduced, it is likely that another Christmas Eve will find many California gardens aglow with light scattered from living foliage."
Grand opening and real estate bust When the 399-room hotel opened for business in February 1888, 1,440 San Diegans traveled across the bay. Reports of the new grand hotel were wired across the country, but just as the hotel was nearing completion, the Southern California land boom collapsed. Babcock and Story needed additional funds at a time when many people were deserting San Diego. Babcock turned to Captain Charles T. Hinde and sugar magnate John D. Spreckels, who lent them $100,000 to finish the hotel. The Coronado Beach Company was then capitalized with $3 million. The company directors at this time were Babcock, Spreckels, Hinde, H. W. Mallett, and Giles Kellogg.McGrew, Clarence Alan "City of San Diego and San Diego County:the birthplace of California, Volume 1 (Google eBook)" American Historical Society, 1922 By 1890 Spreckels bought out both Babcock and Story. The Spreckels family retained ownership of the hotel until 1948.
The original grounds had many amenities, including an Olympic-sized saltwater pool, tennis courts, and a yacht club with architecture resembling the hotel's grand tower. A Japanese tea garden, an ostrich farm, billiards, bowling alleys, hunting expeditions, and deep sea fishing were some of the many features offered to its guests.
Kate Morgan and Room 502
Kate Morgan (c. 1864 – 1892) was an American housemaid who died in her mid-twenties under mysterious circumstances at the Hotel del Coronado. She checked into the hotel alone under the name "Lottie A Bernard" from Detroit. Five days later, on November 29, 1892, she was found dead from a gunshot wound to her head. The San Diego County coroner determined the wound was self-inflicted, but skeptics claim the bullet that killed her did not match the gun in her hand.
To this day, Morgan is thought by locals to haunt the hotel, and the hotel website has a page about her. The hotel offers tours of Room 502, the room in which Morgan stayed. Room 502 is the most requested room at the Hotel del Coronado.
Due to this incident the Hotel del Coronado offers ghost tours called "Haunted Happenings" Fridays through Sundays at 7pm.
Prince Edward and Wallis Simpson On April 7, 1920, Edward, Prince of Wales was honored with a grand banquet in the Crown Room. Despite speculation that he met his future wife and Coronado resident Wallis Simpson at the event—her then-husband Earl Winfield Spencer Jr. was the first commanding officer of nearby Naval Air Station San Diego—most historians believe they met later. Edward and Simpson wrote in their memoirs that they met much later.San Diego Union Tribune, October 13, 2009
Hollywood's playground The hotel's popularity was established before the 1920s. It already had hosted Presidents Harrison, McKinley, Taft, and Wilson. By the 1920s, many of Hollywood's stars made their way to the hotel during the 1920s and 1930s, especially during Prohibition. Douglas Fairbanks, Charlie Chaplin, Rudolph Valentino, Clark Gable, Errol Flynn, Mae West, Joan Crawford, Katharine Hepburn, Bette Davis, and Ginger Rogers are among the actors who stayed at the hotel.
On New Year's Day 1937, during the Great Depression, the gambling ship SS Monte Carlo, known for "drinks, dice, and dolls", ran aground on the beach about a quarter mile south of the Hotel del Coronado.
World War II During World War II, the U.S. government took over many West Coast resorts and hotels for housing and hospitals. The Hotel del Coronado housed pilots who were training at nearby North Island Naval Air Station on a contract basis, but it was never commandeered. General manager Steven Royce convinced the Navy not to take over the hotel because most of the additional rooms were being used to house the families of officers. He pointed out that "the fathers, mothers, and wives were given priority to the rooms because it may be the last time they will see their sons and husbands".
The hotel was designated as a "wartime casualty station". It began a victory garden program, planting vegetables on all spare grounds around the hotel.
Post-war Barney Goodman purchased the hotel from the Spreckels in 1948.Historic American Buildings Survey: 3 From the end of World War II until 1960, the hotel began to age. While still outwardly beautiful, neglect was evident. In 1960, local millionaire John Alessio purchased the hotel and spent $2 million on refurbishment and redecorating. He commissioned Hollywood set designer Al Goodman to oversee the work, which included the Grand Ballroom, the Victorian Room Lounge, and the Victorian elevator grille.
Alessio sold the hotel to M. Larry Lawrence in 1963. Lawrence's initial plan was to develop the land around the hotel and ultimately demolish it, but he later changed his mind. Western International Hotels managed the hotel from September 18, 1963 to April 1, 1965. During Lawrence's tenure, he invested $150 million to refurbish and expand the hotel. He doubled its capacity to 700 rooms. He added the Grande Hall Convention Center and two seven-story Ocean Towers just south of the hotel.
The Lawrence family sold the hotel to the Travelers Group after Lawrence died in 1996. The Travelers Group completed a $55 million upgrade of the hotel in 2001, which included seismic retrofitting.
21st century While retaining its classic Victorian look, the hotel continues to upgrade its facilities. In 2005, it obtained approval to construct up to 37 limited-term occupancy cottages and villas on the property and to add up to 205 rooms.
The hotel received a Four Diamond rating from the American Automobile Association in 2009 and was listed in 2011 by USA Today among the top 10 resorts in the world.
The hotel has been sold in several transactions between financial institutions. In 2003, Travelers sold the property to CNL Hospitality Properties Inc. and KSL Recreation Corp (CNL/KSL). This ownership group completed a $10 million upgrade of 381 rooms in June 2005. The hotel was then owned by the Blackstone Group LP (60%), Strategic Hotels & Resorts Inc. (34.5%), and KSL Resorts (5.5%). When Strategic Hotels & Resorts Inc. bought its stake in 2006, the hotel was valued at $745 million; as of 2011, the hotel was valued at roughly $590 million. In 2014, Strategic Hotels & Resorts became full owners of the hotel. In December 2015, Blackstone purchased Strategic Hotels & Resorts.