Adventure: 051, Site 020 – Hotel California

Capture California, the Game-2012

Adventure: 051, Site 020 – Hotel California

National Registry ID: 2004000333

Local Registry ID: 174

Team: Thing One, Thing Two

Date:  September 16, 2012

Location:

Latitude: 36°44′03″N

Longitude: 119°47′17″W

Address: 851 Van Ness, Fresno, CA

Description:

Date Built: 1923

Architect: R. F. Felchlin & H. Rafael Lake

Welcome to the Hotel California
Such a lovely place (Such a lovely place)
Such a lovely face
Plenty of room at the Hotel California
Any time of year (Any time of year)
You can find it here

- Hotel California by the Eagles

The lyrics above is not about Fresno's Hotel California. But when we pass by this hotel, this is what goes through Thing One's mind.

The Hotel California was constructed in downtown Fresno as a luxury hotel for city visitors and as a meeting place for city residents. Designed by H. Rafael Lake and constructed by R. F. Felchlin & Company, the building immediately became a symbolic landmark for the growing prosperity of the City of Fresno. In the ensuing years, the Hotel Californian gained a reputation as the best hotel between San Francisco and Los Angeles, and hosted many famous individuals and important events. It remains emblematic of Fresno’s prosperity in the 1920s and is an outstanding example of the type of development that occurred in California’s Central Valley cities wishing to promote a strong sense of their success and urbanization during this period.



References:

• Guide to Historic Fresno
  

Overall Landmark References:

• National Registry of Historical Places (NRHP)