Santa Cruz in Santa Cruz County, California — The American West (Pacific Coastal)
St. George Hotel
1894
Photographed By Joseph Alvarado, December 9, 2022
1. St. George Hotel Marker
Architects: Kenitzer & Kollofrath
Mission Revival facade—1922
Having been destroyed with the heart of downtown in an 1894 fire, the on-year-old bldg. was rebuilt and renamed “The St. George Hotel”, as the knight who defeated the fire-breathing dragon was symbolic of the town’s recovery.
Once the last word in luxury, the hotel featured the town’s first public elevator, a glass-roofed Garden Court with fountain and art noveau dining room murals.
Its Baronial lobby, with mosaic floors and marble stairs, had served as a community center for civic services. Over the years the hotel contained the courthouse, city hall, public library, telegraph office, chamber of commerce and county tourist bureau.
Plaque placed by Barry Swenson Builder
Text & Design: Ross Eric Gibson
Erected by Barry Swenson Builder.
Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Architecture • Disasters • Industry & Commerce. A significant historical year for this entry is 1894.
Location. 36° 58.548′ N, 122° 1.596′ W. Marker is in Santa Cruz, California, in Santa Cruz County. Marker is on Pacific Avenue near Front Street, on the left when traveling south
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Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker. St. George Building (here, next to this marker); People's Bank (within shouting distance of this marker); Tom Scribner (within shouting distance of this marker); To the Chinese men and women who came to Gold Mountain (within shouting distance of this marker); Pacific Avenue Commercial Building (within shouting distance of this marker); Alfred Baldwin's Building (within shouting distance of this marker); Santa Cruz County Bank (within shouting distance of this marker); Santa Cruz County World War Memorial (within shouting distance of this marker). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Santa Cruz.
Also see . . .
1. St. George History.
"In the 1880s, Santa Cruz was a favorite vacation spot of San Francisco millionaire Anson P. Hotaling. He built what became the “McHugh & Bianchi Building” at Pacific Avenue and Mission Street in 1886 and opened the “Hotaling House” at the St. George site. In 1893, he built what became the boardwalk’s first plunge.(Submitted on December 12, 2022, by Joseph Alvarado of Livermore, California.)
That year, he replaced the wooden Hotaling House with a three-story red brick Italianate hotel. It burned in the Great Fire of 1894, which wiped out Front Street’s Chinatown, leveled mostof the block bounded by Pacific, Front and Cooper streets, and gutted the courthouse."Photographed By Joseph Alvarado, December 9, 20222. St. George Hotel Marker
2. Guide to the St. George Hotel Collection (1899-1984).
"Anson Hotaling spared no expense building this new, modern hotel in Santa Cruz. He recruited an Italian craftsman to live in Santa Cruz to install a Primitive Mosaic Tile floor. He also recruited a German Artist to paint eight wall murals. To complete the European theme for his hotel, Anson imported furniture and other room settings using French sailing ships going around the Cape Horn."(Submitted on December 12, 2022, by Joseph Alvarado of Livermore, California.)
Photographed By Joseph Alvarado, December 9, 2022
3. St. George Hotel
Credits. This page was last revised on December 12, 2022. It was originally submitted on December 12, 2022, by Joseph Alvarado of Livermore, California. This page has been viewed 130 times since then and 43 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3. submitted on December 12, 2022, by Joseph Alvarado of Livermore, California.
