Open House San Diego 2020
U.S. Grant Hotel
Downtown San Diego
March 8, 2020
We spent a pleasant Sunday afternoon touring several architectural sites on view to the public as part of the Open House San Diego program. The Open House concept began in London, England in 1992 as a way to bring a wider understanding of architecture to the public. The San Diego version began in 2017 with tours of sites in Banker’s Hill, Downtown, the Gaslamp District, East Village, and Barrio Logan. It has expanded its range since then. On these weekends, places that may not normally be open to the public are available. The OH! San Diego program is organized by the San Diego Architectural Foundation. In 2018 we toured some of the sites in the Banker’s Hill area as part of the Open House weekend, but never got around to blogging about them.
This year we visited several sites in the Gaslamp District, starting with a self-guided tour at the U.S. Grant Hotel. We picked up a handsome brochure that led us around the public spaces of the hotel. The brochure was available on the OH weekend at a table hosted by volunteers, but may also be available to the public at the Concierge desk for tours at other times. The hotel is located on the site of the original “downtown” hotel, the Horton House, built by Alonzo Horton when he created “New Town” San Diego in the 1860s. The U.S. Grant Hotel was built by a consortium of businessmen affiliated with Ulysses S. Grant, Jr., the second son of President Grant. Construction was interrupted in the wake of the San Francisco earthquake and fire in 1906, because of other demands for construction labor, but eventually the hotel opened in 1910.
The guide led us around the ornate lobby area, which holds historic images and information about the development of the hotel in the mezzanine level near the valet entrance. There were no functions being hosted the day that we toured, and we were able to walk through all of the ballrooms and meeting rooms that are not on view when in use by private parties. The Palm Court is an elegant space in the location of what was once the hotel’s dining room, and is named in honor of the former Palm Garden terrace, later enclosed to provide the “Presidential Ballroom” on the second floor.
Also on the lobby level is the beautiful and historic Grant Grill. The Grill was a meeting place for businessmen in its early years of the 1950s and 1960s; “Men ONLY Before 3:00 P.M.” read the sign at the time. In 1969, that rule was challenged by a group of female attorneys who held a protest sit-in at lunch time, booking a table under an assumed, masculine name. The rule was finally abolished after legal action was threatened. One of the protesters later went on to become a member of Congress and another became a Superior Court judge.
We went up to the second floor and saw what seems to be the largest public space in the hotel, the Presidential Ballroom. It boasts a stage area. In the foyer on that level are portraits of all of the presidents and first ladies who have visited the hotel, while near the entrance to the ballroom are photos of presidential visits.
On the lower level we found several interesting architectural drawings, plans, and photographs of the hotel throughout its history. In the 1930s, an eleventh floor was added to the hotel to serve as the studio and broadcast center for KFSD radio.
The elegant “Court” spaces, Chafee (pictured above) and Chairman’s, served originally as lounges for men and women preparing for or seeking respite from the events in the adjacent Crystal Ballroom. The Crystal Ballroom is an ornate space that has been remodeled, most recently when the Sycuan Tribe purchased the hotel and modernized it in the early 2000s, but it retains the air of the original. The travertine and marble are set off by the elegant pillars and gleaming chandeliers and draw the eye to the original fireplace at the far end.
Coming up: posts about the historic San Diego Trust and Savings Bank building, and sites in the Gaslamp.
