Hotel Del Monte
The Hotel Del Monte was a large resort hotel in Monterey, California, from its opening in 1880 until 1942. It was one of the finest luxury hotels in North America. During World War II, it closed and the building was leased to the United States Navy. Later the Hotel Del Monte became the Naval Postgraduate School.
| Hotel Del Monte | |
|---|---|
_(14762391891).jpg) Hotel Del Monte in 1883 | |
| Location | Monterey, California |
| Coordinates | 36°35′40″N 121°52′9″W / 36.59444°N 121.86917°W |
| Built | 1880 |
| Rebuilt | 1924 |
| Architects | Lewis P. Hobart and Clarence A. Tantau |
| Owner | Naval Postgraduate School, United States Navy |
  Hotel Del Monte Map of California | |
History
changeCharles Crocker, one of California's Big Four railroad leader in California, started the resort with the help of his company, the Pacific Improvement Company. The first hotel opened on June 3, 1880.[1] Nearby, along Monterey Bay, there was a train station called Del Monte station, named after the hotel, where people arriving by train could get off and visit.[1][2]
On February 28, 1919 Samuel Finley Brown Morse started a new company called Del Monte Properties Company. He acquired the land and buildings from the Pacific Improvement Company, which included the Del Monte Forest, the Del Monte Lodge, and the Hotel Del Monte.[3][4]
There have been three buildings on this site. The first one was designed by architect Arthur Brown Sr., who used to work for the Southern Pacific Railroad.[5] It was destroyed by fire on June 1, 1887 and was replaced. On September 27, 1924, the second hotel, also called Hotel Del Monte, was destroyed by fire. The area surrounding the hotel became known as Pebble Beach, California, now a world-renowned resort and golf course. The current building was built in 1926 and was designed by architects Lewis P. Hobart and Clarence A. Tantau.[2]
At the start of World War II, the U.S. Navy took over the Hotel Del Monte and turned it into a training school. In 1947, the Navy bought the hotel and the 677 acres (274 ha) of land around it for $2.5 million (equivalent to $30,339,046 in 2021). In 1951, the United States Naval Academy's postgraduate school moved from Annapolis, Maryland, to the old Hotel del Monte. Today, the hotel is called Herrmann Hall and is the main building of the Naval Postgraduate School.[2]
References
change- ↑ 1.0 1.1 "History of NPS and the Infamous Hotel Del Monte". Naval Postgraduate School. Archived from the original on July 1, 2013. Retrieved June 22, 2013.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 "Naval Postgraduate School, Monterey". The California State Military Museum. Retrieved June 22, 2013.
- ↑ Fink, Augusta (2000). Monterey County: The Dramatic Story of its Past. Valley Publishers. p. 134-135. Retrieved August 12, 2024.
- ↑ "Del Monte Area To Be Developed". Oakland Tribune. Oakland, California. February 28, 1919. p. 15. Retrieved August 14, 2024.
- ↑ Bender, Henry E. Jr. (2013). Southern Pacific Lines Standard-Design Depots. Berkeley: Signature Press. p. 43. ISBN 9781930013339.
Other websites
change
- Naval Postgraduate School
- Historic photographs from the Naval Postgraduate School, many include the Hotel Del Monte
- “On the Monterey Peninsula” (Hotel Del Monte), Shapes of Clay