Hotel Californian

Hotel Californian (1923)
851 Van Ness, Fresno, CA
NRHP
 Local

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-same people who who designed the Gundelfinger House we saw at the start, 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.