Fairmont Breakers Hotel | |
---|---|
![]() Breakers Hotel, September 2009 | |
Location | 200–220 East Ocean Blvd., Long Beach, California |
Coordinates | 33°45′59″N118°11′26″W / 33.766435°N 118.19048°W |
Built | 1926 |
Architect | Walker & Eisen |
Architectural style(s) | Romanesque or Spanish Renaissance [1] [2] |
Governing body | private |
Website | https://www.fairmont.com/breakers-long-beach/ |
The Breakers Hotel is a historic landmark 14-story hotel on East Ocean Avenue in downtown Long Beach, California. Opened in 1926 as a luxury oceanfront resort hotel, it is set to reopen in late fall 2024 [3] as Fairmont Breakers Long Beach. The building has gone through multiple changes of ownership and has been renamed at various times the Hilton, the Wilton, and the Breakers International Hotel. It has had a history of financial problems and closures and also operated for many years as a retirement home. The building has been designated as a Long Beach Historic Landmark.
The Breakers Hotel was developed by a local Long Beach banker and capitalist, Fred B. Dunn. [4] Construction began in the fall of 1925 with a projected cost of $2,250,000. [4]
The original structure consisted of a single-story base that spanned an entire city block with a central tower rising thirteen stories above the main body of the building. The complex also included arcade and basement floors beneath the Ocean Boulevard level. [4]
The development, with architecture described at the time as "ultra Spanish," opened in September 1926. At the time, the total cost of the luxurious building was said to be $3,000,000. [5] [6] The building opened with a banquet and dinner at which Long Beach's Mayor Condit and Fred Dunn spoke of an era of success. The banquet also included a program of entertainment by vaudeville artists. [5]
When the hotel opened in 1926 (three years before the opening of the Villa Riviera), the building's imposing tower, rising 15 stories from the beach, gave it "a prominence greater than that of any other in the city." [5] On its opening, the Breakers was promoted as one of Southern California's finest luxury resort hotels. The hotel had 330 guest rooms and 232 ft (71 m) of prime ocean frontage in downtown Long Beach. Other features of the hotel included an elaborate 500-seat dining room known as the "Hall of Galleons," roof garden, coffee shop, beauty shop, barber shop, Turkish bath, and "smart shops." [7] The hotel catered to "surf bathers" with a special elevator that transported the bathers, after they had "donned their bathing suits in their rooms," to the Arcade level, from which there was an entrance to the beach. [7]
One of the hotel's unusual features was the availability of radio broadcasts in each guest room. An October 1926 article in the Los Angeles Times described the "outstanding" in-room entertainment feature as follows:
Each room in the new hostelry has four radio jets, each connecting with the radio-receiving room in the tower. By plugging in on any of these four jets, programs from broadcasting stations are heard ... If there is a particular program on the air which a guest particularly desires to hear, it is only necessary to phone the receiving room and the operator will tune it in. [7]
At its opening, the Breakers was available for both temporary guests and others who made it their permanent residence. [7] The hotel was expected to "be the means of attracting thousands of people to Long Beach." [7]
Less than a year after its opening, the hotel was sold by Fred Dunn to an unnamed group of investors from Pasadena, Los Angeles and New York. [8] The sale price in 1927 was reported to be $1,750,000. [5] [8] The new owners announced plans for extensive remodeling, including the closure of several dining rooms and conversion of the ballroom into a summer garden. [8]
The onset of the Great Depression and the 1933 Long Beach earthquake pushed the Breakers into bankruptcy. [9] The 1933 earthquake, which resulted in over 100 deaths, caused only minor damage to the Breakers, but the widespread destruction in Long Beach caused major damage to the city's tourist trade. [10] The hotel served as the headquarters for the Red Cross relief efforts following the earthquake. In August 1934, the Los Angeles Times reported that the hotel had sustained a significant operating loss in 1933 and was delinquent on its real estate and personal properties taxes for the past three years. [11]
In 1938, the hotel was purchased by Conrad Hilton at a reported cost of $150,000 and $35,000 in back taxes. [10] Hilton turned the Breakers into the eighth hotel in the Hilton chain. Hilton spent at least $200,000 on renovations [6] and converted the penthouse into the Sky Room. [1]
In 1938, Hilton opened the Sky Room atop the hotel, and it became one of the most popular restaurants gathering spots in Southern California. [12] Movie stars such as Clark Gable, Errol Flynn, Rita Hayworth, Cary Grant and John Wayne were said to have been customers at the Sky Room during the Hilton years. [12] One customer recalled the Sky Room as follows: "It was a dating place, like the Brown Derby and Coconut Grove. It was the place to go." [13]
During World War II, two pillboxes with gun-mountings were installed on the rooftop for harbor defense, and the Sky Room became the official Airwatch headquarters for Long Beach harbor. [10] One of the pillboxes and gun mountings remained intact on the roof as late as 1991. [13]
In 1947, Hilton sold the hotel to Frank Fishman, who renamed it the Wilton Hotel. [9] The hotel remained the "Wilton" for 14 years. [13] During the 1950s, the hotel changed ownership several times, and promises to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars to remodel the aging hotel were not kept. [6] An episode of The Lone Wolf , "The Long Beach Story", [14] features the Wilton.
In 1961, the hotel was purchased by Fred Miller. Miller was one of the founders of Flying Tigers Airlines and purchased US Airlines in 1951. After buying the Breakers in 1961, Miller renamed the hotel the Breakers International and spent $1.25 million refurbishing the property from top to bottom. [6] Miller reportedly hoped to "recapture, for Long Beach, the beauty, dignity and service of the city's greatest hotel." [9] However, even with Miller's efforts, he was not able to turn around the fortunes of the Breakers. In 24 months as owner of the hotel, Miller reported that he lost half of his net worth. [15] In November 1963, Miller gave up and closed the hotel. [6]
The Long Beach Press-Telegram pronounced the hotel "a dead behemoth on the beach." [16] Others noted the hotel's over-reliance on convention business: "This hotel had to try to make 80 percent of its revenues from convention business. There is no rail service or air service to Long Beach, and the 20-minute run on the freeway to Los Angeles where the industry is hurts all the hotels." [17] One commentator opined, "God and Conrad Hilton couldn't have saved this hotel." [17] The hotel's head bellman, Paul Grantham, who had been employed at the hotel since 1928, blamed the "coming of the motels." [17]
In January 1964, the hotel was sold at auction to pay off the hotel's creditors. [15] Despite an appraised value of $4.3 million for the land and improvements, the property sold for $1.75 million. The high bidder, Long Beach realtor Harvey Miller, announced plans to convert the structure into a retirement hotel. [18]
The hotel remained shuttered for nearly three years and was referred to as "the West Coast's largest pigeon roost." [13]
The hotel remained closed for three years as plans to convert it into a retirement hotel stalled. In September 1966, the hotel re-opened as a combination permanent retirement hotel and transient hotel for overnight guests. By January 1967, the property was occupied 70% by permanent residents who had the option of an American plan at $175 per month including hotel conveniences and three meals a day, or a European plan at $115 a month without meals. [19]
In 1975, the residential retirement hotel was refurbished again. The renovations included all new carpets, drapes, furnishings, automated elevators, and an updated phone system. The owners stated their intention to create the ultimate in retirement living for the senior citizens of Long Beach. [9]
In 1978, New Breakers Hotel Company sold the property to Stoneridge Management Company for less than $3 million. [20]
In 1982, the hotel was partially converted back into a hotel. [21] It underwent a $15 million renovation and restoration, which was completed in 1985. [10]
On August 1 1986, the fully reopened hotel was placed under the management of Jack Wrather's Wrather Port Properties, which also managed the city's major tourist destinations, the Spruce Goose and the Queen Mary. [10] [22] At this point, the Breakers contained 242 guest rooms, including 20 suites, a restaurant and night club on the top floor, and a ballroom restored to its original 1920s decor. [10] The Sky Room, which had been given a Polynesian theme by prior owners, was renovated in an Art Deco style. At the time of the re-opening, the Los Angeles Times wrote: "Its 60 years have been a roller-coaster ride of ups and downs, prosperity and penury, bright lights and gloomy emptiness. Just now, its direction is up." [10]
The excitement about the Breakers' restoration was short-lived. The hotel failed to draw a sufficient number of guests to turn a profit [23] and closed its doors again on January 14, 1988. [24]
In 1989, the Breakers, still vacant after its closure in 1988, was designated as a Long Beach Historical Landmark, requiring approval from the Cultural Heritage Commission before making any major changes in the building's appearance. [2]
The property was purchased following its 1988 closure by Ocean Boulevard Associates, which spent $23 million on earthquake retrofitting and restoring its 1920s-style Romanesque architecture. [13] The building re-opened in November 1990 as an "Assisted Living" Residence for senior citizens. [1] [13] As of October 1991, the Breakers had 38 residents with an average age of 84, paying rents starting at $1,000 a month, including three meals a day, housekeeping and local transportation. An in house Medical Staff provided medication administration and routine activities for those in need of leadership. The facility closed in March 2015 [25] after state authorities revoked its license. [26]
In 1997, the Sky Room, originally developed by Conrad Hilton in 1938, was restored and re-opened by the property's new owner Bernard Rosenson. Rosenson restored the Art Deco look of the Sky Room and redesigned it to focus on its 360-degree view. The new Sky Room offered an "ultra-retro menu" and music by a swing and jazz band called the Sky Room Orchestra. [12] The restaurant had a separate entrance and a special dedicated elevator, so that it would not break California laws forbidding restaurants from operating in retirement homes. The restaurant remained open as a separate concessionaire after the retirement home closed and the building was sold, but both the Sky Room and the adjoining Cielo bar closed in April 2018, in preparation for the structure's conversion back to a hotel. [27]
In November 2017, Pacific6, a Long Beach based investment and development partnership, assembled by Long Beach businessman and philanthropist John Molina with partners Kevin Davis, Robert Gordon, Jon Heiman, Todd Lemmis and David Telling, purchased the building and announced their intentions to fully restore the Breakers and operate it as a 185 room luxury boutique hotel, The Breakers Hotel & Spa.
On July 28, 2022, it was announced that the restored hotel would be managed by the luxury Fairmont Hotels and Resorts chain as Fairmont Breakers Long Beach. [28] It is set to reopen in late fall 2024. [29]
Hilton Hotels & Resorts is a global brand of full-service hotels and resorts and the flagship brand of American multinational hospitality company Hilton.
The Fairmont Hotel Vancouver, formerly and still informally called the Hotel Vancouver, is a historic hotel in Vancouver, British Columbia. Located along West Georgia Street the hotel is situated within the city's Financial District, in Downtown Vancouver. The hotel was designed by two architects, John Smith Archibald, and John Schofield. The hotel is currently managed by Fairmont Hotels and Resorts.
The Plaza Hotel is a luxury hotel and condominium apartment building in Midtown Manhattan in New York City. It is located on the western side of Grand Army Plaza, after which it is named, just west of Fifth Avenue, and is between 58th Street and Central Park South, at the southeastern corner of Central Park. Its primary address is 768 Fifth Avenue, though the residential entrance is One Central Park South. Since 2018, the hotel has been owned by the Qatari firm Katara Hospitality.
The Fairmont Royal York, formerly and still commonly known as the Royal York, is a large historic luxury hotel in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Located along Front Street West, the hotel is situated at the southern end of the Financial District, in Downtown Toronto. The Royal York was designed by Ross and Macdonald, in association with Sproatt and Rolph, and built by the Canadian Pacific Railway company. The hotel is currently managed by Fairmont Hotels and Resorts.
The Fairmont Hotel Macdonald, formerly and commonly known as the Hotel Macdonald, is a large historic luxury hotel in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. Located along 100 Street NW, south of Jasper Avenue, the hotel is situated in the eastern end of downtown Edmonton, and overlooks the North Saskatchewan River. The 47.7-metre-high (156 ft) hotel building was designed by Ross and MacFarlene and contains eleven floors. The hotel is named for the first prime minister of Canada, Sir John A. Macdonald.
The Fairmont Empress, formerly and commonly referred to as The Empress, is one of the oldest hotels in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. Located on 721 Government Street, it is situated in Downtown Victoria, facing the city's Inner Harbour. The hotel was designed by Francis Rattenbury, and was built by Canadian Pacific Hotels, a division of the Canadian Pacific Railway company. The hotel is presently managed by Fairmont Hotels and Resorts, part of AccorHotels since 2016. It is owned by Nat and Flora Bosa of Vancouver.
DoubleTree by Hilton is an American hotel chain managed by Hilton Worldwide. DoubleTree has been the fastest growing Hilton brand by number of properties since 2007, and by number of rooms from 2007 to 2015. As of December 2019, it has 587 properties with 135,745 rooms in 47 countries and territories, including 122 that are managed with 35,122 rooms and 465 that are franchised with 100,623 rooms.
The Roosevelt New Orleans in New Orleans, Louisiana, is a 504-room hotel owned by AVR Realty Company and Dimension Development and managed by Waldorf Astoria Hotels & Resorts. The hotel was originally built by Louis Grunewald, a German immigrant, and opened in 1893 as "The Hotel Grunewald."
Sandberg is the name of a post office and small surrounding community that was attached to The Sandberg Lodge, located on the Ridge Route highway in the Sierra Pelona Mountains of Southern California, United States. The Ridge Route linked the Greater Los Angeles area to the San Joaquin Valley and Central California from 1915 through 1933.
The Hotel Flor Tampa Downtown, Tapestry Collection by Hilton, formerly known as the Hotel Floridan or Floridan Palace Hotel, is a historic hotel in Tampa, Florida, United States. It is located at 905 North Florida Avenue in the north end of the downtown core. It was designed by prominent Tampa architects G.A. Miller and Francis J. Kennard and built in 1926, opening in early 1927. On March 12, 1996, the Floridan was added to the U.S. National Register of Historic Places.
The Fairmont San Francisco is a luxury hotel at 950 Mason Street, atop Nob Hill in San Francisco, California. The hotel was named after mining magnate and U.S. Senator James Graham Fair (1831–94), by his daughters, Theresa Fair Oelrichs and Virginia Fair Vanderbilt, who built the hotel in his honor. The hotel was the vanguard of the Fairmont Hotels and Resorts chain. The group is now owned by Fairmont Raffles Hotels International, but all the original Fairmont hotels still keep their names.
The Fairmont Century Plaza is a 19-story luxury hotel in Century City, Los Angeles, US. The hotel fronts the Avenue of the Stars, adjacent to the twin Century Plaza Towers and the 2000 Avenue of the Stars complex. At the time of its opening in 1966, the Century Plaza Hotel was the highest building in Century City, with views extending all the way to the Pacific Ocean. It was also the first hotel to have color televisions in all of its rooms. The hotel closed for renovations in 2016, and reopened on September 27, 2021, operated by Fairmont Hotels and Resorts. It is a member of Historic Hotels of America.
The Waldorf Astoria Las Vegas, formerly the Mandarin Oriental, Las Vegas, is a 47-story luxury hotel and condominium building in the CityCenter complex on the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada. It is managed by Hilton Worldwide as part of the Waldorf Astoria Hotels & Resorts brand. It is owned by Tiffany Lam and Andrew and Peggy Cherng.
El Cortez is a condominium building in San Diego, California. Built from 1926 to 1927, the El Cortez was the tallest building in San Diego when it opened. It sits atop a hill at the north end of downtown San Diego, where it dominated the city skyline for many years and became a landmark hotel. The building is the 40th tallest building in San Diego, based on its height of 310 ft.
The Beverly Hilton is a hotel located on an 8.9-acre (3.6 ha) property at the intersection of Wilshire and Santa Monica boulevards in Beverly Hills, California, United States. The Beverly Hilton has hosted many awards shows, charity benefits, and entertainment and motion picture industry events, and is particularly known as the venue of the annual Golden Globe Awards ceremony.
The Statler Hotel & Residences is a hotel of mid-twentieth century design located at 1914 Commerce Street in downtown Dallas, Texas (USA). It is located on the edge of the Farmers Market District and adjacent to Main Street Garden Park. The hotel opened in 1956 as The Statler Hilton and was praised as the first modern American hotel and was designed by William B. Tabler. Later renamed the Dallas Grand Hotel, it closed in 2001, then was restored and reopened in 2017. It is currently a member of Historic Hotels of America, the official program of the National Trust for Historic Preservation.
Villa Riviera is a registered historic building on Ocean Boulevard in the Alamitos Beach neighborhood of Long Beach, California, United States. The building was an "own-your-own" apartment building and each unit was sold fully furnished. In those days, Apartment-Hotels were apartment buildings featuring full service hotel amenities. The Villa Riviera provided maid service, valets, doormen, concierge, and managers on duty to cater to the needs of residents. The Villa Riviera was completed, and the owners moved in, by the end of 1928 to enjoying an grand opening party January 1929.
Wilshire Grand Center is a 1,100-foot (335.3 m) skyscraper in the financial district of downtown Los Angeles, California, occupying the entire city block between Wilshire Boulevard and 7th, Figueroa, and Francisco streets. Completed in 2017, it is the tallest building west of Chicago. Though the structural top of the Wilshire Grand surpasses L.A.'s U.S. Bank Tower by 82 ft (25 m), the roof of the U.S. Bank Tower is still 90 ft above the Wilshire Grand's. The Skyscraper Center lists the Wilshire Grand Center as the 15th-tallest building in the U.S. and the 95th-tallest in the world. It won the Structural Engineering Award 2019 Award of Excellence from the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat.
The Parliament House Motor Inn chain was started by Kansas City, Missouri investors Ned Eddy and his sons Ned, Jr. and James. They started in the food and beverages business running the successful Eddy’s Restaurant in Kansas City, Missouri. They gave the Parliament House properties an English royalty theme with the slogan, "Built for the House of Lords... priced for the House of Commons." Their goal was a nine city chain by 1964. They never made their goal and filed for bankruptcy on June 8, 1965 when they claimed to operate 8 properties. They listed liabilities of $5 million in the court filings.
Historic Hotels of America is a program of the National Trust for Historic Preservation that was founded in 1989 with 32 charter members; the program accepts nominations and identifies hotels in the United States that have maintained their authenticity, sense of place, and architectural integrity.