Raymond Hotel

Last updated August 17, 2024

The Raymond Hotel was a hotel in South Pasadena, California, and first major resort hotel of the San Gabriel Valley. Largely a winter residence for wealthy Easterners, it was built by Mr. Walter Raymond of Raymond & Whitcomb Travel Agency of Boston, Massachusetts. The hotel was built atop Bacon Hill which lies between Pasadena and South Pasadena and was renamed Raymond Hill with the opening of the hotel in 1886. The original hotel, a grand and unequivocal Victorian edifice was burned to the ground in 1895. A second building, of a later and more fireproof style, was erected in 1901 and equally replaced the older in grandeur. The hotel was foreclosed following the Great Depression and was razed for commercial development.

History

Walter Raymond Walter Raymond.jpg — Walter Raymond

"Pasadena Paradise"

War Veterans, Health Seekers, and Tourists

In 1883, Walter Raymond [ Wikidata ] had ventured west to the young community of Pasadena, California, described as a sleepy village of 1,500 people. Seeking to excite business in the transcontinental tour market, he noticed that the yet unincorporated town had no hotels for visitors. This piqued his interest in establishing one, thereby purchasing a hard granite hilltop called Bacon Hill as the site for his new Raymond Hotel. The dynamiting and grading off of 35 feet (11 m) of the hilltop came to more than twice Raymond's estimates, and he turned to his father Emmons Raymond for assistance. The elder Raymond was president of the Boston & Passumsic Railroad and one of the 40 original stockholders of the Santa Fe Railroad.

Interested in at least surveying the site of the hotel, Emmons arrived in Pasadena during a downpour and sat under an oak tree listening to his son expound over the beauty of the Southern California area. But the rain poured down leaving Walter hopeless in convincing Emmons. When the sun finally did break through the clouded sky it was a sight the old man had never experienced in his life and he agreed to finance the rest of Walter's construction.

Royal Raymond - The First Major Resort Hotel in the San Gabriel Valley

The new Raymond Hotel opened with a gala ball on November 17, 1886, and enjoyed nine successful seasons (winters). However, the original structure was a wood framed Victorian with a shingled roof boasting some 200 rooms — and 80 chimneys.

Easter Sunday fire, 1895

On April 14, 1895, a spark from a chimney set the roof on fire and the hotel and all its contents burned to the ground in 40 minutes. At the time there were 165 guests staying at the hotel, but most were at church on Easter Sunday, and as fortune would have it, no one was hurt though all their possessions were lost.

Walter Raymond was not to be disheartened by this loss. He immediately began promoting the area through publications and authors of publications who could attest to the attractiveness of the area. He attempted to augment the insurance money through a $250,000 bond issue, but there were too few people in the area with enough money to support it. Finally, a good friend and seasonal resident of the hotel, Mr. Richard T. Crane of Crane Plumbing, Chicago, agreed to a $300,000 mortgage, which was applied to the building of a second hotel.

Rebuilding

The second Raymond Hotel built 1901, torn down 1934. Raymond Hotel 2.jpg — The second Raymond Hotel built 1901, torn down 1934.

The second hotel opened on December 19, 1901, and was met with immediate success especially from those who had lost their winter residence for 6 years. The registry was filled with names of moguls from the East: Pullman, Schwab, Harriman, Swift, Armour, Rockefeller, Morgan, Carnegie, and of course R. T. Crane who spent his remaining winters at the Raymond.

The newer facility had a larger foundation base, was more fireproof, and sported an architectural style more in keeping with the time. It had 300 rooms many with private baths, which was not a feature of the original. Fireplaces gave way to steam heating; the wood exterior was exchanged for concrete and stucco; the roof was tiled, not shingled, and electric lighting came with the plans. The plans also included an abundance of fire doors and extinguishers.

Guests

Guests invariably arrived by train, the mainline Santa Fe which stopped at Raymond Station at the bottom of the hill. Many had private cars that would park on the side spur near the station. All guests were ferried by a horse-drawn bus to the hotel at the top of the hill. Much to the dismay of many guests, the old station closed down in deference to a newer station built up the tracks closer to downtown Pasadena. Guests were then forced to take an auto bus the extra distance to the hotel.

Part of the success of the Raymond was the transcontinental tours which came through the hotel. The tours were discontinued as the onslaught of newcomers repeatedly bothered the regular guests, who by now were a mainstay of the hotel.

In 1903 President Theodore Roosevelt visited Pasadena and the Raymond on his Panama Canal campaign. However, the crowd was not near the size of the one who came to see Charlie Chaplin as he appeared for lunch with opera singer Nellie Melba.

Amenities

A hotel of this size of course had several amenities and Raymond always set aside profits (or borrowed money) to add something he thought might be important for business. Even though the hotel only opened from December to April (it never opened year round), Raymond kept himself busy over the summer with some sort of improvement. The dining room was the largest room in the house able to seat 400 people. Pasadena City, which boasted of being a “dry” town, had an ordinance disallowing the sales of alcohol — except to the hotel guests.

The hotel had a large nursery operation with 500 American Beauty rose plants, 4 acres (16,000 m²) of carnations and a reported 3,000 pansies. There was a nine-hole golf course on a 50-acre (200,000 m²) lot alongside the hotel, and though it was humble in comparison, it was one of the few good attractions in the area. Much of the landscaping was done by the suggestion of the Mr. Theodore Payne, a famous local horticulturist of the time. The hotel also had card rooms, writing rooms, a reception room, and in the basement was a pool and billiards parlor — with a secret bar.

Local competition

The Raymond Hotel had its steady guests in spite of the fact that it also had competition from other hotels about Pasadena that were opened year round. Even Raymond's own chief lieutenant opened up his own hotel, the Wentworth, which within ten years had become financially distressed and was assumed by the grand estate of Henry E. Huntington, thus named the Huntington Hotel. There were the Hotel Green, a few blocks north on Raymond Avenue, the Vista Del Arroyo which overlooked the Arroyo Seco, and the Maryland Hotel on Colorado Boulevard.

Raymond had reduced the $300,000 mortgage to $75,000, but come the Great Depression (1931) and the large traffic from the east fizzled. The bank which assumed the original loan from Mr. Crane foreclosed on the hotel, and Walter Raymond lost the property. The owner of the Maryland Hotel, Daniel M. Linnard, sought to manage the property for a while, but in 1934, the year of Walter Raymond's death, the hotel was torn down for commercial development.

Books Available: South Pasadena's Raymond Hotel

The book titled "South Pasadena's Raymond Hotel" was published by Arcadia Publishing in Oct. 2008 (127 pages). The author Rick Thomas also devotes Chapter 2 ("The Raymond", pages 19–30) to the Raymond Hotel in his book titled "South Pasadena" published by Arcadia Publishing in 2007.

Related Research Articles

The Old Faithful Inn is a hotel in the western United States with a view of the Old Faithful Geyser, located in Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming. The Inn has a multi-story log lobby, flanked by long frame wings containing guest rooms. In the western portion of the park, it sits at an approximate elevation of 7,350 feet (2,240 m) above sea level.

The Arroyo Seco Parkway, also known as the Pasadena Freeway, is one of the oldest freeways built in the United States. The parkway connects Los Angeles with Pasadena alongside the Arroyo Seco seasonal river. It is notable not only for being an early freeway, mostly opened in 1940, but for representing the transitional phase between early parkways and later freeways. It conformed to modern standards when it was built, but is now regarded as a narrow, outdated roadway. A 1953 extension brought the south end to the Four Level Interchange in downtown Los Angeles and a connection with the rest of the freeway system.

The Gamble House, also known as the David B. Gamble House, is a historic American Craftsman home in Pasadena, California, designed by the architectural firm Greene and Greene. Constructed in 1908–1909 as a home for David B. Gamble, son of the Procter & Gamble founder James Gamble, it is today a National Historic Landmark, a California Historical Landmark, and open to the public for tours and events.

Old Pasadena, often referred to as Old Town Pasadena or simply Old Town, is the original commercial center of Pasadena, a city in California, United States, and had a latter-day revitalization after a period of decay.

The Ritz London is a 5-star luxury hotel at 150 Piccadilly in London, England. A symbol of high society and luxury, the hotel is one of the world's most prestigious and best known. The Ritz has become so associated with luxury and elegance that the word "ritzy" has entered the English language to denote something that is ostentatiously stylish, fancy, or fashionable.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Arroyo Seco (Los Angeles County)</span> Seasonal watercourse and human settlement in US

The Arroyo Seco, meaning "dry stream" in Spanish, is a 24.9-mile-long (40.1 km) seasonal river, canyon, watershed, and cultural area in Los Angeles County, California. The area was explored by Gaspar de Portolà who named the stream Arroyo Seco as this canyon had the least water of any he had seen. During this exploration he met the Chief Hahamog-na (Hahamonga) of the Tongva Indians.

Raymond is an unincorporated community in Madera County, California. It is located 22 miles (35 km) north-northeast of Madera, at an elevation of 948 feet.

The Davenport Hotel is a hotel located in Spokane, Washington. Originally a successful high-end restaurant, it is one of the possible places where the first Crab Louis was created and served. The hotel was designed by architect Kirtland Cutter, and built in 1914 for $2 million. It was built with an opulent lobby, and new amenities for the time such as air conditioning, a central vacuum system, pipe organ, and dividing doors in the ballrooms. Commissioned by a group of Spokane businessmen to have a place to host and entertain their guests, the hotel is named after Louis Davenport, an influential businessman, the first proprietor and overseer of the project.

The California Cycleway, opened in 1900, was a nine-mile (14 km) elevated tollway built specially for bicycle traffic through the Arroyo Seco, intended to connect the cities of Pasadena and Los Angeles, in California, United States.

The San Dimas Hotel, also known as Walker House, the Carruthers Home, and the San Dimas Mansion, is a historic structure in San Dimas, California, built by the San Jose Ranch Company in 1887. Originally built as a hotel, the 15,000-square-foot (1,400 m²) structure had 33 rooms and 14 fireplaces. The hotel was built in anticipation of a land boom that never happened, and it never had a paying guest. In 1889, the property was sold to James W. and Sue Walker for $25,000. After being occupied by seven generations of Walkers, the property was turned into a restaurant in 1979. The building became vacant in 1997 and was later acquired and renovated by the City of San Dimas. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1972.

Elmer Grey, FAIA was an American architect and artist based in Pasadena, California. Grey designed many noted landmarks in Southern California, including the Beverly Hills Hotel, the Huntington Art Gallery, the Pasadena Playhouse and Wattles Mansion. He is credited with being one of the pioneers in the development of the new American architecture in the early 20th century, with a focus on harmony with nature and eliminating features not belonging to the local climate and conditions. Grey was also a noted artist whose paintings are in the permanent collection of the Chicago Art Institute.

The Clover Hill Tavern with its guest house and slave quarters are structures within the Appomattox Court House National Historical Park in Appomattox County, Virginia. They were registered in the National Park Service's database of Official Structures on October 15, 1966.

The Richard H. Chambers U.S. Court of Appeals is a historic building originally constructed as a Spanish Colonial Revival style resort known as the Vista del Arroyo Hotel and Bungalows located at Pasadena in Los Angeles County, California. During World War II, it served as the McCornack General Hospital, and was thereafter in use as a general-purpose federal government building for several decades. It now serves as a courthouse of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.

Pasadena is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Founded in 1874 and incorporated in 1886, the city is famous for its colorful history and for the hosting of both the Tournament of Roses Parade and the annual Rose Bowl game football game. It is also the home of the world-renowned California Institute of Technology (Caltech) and Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL)

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Clark House (Pasadena, California)</span> House in California, U.S.

The Clark House is an International-Modernist Style residence designed by American Modernist architect Richard Neutra, and built in 1957 in Pasadena, California, United States.

The Langham Huntington, Pasadena is a resort hotel located in Pasadena, California, that dates back to the Gilded Age.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Winecoff Hotel fire</span> 1946 fire in Atlanta, Georgia

The Winecoff Hotel fire, of December 7, 1946, was the deadliest hotel fire in American history, killing 119 hotel occupants, including the hotel's original owners. Located at 176 Peachtree Street in Atlanta, Georgia, the Winecoff Hotel was advertised as "absolutely fireproof". While the hotel's steel structure was indeed protected against the effects of fire, its interior finishes were combustible and the building's exit arrangements consisted of a single stairway serving all fifteen floors. All of the hotel's occupants above the fire's origin on the third floor were trapped, and the fire's survivors either were rescued from upper-story windows or jumped into nets held by firemen.

The Film Exchange Building (FEB) is located in Detroit, Michigan, and was designed by C. Howard Crane and built in 1926 for the distribution and booking of movies for the Detroit area. This seven-story building was built near the city's theater district and is located on the northeast corner of the intersection of Cass Avenue and W. Montcalm Street at the edge of the Cass Corridor. It is three blocks west of Comerica Park and less than a block away from the Fisher Freeway (I-75).

The Saint Paul Hotel is a landmark hotel in downtown Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States. It was built in 1910 overlooking Rice Park during the "First Great Age" of skyscraper construction. The Renaissance revival style building was one of the most prominent buildings in St. Paul in its era and was nicknamed "St. Paul's Million-Dollar Hotel." It operated for 69 years before closing in 1979 due to declining business. It was renovated and reopened in 1982. It was listed in the Historic Hotels of America program of the National Trust for Historic Preservation in 1991.

4 Park Avenue is a 22-story building in the Murray Hill neighborhood of Manhattan in New York City. Designed by Warren and Wetmore, the structure was built for Alfred Gwynne Vanderbilt and opened in 1912 as a hotel. It is along the west side of Park Avenue between 33rd and 34th Streets. Following a renovation by Schuman, Lichtenstein & Claman between 1965 and 1967, the top 18 stories have been used as residential apartments. The lowest three stories above ground, as well as three basement levels, are used as commercial space and carry an alternate address of 6 Park Avenue. As of 2021, the building is owned by The Feil Organization.

References

"A Gentleman of the Old School: Walter Raymond and the Raymond Hotel,’’ pub. Pasadena Historical Museum, 1982 and 1995; a biography written by Arthur E. Raymond, son of Walter Raymond.

34°07′26″N118°08′53″W / 34.1239924°N 118.1481771°W / 34.1239924; -118.1481771

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.