Mark Hopkins Hotel

History

The site

Mark Hopkins, one of the founders of the Central Pacific Railroad, chose the southeastern peak of Nob Hill as the site for a dream home for his wife, Mary. The mansion was completed in 1878, after his death. Since the tower of the mansion was at the time the highest point in San Francisco, Eadweard Muybridge chose to shoot his 1877 panoramic photograph of the city from this location.

Mary Sherwood Hopkins, on her death in 1891 at the age of 73, left the Nob Hill mansion and a $70 million estate to her second husband, Edward Francis Searles. In 1893, Searles donated the building and grounds to the San Francisco Art Association (now San Francisco Art Institute), for use as a school and museum. It was called the Mark Hopkins Institute of Art and valued at $600,000 at the time.

The Mark Hopkins mansion survived the 1906 San Francisco earthquake; however, it was destroyed in the three-day fire that followed the earthquake.

The hotel

Mining engineer and hotel investor George D. Smith purchased the Nob Hill site, removed the Art Association building, and began construction of a luxury hotel. The San Francisco architectural firm Weeks and Day designed the 19-story hotel, a combination of French château and Spanish ornamentation. The Hotel Mark Hopkins opened on December 4, 1926.

One of the banquet areas, "The Room of The Dons", contains a piece of California history. Nine seven-foot-high panels painted by artists Maynard Dixon and Frank Von Sloun in 1926 for the hotel's opening decorate the upper walls. One panel shows Queen Calafia and her Amazons set against a gold leaf sky. Calafia is the namesake for the state of California.

During World War II, the Top Of The Mark lounge was a favored place for Pacific-bound servicemen and their sweethearts to meet before being deployed.

In 1960, the hotel was host to Lance Reventlow and Jill St. John's wedding.

In 1961, the hotel was sold by Smith to Kratter Corp. for over $10 million who sold it the following year to San Francisco financier Louis Lurie for over $12 million.

In 1963, Gene Autry acquired the hotel on a long-term lease. In 1967, Loew's Hotels acquired a 99-year lease on the hotel. Louis R. Lurie accidentally thought he had only agreed to a 25-year lease. A Hawaiian group of investors took over the lease.

In 1973, Lurie's heirs signed a long-term management contract for the Mark Hopkins with Inter-Continental Hotels and it became The Mark Hopkins - An Inter-Continental Hotel. The chain acquired the lessee interest in 1983 and the freehold in 2010. Woodridge Capital Partners Affiliates and funds managed by Oaktree Capital Management purchased the hotel for $120 million in 2014. InterContinental continues to manage the hotel, under a long-term contract.

The Mark Hopkins became a social center for the city, and is rated AAA Four-Diamond and has won the Gold-Key award.

Landmark status

A bronze plaque installed by the California State Park Commission, designating the site California Historical Landmark #754, was commissioned October 20, 1961. The plaque marks the former site of the Mark Hopkins Institute of Art. The Mark Hopkins Hotel is also listed as a San Francisco Designated Landmark.

References

References

1. "Emporis building ID 118779". [[Emporis]].
2. {{SkyscraperPage. 10633
3. {{Structurae. 20009388
4. {{cite ohp. 754. Site of the Mark Hopkins Institute of Art. 2012-10-21
5. "City of San Francisco Designated Landmarks". City of San Francisco.
6. (2009). "Top Of The Mark – History".
7. "InterContinental Mark Hopkins Hotel, a Historic Hotels of America member". Historic Hotels of America.
8. (2009). "Overview – History".
9. Thomas, Grace Powers. (1898). "Where to Educate, 1898–1899. A guide to the best private schools, higher institutions of learning, etc., in the United States". Brown and Company.
10. (December 2011). "San Francisco: Landmark Mark Hopkins hotel turns 85".
11. (March 25, 1960). "Young couple bravely faces uncertainties". Ellensburg Daily Record.
12. (August 17, 1962). "Lou Lurie Buys S.F. Mark Hopkins Hotel".
13. (September 19, 1963). "Gene Autry Purchases Mark Hopkins Hotel".
14. (February 22, 1967). "Loew's Hotels Leases S.F.'s Mark Hopkins".
15. (September 13, 1972). "Louis R. Lurie, 84; An Alger Story".
16. "IHG Announces Sale of InterContinental Mark Hopkins San Francisco for $120 Million".
17. Vincent, Roger. (February 21, 2014). "L.A. investors buy famed Mark Hopkins hotel in San Francisco". [[Los Angeles Times]].
18. Hendley, Alvis. (2010). "California Landmark 754: Site of the Mark Hopkins Institute of Art in San Francisco". Noehill.