El Carmelo Hotel was Pacific Grove's first

hotel A hotel is an establishment that provides paid lodging on a short-term basis. Facilities provided inside a hotel room may range from a modest-quality mattress in a small room to large suites with bigger, higher-quality beds, a dresser, a ref ...

, opened to guests on May 20, 1887. It was sometimes called the sister of the

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 State ...

. It was located on Lighthouse Avenue between Fountain and Grand Avenues, Pacific Grove and owned by the

Pacific Improvement Company The Pacific Improvement Company (PIC) was a large holding company in California and an affiliate of the Southern Pacific Railroad. It was formed in 1878, by the Big Four, who were influential businessmen, philanthropists and railroad tycoons who ...

(PIC). In 1907, the name of the hotel changed to the Pacific Grove Hotel. In 1917, the PIC decided to dismantle it and use the wood in the reconstruction of The Lodge at

Pebble Beach, California Pebble Beach is an unincorporated community on the Monterey Peninsula in Monterey County, California. The small coastal residential community of mostly single-family homes is also notable as a resort destination, and the home of the golf cou ...

that had burned down on December 17, 1917. The empty block was sold to W. R. Holman in 1919 to open the Holman Department Store.

History

The Carmelo hotel was built by the

(PIC) in 1887 soon after the

was destroyed by fire on April 1, 1887. The building was three stories high and included an attic. It contained 114 rooms, an elevator, and an attached large restaurant and dining room. It included six cottages that were across the street on Grand Avenue, built in 1883. The hotel's water was provided by the Carmel River. It had its own power plan and used gas lights manufactured on the premises. Rooms were advertised at $2 a day and $10 to $12 per week. It could accommodate up to 185 guests. Hotel guests could share the use of the Hotel Del Monte's golf course and other privileges. El Carmelo comes from the Spanish name, El Rio de Carmelo, given to the Carmel River by Spanish explorer

Sebastián Vizcaíno Sebastián Vizcaíno (1548–1624) was a Spanish soldier, entrepreneur, explorer, and diplomat whose varied roles took him to New Spain, the Baja California peninsula, the California coast and Asia. Early career Vizcaíno was born in 154 ...

shortly before he landed in

Monterey Bay Monterey Bay is a bay of the Pacific Ocean located on the coast of the U.S. state of California, south of the San Francisco Bay Area and its major city at the south of the bay, San Jose. San Francisco itself is further north along the coast, by ...

in December 1602. In 1889, Another hotel with the same Spanish name was built by real estate developer and early pioneer Santiago J. Duckworth, in

Carmel-by-the-Sea Carmel-by-the-Sea (), often simply called Carmel, is a city in Monterey County, California, United States, founded in 1902 and incorporated on October 31, 1916. Situated on the Monterey Peninsula, Carmel is known for its natural scenery and r ...

. It was the city's first hotel, Hotel Carmelo. He later renamed the hotel the "

Pine Inn Pine Inn, once called the Hotel Carmelo, is one of the early first-class Arts and Crafts movement, Arts and Crafts, Tudor architecture, Tudor, Spanish architecture, Spanish style hotels established in Carmel-by-the-Sea, California. The Pine Inn is ...

." In June 1893, the El Carmelo hotel was renovated for the summer season. The hotel was directly across a park (now Jewell Park), had front gardens, tennis courts, and park benches. In addition, PIC provided tents to rent at $2.25 a week and a camping ground for $1 a week. Lectures at the

Chautauqua Hall Chautauqua ( ) Hall is a historic building in Pacific Grove, California, United States. It was built in 1881 by the Pacific Improvement Company for the Pacific Grove Retreat Association for presenting concerts and entertainment. On July 20, 1970 ...

in Pacific Grove were on the arranged program of events near the hotel. In April 1907, after twenty years, the hotel's name was changed to the Pacific Grove Hotel. The name was changed to avoid confusion with the Hotel Carmelo and to advertise the town of Pacific Grove. On September 25, 1909, the PIC closed the hotel because it was losing money on the hotel. It was reopened in early 1910. That same year, the PIC began an electric automobile service from the Pacific Grove Hotel to The Lodge at

in forty-five minutes. In 1918, the PIC decided to sell the hotel, which fell through. They decided to dismantle it and the wood used in the reconstruction of

The Lodge at Pebble Beach The Lodge at Pebble Beach is a historic American hotel and clubhouse overlooking the Carmel Bay in Pebble Beach, California. Opened in 1919, the property, operated by Pebble Beach Resorts, is a member of Preferred Hotels & Resorts. Accessed by 1 ...

, that burned down on December 17, 1917. The Pacific Grove Hotel's empty block was sold to W. R. Holman in 1919 for $10,000. In 1921, the Holman Department Store opened an auto repair garage and parts store at the same location.

References

External links

The Holman Website

Pebble Beach
{{Authority control Hotels in California Hotel buildings completed in 1887 Hotels established in 1887 1887 establishments in California

History

See also

References

External links