The Hotel Fresno is a historic

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 ...

located at 1241-1263 Broadway Plaza With plans and historic photos. This PDF omits 36 photos accompanying the application from 2016. in downtown

Fresno, California Fresno () is a major city in the San Joaquin Valley of California, United States. It is the county seat of Fresno County and the largest city in the greater Central Valley region. It covers about and had a population of 542,107 in 2020, makin ...

. It is the oldest surviving hotel in the city, built in 1912. It was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

in 2018. The hotel was designed by architect Edward T. Foulkes and has been described as Neoclassical in style, with elements of

Second Renaissance Revival Renaissance Revival architecture (sometimes referred to as "Neo-Renaissance") is a group of 19th century architectural revival styles which were neither Greek Revival nor Gothic Revival but which instead drew inspiration from a wide range o ...

and Beaux Arts styles. Its design "was reportedly adapted from that of the Palace Hotel in San Francisco, known for its crystal-roofed garden court." The Palace Hotel was built in 1875, and was rebuilt in 1909 after destruction in the

1906 San Francisco earthquake At 05:12 Pacific Standard Time on Wednesday, April 18, 1906, the coast of Northern California was struck by a major earthquake with an estimated moment magnitude of 7.9 and a maximum Mercalli intensity of XI (''Extreme''). High-intensity sha ...

. Architectural historian John Edward Powell describes it as having "adopted the 'caravansary' model, that is, a design around a centralized interior court or atrium lobby at first floor." The hotel closed in 1983 due to "repairs", and has remained vacant for over 39 years. Since mid-2019, the building is currently under renovation to become affordable housing for 79 families. Includes video.

References

Buildings and structures in Fresno, California National Register of Historic Places in Fresno County, California Hotels in California Neoclassical architecture in California Hotel buildings completed in 1912 Hotels established in 1912 {{FresnoCountyCA-NRHP-stub