The Fairmont San Francisco is a

luxury Luxury may refer to: *Luxury goods, an economic good or service for which demand increases more than proportionally as income rises *Luxury tax, tax on products not considered essential, such as expensive cars **Luxury tax (sports), surcharge put ...

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 re ...

at 950 Mason Street, atop

Nob Hill Nob Hill is a neighborhood of San Francisco, California, United States that is known for its numerous luxury hotels and historic mansions. Nob Hill has historically served as a center of San Francisco's upper class. Nob Hill is among the hig ...

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17t ...

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

. The hotel was named after mining

magnate The magnate term, from the late Latin ''magnas'', a great man, itself from Latin ''magnus'', "great", means a man from the higher nobility, a man who belongs to the high office-holders, or a man in a high social position, by birth, wealth or ot ...

and

U.S. Senator The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and power ...

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 Fairmont Hotels & Resorts is a global chain of luxury hotels that operates more than 70 properties worldwide, with a strong presence in Canada. The company originated from two hotel businesses established in the late 19th century, the Canadian P ...

chain. The group is now owned by

Fairmont Raffles Hotels International FRHI Hotels & Resorts (previously known as Fairmont Raffles Hotels International) is a global hotel management company that is based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. FRHI is the parent company that manages three brands of hotels: Fairmont, Raffles ...

, but all the original Fairmont hotels still keep their names. It has been featured in many films, including '' The Rock''. Exterior and interior shots of the hotel were used as stand-ins for the fictional St. Gregory Hotel in the television series ''

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 re ...

''. The Fairmont San Francisco was added to 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 ...

on 17 April 2002. It is a member of

Historic Hotels of America 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 that have maintained their authenticity, sense of pla ...

, the official program of the

National Trust for Historic Preservation The National Trust for Historic Preservation is a privately funded, nonprofit organization based in Washington, D.C., that works in the field of historic preservation in the United States. The member-supported organization was founded in 1949 ...

1906 Earthquake

The hotel was nearly completed before 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 ...

. Although the structure survived, the interior was heavily damaged by fire, and opening was delayed until 1907. Architect and engineer

Julia Morgan Julia Morgan (January 20, 1872 – February 2, 1957) was an American architect and engineer. She designed more than 700 buildings in California during a long and prolific career.Erica Reder"Julia Morgan was a local in ''The New Fillmore'', 1 Febr ...

was hired to repair the building because of her then innovative use of

reinforced concrete Reinforced concrete (RC), also called reinforced cement concrete (RCC) and ferroconcrete, is a composite material in which concrete's relatively low ultimate tensile strength, tensile strength and ductility are compensated for by the inclusion ...

, which could produce buildings capable of withstanding earthquakes and other disasters.

United Nations

In 1945, the Fairmont hosted international statesmen for meetings which culminated in the creation of the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmoni ...

. Finessing of the

United Nations Charter The Charter of the United Nations (UN) is the foundational treaty of the UN, an intergovernmental organization. It establishes the purposes, governing structure, and overall framework of the United Nations System, UN system, including its Organ ...

was conducted in the hotel's Garden Room and a plaque at the hotel memorializes the event.

First concierge in the United States

The Fairmont was the first American hotel to offer

concierge A concierge () is an employee of a multi-tenant building, such as a hotel or apartment building, who receives guests. The concept has been applied more generally to other hospitality settings and to personal concierges who manage the errands of ...

services. Tom Wolfe, who had trained in Europe, served as the Fairmont's first concierge from 1974 to 1981. He returned to the Fairmont in 1995.

Tonga Room

Among the hotel's attractions is the Tonga Room & Hurricane Bar, a historic

tiki bar A tiki bar is a themed drinking establishment that serves elaborate cocktails, especially rum-based mixed drinks such as the Mai Tai and Zombie cocktails. Tiki bars are aesthetically defined by their tiki culture décor which is based upon a roman ...

, which opened in 1945 and was remodeled in 1952, and 1967. Elements of the bar were also "updated" in 2009. It features a bandstand on a barge that floats in a former swimming pool, a dining area built from parts of an old sailing ship, and artificial thunderstorms. In January 2009, the owners announced plans to close the Tonga Room in connection with a renovation and

condo conversion In real estate, a condominium conversion or condo conversion is the process of entitling an income property or other lands currently held under one title to convert from sole ownership of the entire property (which often already is a multi unit pr ...

of the hotel. In response, a group planned to file an application to make the Tonga Room an official San Francisco landmark. The plans were delayed and Tonga Room is still open today (despite many rumors of its temporary closure).

Ownership change

On May 9, 2012, funds managed by Oaktree Capital Management, L.P. and Woodridge Capital Partners LLC, a Los Angeles-based real estate developer and investor, bought the property for $200 million. They also acquired the Mark Hopkins Hotel across the street in 2014. The hotel was sold again on November 30, 2015, to the South Korean Mirae Asset Global Investments group for $450 million.

Popular culture

The Venetian Room at the Fairmont Hotel was where

Tony Bennett Anthony Dominick Benedetto (born August 3, 1926), known professionally as Tony Bennett, is an American retired singer of traditional pop standards, big band, show tunes, and jazz. Bennett is also a painter, having created works under his birt ...

first sang " I Left My Heart in San Francisco" in December 1961. A statue of Tony Bennett was unveiled outside the Fairmont on 19 August 2016, in honor of his 90th birthday, the performance and the song's history with San Francisco. The Fairmont Hotel was used in the establishing shots for the fictional St. Gregory Hotel in the 1983 television series ''

''. The hotel on which the original novel was based is now

The Roosevelt New Orleans 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, ...

. The Fairmont is also seen in the movie The Intern. Ernie Gehr's

avant-garde film Experimental film or avant-garde cinema is a mode of filmmaking that rigorously re-evaluates cinematic conventions and explores non-narrative forms or alternatives to traditional narratives or methods of working. Many experimental films, parti ...

'' Side/Walk/Shuttle'' was filmed entirely from the Fairmont's elevator. In the song "Real Good for Free" on the album ''

Miles of Aisles ''Miles of Aisles'' is the first live album by Canadian singer-songwriter Joni Mitchell, released in 1974 on Asylum Records. It is a double album documenting her concerts in support of the ''Court and Spark'' album with her backing band for the ...

'' Joni Mitchell changes the line "I slept last night in a good hotel" to "I slept last night in the Fairmont Hotel" The Fairmont makes a brief appearance in the film ''

Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings ''Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings'' is a 2021 American superhero film based on Marvel Comics featuring the character Shang-Chi. Produced by Marvel Studios and distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures, it is the 25th film ...

'', where characters Shang-Chi and his best friend Katy previously worked as valet parkers at the beginning of the film. File:Lobby Fairmont Hotel, San Francisco, Feb. 1, 2010.jpg File:Lobby Fairmont Hotel, San Francisco, Feb. 1, 2010-1.jpg File:Pillar detail - Lobby Fairmont Hotel, San Francisco, Feb. 1, 2010.jpg File:6408-1FairmontHotelLobbySFO.jpg, August, 1964

References

External links

Fairmont San Francisco official websiteThe Tonga Room & Hurricane Bar official websiteNational Register of Historic Places
{{Authority control

Hotels in San Francisco Nob Hill, San Francisco Skyscraper hotels in San Francisco Hotel buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in California National Register of Historic Places in San Francisco San Francisco Designated Landmarks Hotels established in 1907 Hotel buildings completed in 1907 1907 establishments in California Tourist attractions in San Francisco Oaktree Capital Management Julia Morgan buildings Reid & Reid buildings Beaux-Arts architecture in California