Horton Grand Hotel, San Diego
Right across the street from the Gaslamp Museum stands an architectural marvel that鈥檚 literally been taken apart and then put back together again鈥攖he Horton Grand Hotel. At first glance, it鈥檚 just a stately red-brick charmer, but behind those walls is a resurrection story worthy of a Hollywood script. What you see today is actually two 19th-century hotels鈥攖he Grand Horton and the Brooklyn-Kahle Saddlery鈥攆used so seamlessly that you鈥檇 swear they were born as one. Step into the brick-paved courtyard, shaded by trees and evoking a New Orleans-style mood, and it鈥檚 easy to forget you鈥檙e in downtown San Diego.
Back in 1887, the original Grand Horton opened its doors during a building boom sparked by the arrival of the transcontinental railroad. Designed in the Italianate Victorian style and modeled after Vienna鈥檚 Innsbruck Inn, it was the definition of frontier luxury. Just down the street, the Brooklyn-Kahle Saddlery catered to a rougher crowd鈥攑art Western saloon, part genteel boarding house.
Fast-forward to the 1970s, when both buildings were set to be flattened to make way for the Horton Plaza shopping center. Instead, though, the city bought the hotels, dismantled them brick by brick, numbered and catalogued every single piece, and then stored them like a giant historical jigsaw puzzle.
Finally, in 1986, the miracle happened: each brick was reassembled at Fourth Street and Island Avenue, and thus the Horton Grand Hotel was reborn. Today, apart from merely serving as a place to sleep, it鈥檚 a monument to San Diego鈥檚 obsession with keeping its history stylishly intact!
Back in 1887, the original Grand Horton opened its doors during a building boom sparked by the arrival of the transcontinental railroad. Designed in the Italianate Victorian style and modeled after Vienna鈥檚 Innsbruck Inn, it was the definition of frontier luxury. Just down the street, the Brooklyn-Kahle Saddlery catered to a rougher crowd鈥攑art Western saloon, part genteel boarding house.
Fast-forward to the 1970s, when both buildings were set to be flattened to make way for the Horton Plaza shopping center. Instead, though, the city bought the hotels, dismantled them brick by brick, numbered and catalogued every single piece, and then stored them like a giant historical jigsaw puzzle.
Finally, in 1986, the miracle happened: each brick was reassembled at Fourth Street and Island Avenue, and thus the Horton Grand Hotel was reborn. Today, apart from merely serving as a place to sleep, it鈥檚 a monument to San Diego鈥檚 obsession with keeping its history stylishly intact!
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Horton Grand Hotel on Map
Sight Name: Horton Grand Hotel
Sight Location: San Diego, USA (See walking tours in San Diego)
Sight Type: Attraction/Landmark
Guide(s) Containing This Sight:
Sight Location: San Diego, USA (See walking tours in San Diego)
Sight Type: Attraction/Landmark
Guide(s) Containing This Sight:
Walking Tours in San Diego, California
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The Native American culture in the area, however, goes back thousands of years. Historically, this land had been a home to the Kumeyaay people who settled on the banks of the San Diego river since around 1000 AD. The first European explorer to... view more
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