TheInterContinental Mark Hopkins San Franciscois a luxury hotel located at the top ofNob HillinSan Francisco,California.The hotel is managed by theInterContinental Hotels Group.The chain operates over 5,000 hotels and resorts in approximately 75 nations. The Mark Hopkins is the oldest InterContinental in the United States.
| InterContinental Mark Hopkins San Francisco | |
|---|---|
 The Mark Hopkins Hotel, 2009 | |
  Mark Hopkins Hotel Location in Central San Francisco  Mark Hopkins Hotel Mark Hopkins Hotel (California)  Mark Hopkins Hotel Mark Hopkins Hotel (the United States) | |
| Hotel chain | InterContinental |
| General information | |
| Address | One Nob Hill 999 California Street San Francisco,California94108 |
| Coordinates | 37°47′30″N122°24′37″W/ 37.791558°N 122.410364°W |
| Opening | 4 December 1926 |
| Management | InterContinental Hotels Group |
| Height | 92.97 m (305.0 ft) |
| Technical details | |
| Floor count | 19 |
| Design and construction | |
| Architect(s) | Weeks & Day |
| Other information | |
| Number of rooms | 380 |
| Number of suites | 39 |
| Number of restaurants | Top of the Mark Nob Hill Club |
| Website | |
| intercontinentalmarkhopkins | |
| [1][2][3] | |
| Official name | Site of theMark Hopkins Institute of Art[4] |
| Reference no. | 754 |
| Reference no. | 184[5] |
The 19th floor penthouse suite was converted in 1939 into the glass-walledTop of the Markrestaurant cocktail lounge.[6]
InterContinental Mark Hopkins Hotel is a member ofHistoric Hotels of America,the official program of theNational Trust for Historic Preservation.[7]
History
editThe site
edit
Mark Hopkins,one of the founders of theCentral 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 Muybridgechose to shoot his1877 panoramic photographof 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 (nowSan Francisco Art Institute), for use as a school and museum.[8]It was called theMark Hopkins Institute of Artand valued at $600,000 at the time.[9]
The Mark Hopkins mansion survived the1906 San Francisco earthquake;however, it was destroyed in the three-day fire that followed the earthquake.
The hotel
editMining 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 firmWeeks and Daydesigned the 19-story hotel, a combination of French château and Spanish ornamentation. TheHotel Mark Hopkinsopened on December 4, 1926.[10]
One of the banquet areas, "The Room of The Dons", contains a piece of California history. Nine seven-foot-high panels painted by artistsMaynard Dixonand Frank Von Sloun in 1926 for the hotel's opening decorate the upper walls. One panel shows QueenCalafiaand her Amazons set against agold leafsky. 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 toLance ReventlowandJill St. John's wedding.[11]
In 1961, the hotel was sold by Smith toKratter Corp.for over $10 million who sold it the following year to San Francisco financier Louis Lurie for over $12 million.[12]
In 1963,Gene Autryacquired the hotel on a long-term lease.[13]In 1967,Loew's Hotelsacquired a 99-year lease on the hotel.[14]Lurie accidentally thought he had only agreed to a 25-year lease.[15]A Hawaiian group of investors took over the lease.[15]
In 1973, Lurie's heirs signed a long-term management contract for the Mark Hopkins withInter-Continental Hotelsand it becameThe Mark Hopkins - An Inter-Continental Hotel.The chain acquired the lessee interest in 1983 and the freehold in 2010.[16]Woodridge Capital Partners Affiliates and funds managed byOaktree Capital Managementpurchased the hotel for $120 million in 2014.[17]InterContinental continues to manage the hotel, under a long-term contract.[18]
The Mark Hopkins became a social center for the city, and is ratedAAA Four-Diamondand has won the Gold-Key award.
Landmark status
editA bronze plaque installed by the California State Park Commission, designating the siteCalifornia Historical Landmark#754, was commissioned October 20, 1961.[19]The plaque marks the former site of theMark Hopkins Institute of Art.[4]The Mark Hopkins Hotel is also listed as aSan Francisco Designated Landmark.[5]
See also
edit
References
edit- ^"Emporis building ID 118779".Emporis.Archived from the original on March 6, 2016.
- ^"Mark Hopkins Hotel".SkyscraperPage.
- ^Mark Hopkins HotelatStructurae
- ^ab"Site of the Mark Hopkins Institute of Art".Office of Historic Preservation, California State Parks.Retrieved2012-10-21.
- ^ab"City of San Francisco Designated Landmarks".City of San Francisco. Archived fromthe originalon 2014-03-25.Retrieved2012-10-21.
- ^"Top Of The Mark – History".InterContinental Mark Hopkins.2009.Retrieved2010-02-04.
- ^"InterContinental Mark Hopkins Hotel, a Historic Hotels of America member".Historic Hotels of America.RetrievedJanuary 28,2014.
{{cite journal}}:Cite journal requires|journal=(help) - ^"Overview – History".InterContinental Mark Hopkins.2009.Retrieved2010-02-04.
- ^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.Boston: Brown and Company. p. 10.RetrievedAugust 17,2012.
- ^"San Francisco: Landmark Mark Hopkins hotel turns 85".Los Angeles Times.December 2011.
- ^"Young couple bravely faces uncertainties".Ellensburg Daily Record.Vol. 55, no. 61. Associated Press. March 25, 1960. p. 5.
- ^"Lou Lurie Buys S.F. Mark Hopkins Hotel".Daily Variety.August 17, 1962. p. 10.
- ^"Gene Autry Purchases Mark Hopkins Hotel".Daily Variety.September 19, 1963. p. 9.
- ^"Loew's Hotels Leases S.F.'s Mark Hopkins".Variety.February 22, 1967. p. 55.
- ^ab"Louis R. Lurie, 84; An Alger Story".Variety.September 13, 1972. p. 2.
- ^"IHG Announces Sale of InterContinental Mark Hopkins San Francisco for $120 Million".
- ^Vincent, Roger (February 21, 2014)."L.A. investors buy famed Mark Hopkins hotel in San Francisco".Los Angeles Times.
- ^"IHG Announces Sale of InterContinental Mark Hopkins San Francisco for $120 Million".
- ^Hendley, Alvis (2010)."California Landmark 754: Site of the Mark Hopkins Institute of Art in San Francisco".Noehill.Retrieved2010-02-04.
Further reading
edit- Woodbridge, Sally B. (1992).San Francisco Architecture(Second ed.). San Francisco: Chronicle Books. p.61.ISBN0-87701-897-9.
External links
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Media related toInterContinental Mark Hopkins San Franciscoat Wikimedia Commons- Official website
