InterContinental Mark Hopkins San Francisco

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InterContinental Mark Hopkins is a 4 star luxury hotel located at Number One Nob Hill, San Francisco, California. It has 19 floors and 380 rooms including 38 suites, most of them with San Francisco Bay and City view. InterContinental Mark Hopkins' 19th floor Top of the Mark sky-bar features a 360 degree view of San Francisco.

[edit] History

Mark Hopkins, one of the founders of the Central Pacific Railroad, chose the southeastern peak of Nob Hill as the site for a dream home for his wife, Mary. The Mark Hopkins mansion was completed in 1878 (after the death of Mark Hopkins)

Mrs. Mary Hopkins spent only a few years there, before returning to her native Massachusetts. There, at the age of seventy-three, she remarried to Edward Searles. On her death in 1891, the entire fortune went to Searles, including the Nob Hill mansion. In 1893, Searles donated the building and grounds to the San Francisco Art association, for use as a school and museum.

The Mark Hopkins mansion survived the Great Earthquake of 1906, however it was destroyed by fires that followed. The grounds was later raised to house the school, which remained until 1925. History of The Mark Hopkins Inter*Continental Hotel

Robert Louis wrote…”Nob Hill, The Hill of Palaces, must certainly be counted the best part of San Francisco.”

Mark Hopkins, one of the founders of the Central Pacific Railroad, chose the Southeastern peak of Nob Hill as the site for a dream home for his wife, Mary. Taking his example from the opulent homes already erected by his business partners – the Crockers, Stanfords and the Huntingtons – Hopkins retained a bevy of architects and designed a fabulous gabled palace, bristling with spires and lush with the fashionable “gingerbread” detailing. It is ironic what his plans were so elaborate and demanding that the house was not complete until after Hopkins’ death in 1878, and he never spent a night there…

Mrs. Hopkins spent only a few years there, before returning to her native Massachusetts. There, at the age of seventy-three, she remarried to Edward Searles, an interior decorator nearly thirty years her junior. Her wealth at the time was estimated at seventy million dollars, in an era which knew no income taxes. On her death in 1891, the entire fortune went to Searles, including the Nob Hill mansion. In 1893, Searles donated the building and grounds to the San Francisco Art Association, dir use as a school and museum.

Like many of the other homes built on the solid rock of Nob Hill, the Hopkins house might have survived the Great Earthquake of 1906, but it dell victim to the terrible fires which followed. When the smoke had cleared, only the monumental stonework and the denuded chimneystacks remained of Mark Hopkins’ dream palace. In the following years, a smaller, more utilitarian building was raised to house the school, which remained until 1925.

One evening, a young man named George D. Smith was walking with a friend on the slopes of Nob Hill. Smith remarked about the view and said that he’d like to build a really fine hotel on the site to take advantage of its charm.

Armed with a successful track record and unquestionable zeal, Smith arranged the financing and purchased the lot in 1925. His design for the hotel demonstrated a unique blend of characteristics which Smith repeatedly utilized throughout his career: a precise mixture of startling originality and structural solidity. Anchored in the solid rock and incorporating a portion of the massive stonework laid by Mark Hopkins, the hotel’s steel framework rose as an 18-story, open-winged tower, giving every guest room an outside view.

On December 3, 1926, George D. Smith opened the doors of his dream, named to honor the original occupant of the site, and thousands of celebrants walked into the new standard for luxury hotels in the Twentieth Century. Smith had been as unstinting in the details and appointments of his hotel as he had been of its structure. From the rich, handwoven carpets to the crystal chandeliers and ornate ceilings, every aspect mirrored the Mark Hopkins dedication to elegance.

Judging from the immediate popular and financial success, Smith’s decisions for unreserved extravagance had been a wise one. The Mark Hopkins became the social center of the Golden Gate City. The banquet rooms were filled with splendid for every description; from gold service banquets for kings and princes to rollicking New Year’s Eve celebrations which were broadcast over the radio waves to every corner of the globe. Presidents, ambassadors, statesmen and crowned heads from around the world have stayed here.

In 1939, Smith again startled the hotel industry by converting the top-floor penthouse into a glass walled louge which offered a 360-degree view of the city, the bay and the surrounding counties. The Top of The Mark instantly became the most famous skyroom anywhere, and tourists and locals flocked to view the twinkling lights of the World’s Fair on Treasure Island.

In 1962, eager for retirement and travel, George D. Smith sold the hotel which he had designed, built and guided for nearly four decades. The new owner, Louis Lurie, had amassed a tremendous financial empire which earned him the title “Wizard of Montgomery Street.” Lurie, however, was neither inclined nor equipped to handle the vicissitudes of managing a great hotel, and after a series of short-lived agreements with management firms, he signed a long-term lease for the property. The leaseholders then embarked on a search for management structure which could embody the unique blend of respect, affection and levelheaded lucidity which had so clearly marked Smith’s tenure.

In 1973 the Inter*Continental Hotel Corporation assumed the management of The Mark Hopkins. George D. Smith’s great hotel had by that time endured nearly ten years of inconsistent, and in some cases, ill advised and inexperienced management. Under the careful guidance of Inter*Continental, the building’s natural grace and elegance were rescued from the piecemeal results of a number of stylish redecorations through some very extensive renovations. In April 1983 the Inter*Continental Corporation purchased The Mark Hopkins.

Affixed to the massive granite stonework originally laid by Mark Hopkins is a bronze plaque installed by the California State Park Commission, designating the site as California Historical Landmark No. 754. Such as designation is not given lightly. It is a recognition of the fact that a place acquired some special significance beyond its geographical location – that it has become exceptional.