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U.S. Grant Hotel
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Facade of the U.S. Grant Hotel
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| Location: | 326 Broadway St San Diego, California |
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| Built: | 1910 |
| Architect: | Harrison Albright |
| Governing body: | Private |
| NRHP Reference#: | 79000523[1] |
| Added to NRHP: | August 27, 1979 |
The U.S. Grant Hotel is a historic hotel in downtown San Diego, California. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It is 11 stories high and has 270 guest rooms in addition to meeting rooms and a ballroom.
The hotel was built by Ulysses S. Grant, Jr., son of president Ulysses S. Grant, who named the hotel after his father.[2] Grant bought the Horton House Hotel and demolished it to construct the current hotel in 1910. Noted architect Harrison Albright designed the hotel.[3] San Diego voters helped finance $700,000 for the $1.5 million needed to construct the hotel after Grant lacked the funds to do so.[4]
Famous guests have included Albert Einstein,[5] Charles Lindbergh,[5] Franklin D. Roosevelt and twelve additional United States Presidents.[6]
The hotel was refurbished in the 1980s, but fell upon hard times in the subsequent decade due to a financial slump.[7] The hotel changed hands several times during the 1990s. In 2003, the hotel was purchased by the Sycuan Band of the Kumeyaay Nation, who closed the doors for 21 months to renovate the building. It reopened in November 2006.[8] The hotel is operated by Starwood Hotels and Resorts as a part of their Luxury Collection.[9]
The hotel's signature restaurant is the Grant Grill, which opened in 1952. It became a power-lunch spot for downtown businessmen and politicians, so much so that "ladies" were not permitted in the restaurant after 3 PM. In 1969 a group of prominent local women staged a sit-in which resulted in the restaurant abandoning its men-only policy.[10]
The Grant Hotel was, for nearly 35 years, until 1974, known as the site of the annual reunion dinner of the "Great White Fleet Association," a group of sailors who sailed on the cruise of 16 white battleships from 1907-09. These dinners attracted a wide range of military officials and guests from all over the world.
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