The hotel
Mining 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 firm Weeks and Day designed the 19-story hotel, a combination of French château and Spanish ornamentation. The Hotel Mark Hopkins opened 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 artists Maynard Dixon and Frank Von Sloun in 1926 for the hotel's opening decorate the upper walls. One panel shows Queen Calafia and her Amazons set against a gold leaf sky. 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 to Lance Reventlow and Jill St. John's wedding.[11]
In 1961, the hotel was sold by Smith to Kratter 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 Autry acquired the hotel on a long-term lease.[13] In 1967, Loew's Hotels acquired a 99-year lease on the hotel.[14] Louis R. 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 with Inter-Continental Hotels and it became The 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 by Oaktree Capital Management purchased the hotel for $120 million in 2014.[17] InterContinental continues to manage the hotel, under a long-term contract.[16]
The Mark Hopkins became a social center for the city, and is rated AAA Four-Diamond and has won the Gold-Key award.
