Ebner's Hotel facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Ebner's Hotel |
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Ebner's Hotel, modern replica in 2011
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| Location | 116 1/2 K St., Sacramento, California (Old Sacramento) |
| Built | 1856 |
| Architect | Charles and Francis (Frank) Ebner |
| Reference no. | 602 |
Ebner's Hotel was a famous old building in Sacramento, California. It was a hotel built in 1856 by brothers Charles and Francis (Frank) Ebner. This historic spot is recognized as a California Historical Landmark.
Contents
A Look Back at Ebner's Hotel
Building a Landmark
The Ebner brothers built their 36-room hotel themselves in 1856. It was located at 116 1/2 K Street, very close to the Sacramento River. Back then, the river was a super important way to travel and move goods.
The hotel was considered very fancy for its time. It even had a special dome-shaped top called a cupola that reached high into the sky. This cupola was a helpful sign for travelers arriving in Sacramento. They could see it from far away and know they were almost there!
Early Days and Changes
Charles Ebner didn't just manage the hotel. He also ran a business from the hotel's basement. A famous person named John Sutter was friends with the Ebner brothers and often stayed at their hotel.
Around 1863, the Ebner brothers decided to let other people manage the hotel. This allowed them to focus more on their other business ventures. The hotel was well-known for many years.
The Hotel's Later Years
Things started to change for the hotel in the 1870s. New railroads came to the area, which changed how people traveled. Also, bigger, newer hotels were built closer to what is now Downtown Sacramento.
The part of Sacramento where Ebner's Hotel was located became less popular. The hotel itself started to become less fancy and was used by travelers looking for cheaper places to stay. By the 1930s, the area was not as busy as it used to be. This was because people started using roads more than rivers for transportation.
In 1980, a group called the Historic American Buildings Survey looked at the building. They noticed that the outside decorations were gone. A city historian also thought that the famous cupola had probably fallen apart over time.
Ebner's Hotel in the 21st Century
Deciding the Hotel's Future
As the year 2000 arrived, Ebner's Hotel was one of only two original buildings left in Old Sacramento that hadn't been fixed up. The city of Sacramento had to decide what to do with it.
People wanted to tear the building down because it was in such bad shape. The city hired engineers to check it out. They found that the building was too weak and unsafe to repair.
Demolition and Replica
The city then had to choose between making the building safe without fixing it or tearing it down completely. Many local shop owners wanted it torn down. This was because the hotel's poor condition meant that an alleyway nearby had to be closed. This closure stopped people from walking to their stores.
In the end, the city decided to tear down the old Ebner's Hotel. But they didn't just leave an empty space! They chose to build a new hotel that looked exactly like the original one. This new building is a "rebuilt replica" of the historic Ebner's Hotel.
