San Dimas Hotel facts for kids
Quick facts for kids San Dimas Hotel |
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San Dimas Hotel, August 2008
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| Former names | Walker House, Carruthers Home, San Dimas Mansion |
| General information | |
| Type | hotel |
| Architectural style | Queen Anne, Shingle Style, Queen Anne-Eastlake |
| Address | 121 San Dimas Ave., |
| Town or city | San Dimas, California |
| Country | United States |
| Completed | 1887 |
| Design and construction | |
| Architect | Joseph C. Newsom |
| Other information | |
| Number of rooms | 33 |
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San Dimas Hotel
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| Area | 0.6 acres (0.24 ha) |
| NRHP reference No. | 72000233 |
| Added to NRHP | March 16, 1972 |
The San Dimas Hotel is a very old and important building in San Dimas, California. It's also known by other names like Walker House and San Dimas Mansion. This historic place was built way back in 1887 by the San Jose Ranch Company.
It was first planned to be a hotel, with 33 rooms and 14 fireplaces! The building is about 15,000 square feet. However, a big land boom that everyone expected never happened, so the hotel never had any paying guests. In 1889, a family named Walker bought the property. Seven generations of the Walker family lived there. Later, in 1979, it became a restaurant. The building was empty for a while starting in 1997. The City of San Dimas then bought and fixed it up. Because of its history, it was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1972.
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History of the San Dimas Hotel
Building a Railroad Hotel
The San Dimas Hotel was built as a "railroad hotel" on land that used to be part of the San Jose Rancho. In 1885, the Santa Fe Railway finished its train tracks between Los Angeles and San Bernardino. People thought that a lot of new towns and businesses would pop up along the train line.
To get ready for this growth, the San Jose Ranch Co. built the San Dimas Hotel. It was one of many hotels built in towns along the railroad. This hotel was only the second building ever in San Dimas. It is believed to be the only railroad hotel from the 1880s still standing in Southern California today.
Design and Features of the Hotel
The owners hired a famous architect named Joseph Cather Newsom to design the hotel. Newsom designed many important buildings in California during the late 1800s. The wood for the hotel came all the way from Oregon and Northern California. It was floated down the coast and then brought to San Dimas.
The hotel was built in the beautiful Victorian Queen Anne style. It was finished in 1887 and had many special features. These included diamond-patterned shingles, a sunburst design, a small tower called a cupola, balconies, and corner towers. It also had seven chimneys for its 14 fireplaces, a large front porch, and long covered walkways called verandas. Inside, the ceilings were 12 feet high, and there were 33 rooms in total, including 18 bedrooms.
Why the Hotel Never Opened
Sadly, by the time the hotel was finished, the economy in Southern California had slowed down. This meant the hotel never had any paying guests. The first people to live there were Moses Wicks and his business partners. In 1889, a newspaper said the hotel was "one of the boom enterprises that never paid." It was even considered to be sold to the Odd Fellows to be used as a place for people in need.
The Walker Family Home for Ninety Years
In 1889, James W. Walker, a successful businessman, bought the hotel and 40 acres of land. He turned the grand building into a home for his family. Mr. Walker became a successful citrus farmer. His home became a very important place for the community in San Dimas.
Many local clubs and groups met at the house. It was also where the first school and first church services in San Dimas were held. For 90 years, from 1889 to 1978, six generations of the Walker family lived in the house. From the 1910s to the 1960s, Mrs. Raymond I. Carruthers, who was James M. Walker's granddaughter, lived there. During this time, people often called it the "Carruthers Home." She once joked that keeping up the house felt like running a hotel because of all the repair costs!
Even in the 1970s, the family worked to keep the old house in good shape. An old resident of San Dimas remembered that a butler in a tuxedo would greet guests at the mansion.
Becoming a Restaurant
In 1979, the house was rented out to Don Wilcott. He renamed it the "San Dimas Mansion" and opened a fancy restaurant called the Mansion Inn. Many changes were made to the building to make it work as a restaurant. The restaurant was popular for a while, even serving famous people like John Wayne and Richard Nixon. However, it closed in the late 1980s. The Carruthers family still owned the mansion and rented it out for private events for several years.
Empty and Restored
The building became empty in 1997. People in the area and those who cared about old buildings were worried. They said that "the single most historical building in the city" was being left to fall apart. In 2000, the City of San Dimas bought the house.
The City started a big plan to fix up the building. They wanted it to be a place for the community to use, especially for the San Dimas Festival of Arts and other groups. The renovation work began in 2007 and was finished by the end of 2008. The repairs cost $6.5 million, with some money coming from a grant by the J. Paul Getty Trust.
Recognized as a Historic Place
The San Dimas Hotel has received several important recognitions for its history. In 1967, Los Angeles County named it a historical landmark. The State of California also recognized it as a point of historical interest. Then, in 1972, it was added to the National Register of Historic Places. This means it's considered a very important historical site in the United States. The house is special because of its unique architecture and its role in the history of San Dimas. The University of California, Berkeley School of Architecture even chose it to represent the Victorian Era in its exhibit called "The California House."
Today: Museum and Community Center
Today, the beautifully restored Walker House is a busy place! It is home to the San Dimas Historical Society and Museum. There's also a community art gallery on the second floor. The San Dimas Festival of the Arts has offices there too.
The museum and art gallery are open on certain days. The San Dimas Historical Society offers guided tours of the Walker House on the third Saturday of each month. If you want to visit, it's a good idea to make a reservation because space is limited.
See also
