The Langham Huntington, Pasadena facts for kids
| The Langham Huntington, Pasadena | |
Quick facts for kids  The Langham Huntington, Pasadena |
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| Hotel facts and statistics | |
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| Location | Pasadena, California |
| Coordinates | 34°07′13″N 118°08′00″W / 34.1203°N 118.1333°W |
| Address | |
| Architect | Charles Frederick Whittlesey (1906) Myron Hunt (1914 remodeling) McClellan, Cruz, Gaylord and Associates Local Architects, WATG (Wimberly Allison Tong and Goo) Design Architect and Architect of Record (1991 reconstruction) |
| Management | Langham Hotels International |
| Owner | Great Eagle Holdings |
| No. of rooms | 380 |
The Langham Huntington, Pasadena is a beautiful resort hotel located in Pasadena, California. It has a long and interesting history, going all the way back to the early 1900s!
Contents
The Hotel's Early Days (1907-1989)
The first hotel on this spot was built by General Marshall C. Wentworth, a veteran from the American Civil War. It was designed by Charles Frederick Whittlesey in a style called Spanish Mission Revival. The hotel opened in February 1907 as the Hotel Wentworth.
However, the building was not fully finished. Only the first four floors were ready, and it had a temporary roof. Construction was slow because many workers were busy rebuilding San Francisco after a big earthquake in 1906. Also, heavy rains that year meant fewer guests came. The Wentworth closed in July 1907 after just one season.
New Ownership and Big Changes
In 1911, a wealthy railroad owner named Henry E. Huntington bought the Wentworth. He reopened it in 1914 as The Huntington Hotel. Before reopening, the hotel had a major redesign by architect Myron Hunt. He added two more floors and the famous central tower, called a belvedere.
A special electric train line, the Oak Knoll Line, was built in 1906 to bring guests right to the hotel. The hotel grew to cover more than 20 acres. Between 1920 and 1926, 27 small bungalow cottages were built on the grounds. These were for guests who wanted to stay for a long time. In 1926, California's first outdoor Olympic-size swimming pool was added. This allowed the hotel to stay open all year, not just in winter.
The Sheraton Years
Later, Stephen W. Royce owned the hotel. He sold it to the Sheraton Corporation in 1954. The hotel was then renamed the Huntington-Sheraton Hotel. During this time, some of the hotel's original designs inside were covered up. A new building, the Lanai Building, was built next to the swimming pool in 1967. Sheraton sold the hotel in 1974 but continued to manage it.
A New Beginning
In 1985, tests showed that the main hotel building was not safe. Because of this, the main part of the hotel had to close suddenly on October 20, 1985. This caused a lot of changes for events planned there. The 89 rooms in the 1967 Lanai wing and the 18 cottage homes stayed open. They were called the Huntington Sheraton Lanai and Cottages. The main six-story building remained empty.
In 1986, new owners planned to tear down the main building and build a new one that looked similar. After a year of discussions, voters in Pasadena agreed to let the main building be taken down in May 1987. The demolition of the main building started on March 27, 1989, and took three months. The Lanai and cottages closed in mid-1990 as the new building was being constructed.
During the rebuilding, two historic ballrooms were saved: the Viennese Ballroom and the Georgian Ballroom. Other buildings like the pool, Lanai, and bungalows were also kept. The $100-million rebuilding project uncovered 10 beautiful stained-glass windows in the Georgian Ballroom. These windows, made of opalescent glass, had been covered up by Sheraton in 1954.
The Hotel Today (1991-Present)
The hotel reopened on March 18, 1991. It had 383 rooms and was called The Ritz-Carlton, Huntington Hotel. The new building looked very much like the original from the outside but had modern features inside. In April 1998, it was renamed The Ritz-Carlton, Huntington Hotel & Spa.
In October 2007, the hotel was sold to Great Eagle Holdings for $170 million. On January 8, 2008, it was renamed The Langham Huntington, Pasadena. It is now managed by Langham Hotels International.
