The Westin San Jose facts for kids
Quick facts for kids |
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Hotel Sainte Claire
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 Location in San Jose, California
Location in California
Location in the United States
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| Location | San Jose, California |
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| Built | 1926 |
| Architect | Weeks and Day |
| Architectural style | Italian Renaissance Revival - Mediterranean Revival |
| NRHP reference No. | 80000865 |
| Added to NRHP | June 3, 1980 |
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The Westin San Jose is a famous hotel in Downtown San Jose, California. It is located inside the historic Sainte Claire Hotel building. This six-story building was built in 1926. It is a very important landmark in the city. The hotel is even listed on the National Register of Historic Places. This means it is a special place recognized for its history and design.
Hotel Design and Style
The Sainte Claire Hotel was designed by a well-known company called Weeks and Day. This company was famous for designing theaters and hotels in California. The hotel's style is called Renaissance Revival. This means it looks like buildings from the Italian Renaissance period. It also has some touches of French, Spanish, and Mediterranean Revival styles.
Cool Architectural Features
One special part of the design is the lobby ceiling. It has a "coffered" design, which means it has sunken panels that look like a checkerboard. The outside of the hotel is also interesting. The building's corner facing South Market and San Carlos Streets is cut off and set back. This creates a unique entrance.
The hotel's frame is made of steel and concrete. The outside walls on floors two through six are covered with brownish-yellow brick. The ground floor has buff-colored stone. The building has three main parts. The bottom part has arched openings. The middle part has four stories. The top part has two floors with pairs of windows in arched frames.
Inside the Hotel
The hotel lobby is still very much like it was when it was first built. It has kept its original look and feel. There was once a beautiful "Patio Room" with columns, but it has been changed over time. It is now part of another room called the Empire Room. The Spartan Room on the second floor also used to be a small garden room. It has been updated too.
The ceilings in the lobby, Spartan, and Empire rooms were once hand-painted. Sadly, these original paintings are no longer there because of changes over the years. However, many of the wood details in the guest rooms are still original. The fancy, hand-carved wood doors leading to the shops are also still intact. Many bathrooms in the rooms even have their original fixtures!
A Look Back at History
The Hotel Sainte Claire was once the most important and elegant hotel in the whole South Peninsula area. It was known for having the best rooms between San Francisco and Los Angeles.
A famous realtor and developer named T. S. Montgomery helped pay for the hotel. He was a very important person in San Jose. He helped build many businesses downtown. Mr. Montgomery also gave the city land across from the hotel. This land was used to build the civic auditorium, which is still there today.
After being fixed up in the 1990s, the hotel was known as the Hyatt Sainte Claire. Later, in the 2000s, it went back to being called the Hotel Sainte Claire. Then, on July 9, 2015, it was renovated again and renamed The Westin San Jose.
