Occidental Hotel, 19th-century hotel in San Francisco, no longer extant
The Occidental Hotel was a four-story building in San Francisco featuring Italianate architecture with tall windows and decorative brackets along the roofline. Inside, it offered spacious bedrooms, dining halls with columns, and special rooms for guests equipped with pianos and fine furnishings.
Built in three phases between 1861 and 1869 using foundation stones from Angel Island, the hotel attracted famous guests like Mark Twain and Ralph Waldo Emerson. It was destroyed in 1906 by the earthquake and the fires that followed.
The hotel's name came from its location on Montgomery Street, seen as a gateway to the West. It served as a meeting place for writers and thinkers who gathered in its halls to exchange ideas.
The hotel was located in a lively part of the city, making it easy for visitors to reach nearby shops and cafes. Its location made it convenient to explore other historic sites in San Francisco.
A bartender named Jerry Thomas worked there and is credited with inventing the Martini cocktail, earning more than the country's vice-president at the time. The literary magazine The Golden Era was also based there, making it a hub for writers and creative minds.
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