Panama Hotel - San Diego, CA
Posted by: 
bluesnote
N 32° 42.808 W 117° 09.846
11S E 484621 N 3619534
A historic hotel in downtown San Diego, California. It was built specifically for the 1915 World's Fair which was right here in San Diego.
Waymark Code: WM1CDHG
Location: California, United States
Date Posted: 08/02/2025
Views: 0
Taken from the NRHP nomination form, "The Senator Hotel is a four story (plus penthouse and basement) reinforced concrete structure.,located on a single sub-divided lot of 50' x 100' with an area contained at street level of 5000 square feet. The building has a total of 19,254 gross square feet of area. Surrounding buildings have been removed,by recent redevelopment activities leaving the building standing alone on a corner across from the new Federal Courthouse and State offices.
The exterior walls of the building are reinforced concrete, with steel lintels and columns at the first floor. The interior framing is heavy timber post and beam with steel post cap connections. Presently the first floor is occupied by a cocktail lounge, lobby, and restaurant. The upper floors operate as a hotel.
The original elevator, a 550 volt manually operated cage elevator is still in operation. The floors of the cocktail lounge and lobby feature 1" hexagonal mosaic patterned ceramic tile. The exterior wall ornamentation is derived from Renaissance Revival sources with some Sullivanesque details. Recessed panels set in the mid-section piers are bordered with fretwork. These are countered with raised panels in the spandrels.
Narrow moldings outlining thebeILt course echo the delicate linear pattern in the piers. Small square insets with a cross motif enrich the belt course as well. Square panels trimmed with fretwork and quatrefoils separate each pair of windows in the fourth floor. Weighted with brackets, the heavy cornice dominates the composition. A parapet resembling a battlement crowns the cornice, giving the hotel a castle-like appearance.
Alterations have been confined to the ground floor and are limited to signage covering transoms on the north, the enclosure of easternmost bay on the north side, and the enclosure of the bays and transoms on the east side. The corner entrance to the bar was added sometime after 1924. A metal and glass canopy over the main hotel entrance has been removed.
Original Name of Structure (during fair): Panama Hotel
Current Name of Structure: Panama Senator Building
Architect/Designer: Unknown
Fair Name: Panama-California Exposition
Location: San Diego, CA, USA
Year of Fair: 1915
Website Proof: [Web Link]
Website Reference: [Web Link]
Theme of Fair: Not listed
|
Visit Instructions:
To help give a different perspective and to better the waymark for future visitors please tell us about your visit and upload a favorite photograph you took of the waymark. Although visiting this waymark in person is the only thing required of you to receive credit for your visit, taking the time to add this information is greatly appreciated.
Recent Visits/Logs:
| There are no logs for this waymark yet. |
|
|
|