#914 - The Holbrooke Hotel
Posted by: 
Touchstone
N 39° 13.123 W 121° 03.787
10S E 667206 N 4342835
One of the oldest continuously operating Hotels in California, this California Historic Landmark is still a bustling focal point in Grass Valley, CA just as it was over 100 years ago.
Waymark Code: WMWCK
Location: California, United States
Date Posted: 10/25/2006
Views: 195
The official plaque reads:
The hotel was built in 1862 around the Golden Gate Saloon, originally
constructed in 1852 and the oldest continuously operating saloon in the Mother
Lode region. The hotel's one-story fieldstone and brick construction is an
outstanding example of mid-19th century Mother Lode masonry structures.
Located in downtown Grass Valley, this historic hotel gives a sense of
history. Antiques grace all twenty-eight rooms, each with private bath. The
Historical Landmark was built in 1851 in Victorian style and includes the Golden
Gate Saloon, one of the longest continually running bars "West of the
Mississippi". The saloon has copper clad walls, original mahogany wood and
Italian alabaster and marble. Holbrooke Hotel has hosted some of the most famous
names in U.S. and California history. Guest books, preserved and displayed in
the hotel lobby include the signatures of Presidents Ulysses S. Grant, Benjamin
Harrison, James A. Garfield and Grover Cleveland. Other famous guests were
writers Mark Twain and Bret Harte, heavyweight champion boxers Jim Corbett and
Bon Fitzsimmons, and the infamous Black Bart. Each room has been given the name
of a famous person who stayed there.
This Holbrooke Hotel has been the scene for a couple of ghost
sightings, including a 19th century woman who appeared in an upstairs hallway
and a cowboy in the Iron Door.
References: Deer
Creek School History Project, About.com