Now Abandoned and Condemned Hotel in CA

Tweet

The settlement of Ukiah began in 1856 when Samuel Lowry built for himself a log cabin in the land inhabited by those Pomo Indians who called themselves "Yokayo", The Valley People. In 1859, Ukiah became the county seat for Mendocino, but it was not until the 1890s that Ukiah experienced its first major growth spurt as a consequence of the coming of the railroad. The intimate connection between the town and the hotel dates back to 1891 when the present Palace was built to replace the original hotel, which fell victim to one of Ukiah's numerous late 19th-century fires. One institution with its roots in the very early days is the present Palace Hotel.

The Palace was considered to be Ukiah's first "plush" hotel; its walls were made of brick, in contrast to the wooden structures of the town's other hotels. The Palace has historically been a rallying place for distinguished visitors, as well as for the City's local luminaries. Two California governors, Richardson and Pardee, lodged at the Palace, as did film stars such as Elona Macey and Hoot Gison. It is rumored that Black Bart, who once robbed a stage between Ukiah and Willits, also took his comforts at the Palace. To this day the restaurant's bar is still called the Black Bart Room. Partially because of the Palace's fine reputation as the "in" spot for Ukiah's elite, and partially because of the sturdiness of its construction, it has remained an attractive source of pride and historical involvement for the residents of Mendocino.

The Palace Hotel was first built by a man named Fox and, subsequently, operated by Mr. Williams, then by Mr. and Mrs. Haughsted. In 1904 the Sandelins, owners of a small hotel in the prestigious Garavanti family. They had heard that Mr. Haughsted had lost his life in an oil fire at the hotel and that his widow was eager to sell. The Sandelins purchased a fifty-room, two-bath hotel and all of its furnishings for under $10,000. Eventually, they were able to purchase the real estate, too, from Judge J. M. Mannon.

Ukiah, the county seat since 1859, had 3,500 inhabitants, twenty saloons, and two houses of ill-repute. "Shootouts", some of which were fatal, were a common phenomenon, but the Palace was more wholesome by reputation. Instead, its rather respectable patrons could expect a quiet, elegant meal "from soup to nuts" for 75 cents (regular customers paid only 50 cents). The Sandelins were fortunate to have the services of Wong Lung, the cook, who remained in their employ for fifty years.

In the early days people traveled by train, the Southern Pacific Railroad reaching as far as Eureka with a stop in Willits. Two horse stages met the trains at Willits and delivered the guests, mostly traveling salesmen, to the hotel. The Palace "bus" was kept at the livery stable next to and underneath the original building. These salesmen paid $1.50 a night for a room and the use of the "sample rooms", which are now the Ukiah Travel Agency. These rooms were provided specifically to offer the gentlemen a place to display the wares they brought with them in huge trunks.

The structure of the old hotel was both substantial and attractive. To this day one of its more notable architectural qualities is the character of the original brickwork, made by U. N. Briggs at the local brickyard. No damage was done during the great earthquake of 1906. And in 1915, when Frank Sandelin built the first addition to the hotel, it was only because the original structure was too small to meet the demand. An extension of twenty or so rooms was built adjacent to the west face of the older building. Considered very modern in its day, it had a bath for every two rooms, and everyone connected. Each room had running water and a wood-burning stove. It was young Walter's duty to deliver kindling to each room daily, but the guests were obliged to keep their own fires burning. The kitchen stove, too, was woodburning, as was the first steam heat, installed in 1920. Eventually, the main source of fuel became oil, kept in a 30,000-gallon storage tank, which is still there beneath the store on the ground floor.

In 1925, an Otis elevator, which is still running, was installed, soon followed by a large central fireplace in the lobby.

Frank Sandelin died in 1926, and his son Walter took over. In 1928, Walter made friends with a San Francisco garment tycoon who felt another addition to the Palace would be a boon. So convinced was he that he hired an architect for the project before Walter had even agreed to it. He also secured a loan from Wells Fargo by putting up his personal securities as collateral. For $150,000 Walter had built an impressive new addition against the South side of the earlier buildings; fifty-two rooms, each with private bath and a modern lobby. It was finished on Labor Day, 1929. The rooms rented for $3.50 over Walter's protestations that they were too expensive.

The Depression came, causing serious setbacks in the hotel business. Prohibition had put an end to the sale of liquor. But conventions, such as those of the Native Sons, The Druids, and The Grange, kept the Palace going; and Wells Fargo never pressed the hotel for total payment. Walter's son, Bob, started converting rooms into first-class apartments, which were easily rentable at $75.00 per month, and, ultimately, it was their partial conversion that enabled the hotel to keep its doors open during the 1930's. Since that time the Palace Hotel has survived the ups and downs of small hotels all over America: gas rationing during a wartime economy in the forties, competition from larger motel chains, and modern preferences for newness and efficiency over age and beauty.

Mr. Sandelin's younger sister, Stella Douglas, still lives at the Palace, as do many senior members of the community. The owners of the Palace Hotel are indebted to the memories and recollections of these people and hope to have some part in preserving their history, a history which is inextricably interwoven with that of the Palace Hotel.

Since 1891 the Palace Hotel has been a formidable institution in Ukiah. From its vantage point at the busy intersection of Smith and N. State Street, it has witnessed all of the city's major growth. The hotel's success, as well as the survival of the community, were for many years contingent on the operation of the railroad. Located just three blocks from the original railway station (which made it the closest hotel), the Palace housed the merchants and tourists that made Ukiah come alive commercially. The last spike of the Ukiah rails was driven on February 9^th, 1889. After waiting 17 years, Ukiah was a railroad town. Progress came to Ukiah with open throttle. The Palace is the only building in town of that era that still serves its original purpose. "There may have been others through the years, but the Palace stands alone now, rich in its historical union with the City of Ukiah".

The Hotel has fallen into disrepair and has been condemned as a safety hazard. Controversy continues on the fate of the building. Palace Hotel Demolition Scheme: State Agency Leaves Fate Hanging Amidst $6.6 Million Controversy

State Agency Dismisses Imminent Palace Hotel Demolition Challenging Findings of Ground Contamination

Building Description

The Palace Hotel in Ukiah consists of four structures built between the years 1891 and 1929. The original hotel building was constructed in 1891, during the first major period of growth of the City following its founding, and is the finest example of brick construction of the period remaining in the City.

The building was undoubtedly the most lavish of the brick buildings of that era and has a number of features worthy of mention. At the ground level, the lobby and dining room (still generally in the same relative locations) were framed with sculptured cast iron columns and pilasters, two of which remain exposed at the corner of State and Smith Streets. They are very typical of the period. The original canopy over the front entrance was a wood frame structure that was replaced prior to World War I (probably between 1900 - 1910) with the existing cast-iron frame canopy of Tiffany glass inserts reading "Palace Hotel" and decorative moldings, all well-reserved. The canopy itself is hung from the brick wall by means of heavy wrought chains issuing from the mouths of cast iron lion head escutcheons over the anchor bolts. The fenestration at all hotel rooms (second and third floors) remains double hung wood sash with, in many cases, the original sheet glass intact. The sash has flat heads, and was fitted to the arched brick lintels with wood inserts containing jigsawn decorative appliques that are in surprisingly good condition.

The brick design surrounding the windows are more complex than others in town and the arches over each window have projecting brick sections dropping below the arch line of each window in a manner more common to wood frame structures of the period.

At the roof line is a brick "architrave" flat on top, in the classical greek fashion, with fairly well defined "triglyphs" rather widely spaced between a brick ledge and an ornate victorian cornice above. The cornice work faces State Street only.

On the inside, still preserved, the ceramic paved lobby floor is of note, being of ashlar layout and containing occasional incised tiles, well-worn but still distinct.

The second structure, built probably only a few years after the hotel, was undoubtedly constructed by another owner. It also faces State Street, is brick and one story in height. At one time it had been a produce market, and the southern half of the structure remains a retail store today, while the northern half has been incorporated into the hotel lobby.

The building was fairly utilitarian in appearance, and with the exception of replacement of storefront glazing, is pretty much the same as it was when built. Its one distinctive feature is the unusual transom glass, recently uncovered and still intact, installed over the original Storefront. It consists of 4 x 4 glass tiles, leaded into large "windows". The glass tiles are of two kinds, one plain and the other incorporated as a framing pattern for the windows, is an interesting colored 4 x 4 translucent glass tile, cast with a delicate grecian urn raised pattern centered in each tile.

The third structure, built in 1915, was the first addition to the hotel, and is a brick structure facing School and Smith Streets. The builder made no effort to match brick coursing, patterns, fenestration, or anything else, to the original building.

On the outside, plain brick arched lintels over wood awning sash (of a different size than the original) and a simple coping at the wall tops show that this was just the back side of the hotel, and on the interior courtyard of the upper two stories, the framing is sheathed with sheet metal panels and all openings are simple uncased wall penetrations. A point of note is that the same type of wall sheathing exists on the older structure at the upper floors, and is in the form of rectangular panels. On the 1915 addition the panels are square and laid in a diamond pattern. The School Street face of this addition has been altered a number of times, and is not of any architectural interest.

The final building, and by far the largest of the four, is the 1929 addition to the hotel, which covers the southwest quadrant of the property and also covers the second structure with two floors of rooms and apartments. This building shows strong Bauhaus influence and is, to my knowledge, the only one of its kind in Ukiah.

The three-story building is a cast-in-place reinforced concrete column and beam structure, with concrete exterior walls containing undecorated rectangular penetrations for steel window sash. Since the ground floor was originally a garage (converted later to retail sales) the second floor is a cast-in-place one-way concrete slab, again unique to its time in Ukiah.

The sole ornamentation on any exterior face of this addition is a horizontal concrete projection "cornice" that looks much like an outsize Ogee gutter and stretches from nowhere to nowhere about two feet below the parapet facing both School and State Streets.

The Palace Hotel is located on North State Street, which has been the main thoroughfare of Ukiah for nearly a century. The intersection of Smith and State Streets has retained its original retail orientation, so that in essence the hotel as well as its location have not changed in character since their earliest days.

All sections of the property are three stories and combined cover 20,000 square feet of land, less sidewalks. They have all retained their original character and basic appearance, though their condition has somewhat deteriorated with age.

(1979)

(1979)

(1979)

(1979)

(1979)

(1979)

(1979)

(1979)

(1979)