Orleans Hotel

Orleans Hotel
1857 sketch of Orleans Hotel with its neighboring buildings
Location1018 2nd Street, Sacramento, California (Old Sacramento)
Coordinates38°34′57″N 121°30′17″W / 38.58256°N 121.50463°W / 38.58256; -121.50463
Built1852
Reference no.608[1]

The Orleans Hotel is a building listed as a California Historical Landmark.[1] Formerly a prominent hotel in Sacramento, California, it now serves as upscale apartments in Old Sacramento.

History

The original Orleans Hotel was built by materials from New Orleans shipped around Cape Horn by its owner Maria Hastings.[2] There were 40 rooms and a saloon downstairs that served as a frequent stop for stagecoaches that were on their way to the mines during the California Gold Rush.[2] Mark Twain had even resided in the hotel in 1866 during his employment at the Sacramento Union.[3] The building burned down in 1852 along with many other Sacramento buildings in a large fire. It was rebuilt by the next year, this time in brick, only to meet the same fate in another fire in 1923.[2]

Several attempts were made to build on the site of the former Orleans Hotel since 1975,[4][5] but none succeeded until a business owner financed a new mixed-use building in 2007, with construction finished in 2008.[6]

Today the new Orleans Hotel replica is a four-story building with an exterior that matches the Gold Rush-era original. There are 24 rental lofts on the upper floors and was built with plans for a restaurant and other retail opportunities on the bottom floor.[7]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b "Orleans Hotel". Office of Historic Preservation, California State Parks. Retrieved 2012-10-11.
  2. ^ a b c Davila, Robert (22 January 1990). "PLANNED REBIRTH MAY FAIL AGAIN FOR HISTORIC HOTEL". The Sacramento Bee. p. B1.
  3. ^ Roberts, Alison (21 May 2005). "Twain spotting - The famed author spent only a little time in Sacramento , but we still say he's ours". The Sacramento Bee. p. E1.
  4. ^ Alim, Faizah (1 August 1987). "TRYING TO RECREATE HISTORIC HOTEL $9.1 MILLION OLD SACRAMENTO PLAN FACES REDEVELOPMENT HEARING MONDAY". The Sacramento Bee. p. B2.
  5. ^ "OLD SACRAMENTO HOTEL PLAN ADVANCES". The Sacramento Bee. 4 August 1987. p. B3.
  6. ^ Vellinga, Mary Lynne (4 July 2008). "Downtown's projects rise in face of downturn - Hotels, offices, lofts in Sacramento's core are staying on track". The Sacramento Bee. p. A1.
  7. ^ Shallit, Bob (30 September 2008). "Old Sac apartments offer tony rooms -- with a view". The Sacramento Bee. p. B1.