Wikipedia

C Street Inn

(Redirected from Draft:C Street Inn)
"Cecil Hotel (San Diego)" redirects here. For other uses, see Cecil Hotel.

The C Street Inn, formerly known as the Cecil Hotel, is a housing complex in Downtown San Diego that was vacated in 2022 due to egregious conditions. It was the first steel frame structure in San Diego when it was built in 1911. When it opened in 1912, it was the only class A, fireproof building in the city.

C Street Inn
Map
Former namesHotel Cecil, Cecil Hotel, The Cecil
General information
StatusCompleted
Address630–636 C St, San Diego, California, 92101, United States
Town or citySan Diego
CountryUnited States of America
Coordinates32°43′01.1″N 117°09′31.6″W / 32.716972°N 117.158778°W / 32.716972; -117.158778
Completed1911
OpenedFebruary 1, 1912
OwnerJax Properties LLC
LandlordJack Shah Rafiq
Height
Top floor6
Technical details
Floor count6
Lifts/elevators2
Design and construction
Architect(s)San Diego Construction Co.
Other information
Number of rooms61

The San Diego Natural History Museum had its first exhibits on display at the hotel before relocating to Balboa Park. One of the hotel's owners, Charles L. Dix, helped build the Cecil Hotel in Los Angeles in 1924. Throughout its history, the hotel has been the location of numerous criminal incidents.[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8]

History

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The hotel was built by the San Diego Construction Co. and was the first steel frame structure in San Diego.[1][9] It was initially contracted to Crane Bros. but was leased in 1911 to secretary James H. Babcock of Babcock Investment Co., president W. M. Dickinson and treasurer C. A. Blodgett.[1] The hotel had 61 rooms with the intention of adding an additional 52 rooms by the time in opened for business on February 1, 1912.[1] By April, the hotel had opened and was the only class A, fireproof building in the city.[10] Visitors of the hotel include Billie Ritchie, Tod Sloan and Chick Gandil.[11][12][13] In June, the San Diego Construction Co. petitioned the city for an open air stage at the hotel's rear.[14] Babcock supervised Bab's German Garden Restaurant neighboring the hotel,[15] located at 636 C Street.[6][7][16] A representative for RICE and hernia expert held a events at the hotel in 1925 and 1933.[17][18]

1912–1934

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In 1912, the San Diego Natural History Museum held its first exhibits in rooms at the Cecil.[19][20] In 1913, Willis P. Polhemus bought the hotel, formerly leased by Drayton D. Whitten.[21]

In 1920, the Greeters of San Diego held an election at the U.S. Grant Hotel, electing George Best at the first vice president of the hotel.[22] In 1921, the hotel was sold to Charles L. Dix for $110,000.[23] In 1923, the Marston Co. purchased the hotel for and undisclosed amount of money.[24] Dix said that part of the lease included that management would not change for three years.[2] In 1924, Dix relocated to Los Angeles where he and Banks Hanner built the 700 room Cecil Hotel.[25] In 1926, D. D. Whitten was proposed for board of governor.[26]

In 1930, the Marston Co. planned to expand the hotel for the Marston store's rug and drapery departments.[3] In 1931, Roland Schneider was elected secretary and former secretary Whitten was elected treasurer.[27] In 1934, Polhemus sold the property to an undisclosed buyer for $75,000.[21]

1990–2022

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In the 1990s, Hotel Cecil became known as the C Street Inn.[28][29] In 1990, a fire started on the third floor, which 25 tenants were evacuated. A cigarette from a new tenant caused a blaze of $2,500 in damages.[28] In 1992, William Dean Short, a prison escapee from Muskogee, Oklahoma was caught and arrested at the inn.[30] In 1998, the inn was damaged and 40 people were evacuated due to a cigarette igniting a mattress on the fourth floor.[31][32] In 1999, a fire broke out causing evacuation of the building. Police safely helped a man who jumped out of his hotel window to avoid smoke inhalation.[29][33]

In 2009, the hotel faced a default.[34] In 2022, the hotel had to be vacated for infestations of mold, rodents, fire hazards and horrid living conditions.[4][35] The city and attorney Mara Elliott said owner Jack Shah Rafiq and his company Jax Properties LLC[7][8][36] would be held responsible for covering the occupants' relocation costs that totaled $339,840.[4][37] Rafiq appealed and claimed the city wanted low-income residents out of the area.[6][38]

A fire marshal and police attempted to get people out in April, but that was unsuccessful after they spoke with Rafiq. Tenants received a 10 day eviction notice in May that was not followed up.[39] Elliott announced in July that the building was a public nuisance and that residents would be relocated.[8][40] Neil Rico was living in the building at the time and claimed the situation was unfair to tenants who relied on the living quarters there to meet their fixed and limited incomes.[4] In August, a receiver was appointed control of the property.[8]

Criminal incidents

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In 1912, an American flag was stolen in front of the hotel.[41] That same year, Babcock had an advertising solicitor arrested for issuing bad checks to an innkeeper.[42]

In 1931, night clerk P. W. Price was robbed at gunpoint on the second floor of the hotel.[43] In 1932, night clerks of the Cecil and nearby Churchill Hotel were robbed within an hour of each other.[16]

In 1978, the Cecil was one of ten hotels in the downtown area raided by the San Diego Police Department. Policewomen went undercover as prostitutes, rented rooms, and made 15 arrests.[44][45]

The city alleges that excessive criminal activity was reported at the hotel, with police responding 190 times over a three year period since May of 2019, spending 465 hours to address burglaries, public intoxication, and other nuisances.[5][46][40]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d "Crane Hotel is leased, will be 4 floors higher". The San Diego Sun. 1911-12-09. p. 1. Retrieved 2024-10-01 – via Newspapers.com.
  2. ^ a b "Renew Lease on Cecil Hotel for Three More Years". The San Diego Sun. 1923-02-14. p. 4. Retrieved 2024-10-01 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. ^ a b "Marston Plans New Expansion". The San Diego Sun. 1930-10-06. p. 13. Retrieved 2024-10-01 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ^ a b c d Ramirez, Jasmine (2022-07-25). "Downtown San Diego hotel to be vacated due to rodents, mold, other hazards". KFMB-TV. Retrieved 2022-08-15.
  5. ^ a b "Owner of 'Squalid' 109-Year-Old Hotel in Downtown San Diego Ordered to Help Relocate 72 Occupants: City". KNSD. 2022-07-25. Retrieved 2022-08-15.
  6. ^ a b c Davis, Dillon (2022-07-25). "Downtown hotel with 'deplorable' conditions vacated by city". KSWB-TV. Retrieved 2022-08-15.
  7. ^ a b c Jennewein, Chris (2022-07-26). "City Attorney Orders Crumbling SRO Hotel Downtown to Be Vacated". Times of San Diego. Retrieved 2022-08-15.
  8. ^ a b c d Figueroa, Teri (2022-09-30). "San Diego City Attorney seeking penalties from owner of downtown hotel declared 'public nuisance'". San Diego Union-Tribune. Archived from the original on 2022-09-30. Retrieved 2023-01-15.
  9. ^ "A Campaign for 330 New Shareholders in San Diego". The San Diego Sun. 1912-08-05. p. 10. Retrieved 2024-10-03 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. ^ "The Complete Hotel Cecil". The San Diego Sun. 1912-04-06. p. 2. Retrieved 2024-10-03 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. ^ "Expo Buildings Safe, Anyway, As Comedians Work". The San Diego Sun. 1915-10-25. p. 3. Retrieved 2024-10-03 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. ^ "Tod Sloan All Right". The San Diego Sun. 1897-11-30. p. 1. Retrieved 2024-10-03 – via Newspapers.com.
  13. ^ "Chic Gandil of Chicago White Sox is in town". The San Diego Sun. 1919-11-01. p. 20. Retrieved 2024-10-03 – via Newspapers.com.
  14. ^ "Open Air". The San Diego Sun. 1912-06-13. p. 1. Retrieved 2024-10-03 – via Newspapers.com.
  15. ^ "Bab's German Garden Restaurant". The San Diego Sun. 1912-11-16. p. 11. Retrieved 2024-10-03 – via Newspapers.com.
  16. ^ a b "Hotels Lose $60 To Bandit: Robber Carefully Wipes Away Fingerprints". The San Diego Sun. 1932-04-02. p. 1. Retrieved 2024-10-03 – via Newspapers.com.
  17. ^ "Rupture Expert For Men, Women, and Children Coming to San Diego". The San Diego Sun. 1925-02-20. p. 4. Retrieved 2024-10-03 – via Newspapers.com.
  18. ^ "Coming To End Rupture Troubles". The San Diego Sun. 1933-05-23. p. 2. Retrieved 2024-10-03 – via Newspapers.com.
  19. ^ Pfledderer, Sarah (2018-10-30). "Inside the Icon: The Nat". San Diego Magazine. Retrieved 2024-10-03.
  20. ^ "History". The Nat. Retrieved 2024-10-03.
  21. ^ a b "Cecil Hotel Sold". The San Diego Sun. 1934-02-12. p. 1. Retrieved 2024-10-03 – via Newspapers.com.
  22. ^ "San Diego Greeters Elect New Officers". The San Diego Sun. 1920-05-12. p. 1. Retrieved 2024-10-03 – via Newspapers.com.
  23. ^ "Cecil Sold". The San Diego Sun. 1921-06-07. p. 2. Retrieved 2024-10-03 – via Newspapers.com.
  24. ^ "Marston Buys Hotel". The San Diego Sun. 1923-02-13. p. 6. Retrieved 2024-10-03 – via Newspapers.com.
  25. ^ "S.D. Hotel Owner Builds L.A. "Cecil"". The San Diego Sun. 1924-06-28. p. 24. Retrieved 2024-10-03 – via Newspapers.com.
  26. ^ "Greeters Meet to Propose Leaders". The San Diego Sun. 1926-11-11. p. 20. Retrieved 2024-10-03 – via Newspapers.com.
  27. ^ "Mosher Takes Office Tonight". The San Diego Sun. 1931-01-19. p. 2. Retrieved 2024-10-03 – via Newspapers.com.
  28. ^ a b "25 Evacuated During Apartment Blaze". The Los Angeles Times. 1990-06-21. ProQuest 281178609. Retrieved 2024-10-04.
  29. ^ a b "Man leaps to escape hotel fire". North County Times. 1999-07-24. p. 23. Retrieved 2024-10-03 – via Newspapers.com.
  30. ^ "Escaped Convict Arrested at Hotel". The Los Angeles Times. 1992-05-13. p. 189. ProQuest 281562790. Retrieved 2024-10-03 – via Newspapers.com.
  31. ^ "40 evacuated when fire damages downtown hotel". San Diego Union Tribune. ProQuest 271616823. Retrieved 2024-10-03.
  32. ^ "Early morning fire rousts hotel guests; none injured | Burning mattress in 4th-floor hall". San Diego Union Tribune. ProQuest 271623161. Retrieved 2024-10-03.
  33. ^ Hughes, Joe (1999-07-24). "Fire routs residents | 1 injured in 2-alarm blaze at SRO hotel; halogen lamp cited". San Diego Union Tribune. ProQuest 271643843. Retrieved 2024-10-03.
  34. ^ Lewis, Connie (2009-07-06). "Number of Hotel Foreclosures, Defaults Increasing". San Diego Business Journal. p. 4. ProQuest 226944527. Retrieved 2024-10-03.
  35. ^ "Downtown San Diego hotel to be vacated due to `deplorable' conditions". KGTV. 2022-07-25. Retrieved 2022-08-15.
  36. ^ "Downtown News Briefs – Feb. 2023". SDNews.com. 2023-02-08. Archived from the original on 2023-03-27. Retrieved 2023-10-03.
  37. ^ "Ayuntamiento: Propietario de hotel de 109 años de antigüedad en el centro de San Diego recibe orden para ayudar a reubicar a 72 ocupantes". Telemundo San Diego (20) (in Spanish). 2022-07-26. Retrieved 2022-08-15.
  38. ^ "Downtown San Diego hotel to be vacated because of 'deplorable' conditions". KPBS Public Media. 2022-07-25. Retrieved 2022-08-15.
  39. ^ Warth, Gary; Cook, Morgan (2022-07-27). "Hotel residents say future uncertain as they face eviction from building city says is unsafe". The San Diego Union-Tribune. Archived from the original on 2022-07-27. Retrieved 2022-08-15.
  40. ^ a b Elliott, Mara W. (2022-07-25). "Downtown Residential Hotel Ordered to Vacate" (PDF). City of San Diego.
  41. ^ "Flag Stolen". The San Diego Sun. 1912-04-18. p. 11. Retrieved 2024-10-03 – via Newspapers.com.
  42. ^ "Check Charge". The San Diego Sun. 1912-08-12. p. 14. Retrieved 2024-10-03 – via Newspapers.com.
  43. ^ "Thug Takes $31 in Hotel Theft". The San Diego Sun. 1931-01-05. p. 16. Retrieved 2024-10-03 – via Newspapers.com.
  44. ^ Garlington, Phil (1978-09-15). "Police Raid 10 Downtown Hotels". The Los Angeles Times. p. 19. Retrieved 2024-10-03 – via Newspapers.com.
  45. ^ Garlington, Phil (1978-09-15). "Downtown Hotel Raid". The Los Angeles Times. p. 23. Retrieved 2024-10-03 – via Newspapers.com.
  46. ^ Berjan, Sarah (2022-07-25). "109-year-old hotel in Downtown San Diego to be vacated due to 'deplorable' conditions". ChulaVistaToday.com. Archived from the original on 2022-07-26. Retrieved 2022-08-15.
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