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Building History

Two previous wood-frame versions of the Hotel Del Monte burned in 1887 and 1924. The newly-formed Del Monte Properties Company purchased the Del Monte Hotel in 1919 from the remains of the once-powerful Pacific Improvement Company. President of the Del Monte Properties Company, Samuel F.B. Morse (1885-1969), retained the San Francisco architects Lewis P. Hobart (1873-1954) and Clarence Tantau, Sr. (1884-1943) as associated architects to rebuild right after the 1924 fire. They focused on fire-resistance in their design for the hotel's third and final iteration by fortifying the structure with steel and concrete, in a configuration that sprawled over its beach-front site. It operated as a luxury hotel from 1928-1951, although the Depression weakened the Del Monte Company's solvency.

The US Navy purchased the hotel in 1951 to become its Naval Postgraduate School. The school moved across the country from its previous location in Annapolis, MD.

Building Notes

The Del Monte Hotel was an extensive Spanish Colonial Revival Style building, with white stucco walls and red tile covering compound hipped roofs. The hotel composed a basically "Y"-shaped plan. A ceremonial, central axis faced the main drive and contained the main entryway and lobby; three rows of multi-floor wings attached perpendicularly to the main spine. The building's rear featured two wings set parallel to the central axis, forming the top of the "Y," each containing guest rooms.The majority of the hotel had four floors, while a taller viewing tower rose to the northwest of the main entry. To the north and northwest, lay the Pacific, easily viewed from the upper stories.

Tel: 831.656.2023 (2011).

PCAD id: 16844