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Building History

The last Mexican Governor of California, Pio Pico (1801-09/11/1894), erected the first three-story hotel in Los Angeles, CA, at a cost of $80,000. Long considered the city's finest, Pico House had eighty rooms configured around a central courtyard. The court enabled abundant light to fill most rooms. Each room had gas lighting, and the second and third floors contained bathtubs. The hotel also features a grand staircase, a focal point of the first floor. In 1883, the hotel advertised that an "Elegant Billiard Parlor and Reading Room [were] connected with the establishment." Additionally, free bus service was available from the train depot to the hotel. (See "The Pico House" advertisement, Los Angeles Times, 03/17/1883, p. 0_3.) It is located in El Pueblo de Los Angeles Historic Monument, on the 400 block of Main Street, Los Angeles.

In 1881, N.R. Griswold operated the Pico House. (See Los Angeles, California, City and County Directory, 1881-2, [Los Angeles: Southern California Directory Company, 1881], p. 172.) Dunham and Schieffelin had become the proprietors by 09/1882. (See Pico House classified ad, Los Angeles Times, 09/24/1882, p. 01.)

Building Notes

Gebhard and Winter, Guide to Architecture in Southern California, 1965, put the construction date at 1868.