San Luis Obispo County CA Archives Photo Place.....Hotel Ramona 
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Joy Fisher sdgenweb@yahoo.com November 25, 2006, 10:55 pm

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THE HOTEL RAMONA Essex Street, San Luis Obispo

History and Description:

On April 18, 1886, the Andrews Hotel burned to the ground along with the Bank Of
San Luis Obispo, the post office, the town's principal livery stable, and a
number of small shops and offices.

The burning of the Andrews Hotei caused the formation of the California Southern
Hotel Company, headed by J. Millard Filmore, Charles Goodall, the Steeles, the
Marres, Morris Goldtree, and R. E. Jack.  The plans called for a fireproof,
brick hotel of 300 rooms, on a site where spacious grounds and plenty of room
would permit the building to be of the finest in central California.  The site
chosen faced on Essex Street (now Johnson Avenue).  Higuera ran down one side
and Marsh down the other.  It backed up to the Southern Pacific tracks. The
promoters suggested naming the hotel the Goodall, but the gentleman in question
politely declined the honor and said he would prefer the selection of a Spanish
name.  In due time, the hotel was called the Montezuma, until someone called
their attention to the fact that Montezuma was an Aztec monarch who hated the
Spanish, so the name was changed to Ramona, under which name it was completed
and opened with a grand ball and reception on October 3, 1888.

The financial panic of 1893 and the depression that followed it soon had its
effect on the narrow guage railroad that served the hotel.  The Ramona, which
had lost a considerable amount of patronage as soon as the Southern Pacific
reached town, closed its doors the day after Christmas, 1894.  The hotel had
been the social center of the community and it was badly missed.  The company
was reorganized, a new manager was hired and the hotel reopened with a grand
ball on July 15, 1895, again taking its place as the leading hotel of the region.

But the fate of the Ramona was to be that of its predecessor, for on November
10, 1905 in the early hours of the morning it was completely destroyed by fire.
 The hotel was jammed with 250 guests when the fire started in the kitchen, and
within an hour the building was a heap of ashes.  It was so far removed from
other buildings that the hotel was the only victim of the fire.

Sources:
History of San Luis Obispo County. Myron Angel 
The Pacific Coast Company. Gerald M. Best



Additional Comments:
Extracted from

Discovering San Luis Obispo County
by
Carleton M. Winslow


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