Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
w Mark Hopkins
InterContinental
Hotel
999 California St. Map 5 B4. Tel 392-
3434. @ 1. California St, Powell-
Mason, Powell-Hyde.
markhopkins.net
the original white terra-cotta
façade, it opened for business
one year later. After World War II
it was the scene of meetings
that led to the founding of the
United Nations. For stunning
views, ride the elevator to the
city's highest observation point,
the Fairmont Crown; or, enjoy a
cocktail at the hotel's famed
Tonga Room and Hurricane Bar.
At the behest of his wife Mary,
Mark Hopkins (see below)
arranged for a fantastic wooden
mansion, surpassing every other
for ostentatious ornamentation,
to be built on Nob Hill (see
below) . When Mrs. Hopkins died,
the house became home to the
fledgling San Francisco Art
Institute. It burned in the fire of
1906 (see pp30-31), and only the
granite retaining walls remain.
The present 25-story tower,
capped by a flag visible from all
over the city, was built in 1925
by architects Weeks and Day.
Top of the Mark (see p259) , the
glass-walled bar on the 19th
floor, is one of the most
celebrated of the city's drinking
establishments. World War II
servicemen customarily drank a
farewell toast to the city here
before leaving for overseas.
r The Pacific-Union
Club
1000 California St. Map 5 B4.
Tel 775-1234. @ 1. California St,
Powell-Mason, Powell-Hyde.
Closed to the public.
Forecourt of the Mark Hopkins
InterContinental Hotel
e Fairmont Hotel
950 Mason St. Map 5 B4. Tel 772-5000.
@ 1. California St, Powell-Mason,
Powell-Hyde. See Where to Stay p215 .
fairmont.com
Augustus Laver built this
townhouse for the “Bonanza
King” James Flood (see below) in
1885. Its Italianate, brown
sandstone façade survived the
1906 fire (see pp30-31) , though
the other mansions, built of
wood, were destroyed. The
gutted building was bought by
the Pacific-Union Club, an
exclusive gentlemen's club that
had its origins in Gold Rush San
Francisco (see pp26-7) .
Built by Tessie Fair Oelrichs (see
below) , this Beaux Arts building
was completed on the eve of
the 1906 earthquake (see pp30-
31) , and stood for two days
before it was burned down.
Rebuilt by Julia Morgan within
The Nobs of Nob Hill
“Nob” was one of the kinder
names reserved for the
unscrupulous entrepreneurs
who amassed vast fortunes
during the development of
the American West. Many of
the nobs who lived on Nob Hill
acquired other nicknames that
hint at the wild stories
behind their
vast wealth.
“Bonanza King”
James Flood
joined in a
partnership
with Irish
immigrants
James Fair, John
Mackay, and
made up the principal
investors behind the
first transcontinental
railway. Their
biggest enterprise,
the Central Pacific
Railroad (it was
later renamed
Southern Pacific)
was an influential
corporation in the
burgeoning West.
It acquired great wealth
and influence as a result
of the generous land
grants bestowed by the US
Congress to encourage railroad
construction. Bribery and
corruption made the Big Four
among the most hated men of
19th-century America.
In this capacity, they were
characterized by yet another
popular nickname: the
“Robber Barons.” All four built
big mansions on Nob Hill, but
these did not survive the
devastation of the 1906
earthquake and fire.
William O'Brien. In 1872,
the four men bought
controlling interests in
some dwindling
Comstock mines,
sinking new shafts
and striking a
“bonanza” - a rich
pocket of high-grade
silver ore. Flood
returned to San
Francisco as a millionaire
and bought a parcel of
land on the summit of
Nob Hill, across the street
from a plot owned by James Fair.
The Flood Mansion (now the
Pacific-Union Club) still stands.
The monument on Fair's property,
the Fairmont Hotel, was built by
his daughter, Tessie, after his
death (see above) .
Bonanza Jim
Mark Hopkins
1814-78
The Big Four
Other distinguished residents of
Nob Hill were the “Big Four,”
Leland Stanford, Mark Hopkins,
Charles Crocker, and Collis P.
Huntington. This shrewd quartet
 
Search WWH ::




Custom Search