Hotel San Carlos
Introduction
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Hotel San Carlos is one of the more important landmarks in Phoenix. It was built in 1928 and designed by Los Angeles architect George Whitecross Ritchie in the Italian Renaissance Revival style. The hotel was the first truly modern building in the Southwest: it was the first high-rise in the region with air conditioning an elevator (hand operated), and had a steam heat radiator system (this is still operating today). It also featured Italian tapestries, a card room, dance room, an outdoor sun room, and chilled ice water taps in every room (these still exist though are no longer operating). The interior, particularly in the lobby, has largely retained its original woodwork and other decorative elements such as textured concrete decorations. Numerous celebrities, politicians, and other notables have stayed here including Marilyn Monroe and Cary Grant. The hotel was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1983.
Images
Backstory and Context
Text-to-speech Audio
Sources
"History of Our Phoenix Hotel." Hotel San Carlos. Accessed March 15, 2017. http://www.hotelsancarlos.com/history.php.
"Hotel San Carlos 1928." The Historical Marker Database. Accessed March 15, 2017. http://www.hmdb.org/marker.asp?MarkerID=27614.