Dominion House Apartments history

Once the town started to develop, the two men began building the Hotel del Coronado in 1886.

When the ground broke on the project in January of 1887, the construction focused solely on the northern façade before expanding to the more complicated sections of the building.

Built in 1888, "The Del" embarks on a new chapter that will ensure the resort’s place in the hearts and minds of our guests for the next 100 years and beyond.

By 1890, Spreckels ultimately bought out both Babcock and Story.

1891: President Benjamin Harrison and his first wife, Caroline Scott, had breakfast at the Hotel del Coronado with California Governor Henry H. Markham and Mexican politician Luis E. Torres.

1900: Hotel del Coronado opened its renowned “Tent City”—a campground composed of many luxurious tents meant for those who could not afford the expensive rates at the main building.

1904: Author L. Frank Baum visited the Hotel del Coronado for the very first time.

204: Hotel History: The Skirvin Hotel, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma (1911) Part 2

The Roosevelts had a long history of visiting the destination, with the President’s first trip occurring in 1915 while he was serving as the Assistant Secretary of the Navy.

The Married Virgin (1918)

1935: President Franklin Delano Roosevelt and his wife, Eleanor, booked a stay at the Hotel del Coronado in order to attend that year’s California Pacific International Exposition.

The nearby military base, Naval Air Station San Diego, even enabled the Hotel Del Coronado to appear in military-themed movies, such as the film Dive Bomber in 1941.

The Spreckels family retained ownership of “the Del” until 1948.

While the Del has been the location for many movies, perhaps the most famous was Some Like It Hot (1959), starring Marilyn Monroe, Jack Lemmon and Tony Curtis.

209: Hotel History: The Americana of New York (1962)

1970: President Richard Nixon hosted a special state dinner at the Hotel del Coronado’s historic Crown Room for Mexican President Gustavo Diaz Ordaz.

1977: The United States Department of the Interior bestowed the coveted status of National Historic Landmark onto the Hotel del Coronado.

1979: The Hotel del Coronado hosted a grand reception at the Hotel del Coronado for United States President Jimmy Carter, who had arrived in the area in order to attend AFL-CIO Building and Construction Trades convention.

1996: Following Larry Lawrence’s death, his family sold the entire location to the Travelers Group.

Known more commonly as “Travelers,” the corporation was—and still is—one of the largest American insurance companies. It then began a $55 million renovation of the hotel in 2001.

2006: Blackstone Group became the majority owner of the hotel, with Strategic Hotels & Resorts and KSL Resorts acting as partners.

In March 2016, Blackstone sold Strategic Hotels & Resorts to Anbang Insurance Group, a Beijing-based Chinese insurance company, in a $6.5 billion deal involving 16 luxury American hotel properties including the Hotel del Coronado.