Does anyone know if this Hotel still exists? Many notables lived there, including Gavin McNab, Dr. Washington Dodge, and so forth. Where is/was it located?

-- Jan C. Nielsen (nielsenjanc@aol.com), March 16, 2002

Answers

According to this site, it once stood where the Russ Building now does at Sutter and Montgomery Streets. During the 1906 Earthquake, it only had a fire in the drugstore downstairs.

www.goldrushtrail.org/walkfin.html

Interesting site!

-- Miss Rosa (rosadebon@yahoo.com), March 17, 2002.

Apparently there were two Occidental Hotels on Montgomery Street in San Francisco.

The first one (going back to the 1860s)was in the 100 block. You can see pictures in the Library's Photo Collection.

The second-- first called the New Occidental(1915) and then the Occidental(1923)-- was in the 600 Block.

Good luck in your research.

Kurt

-- Kurt Iversen (iversenk@aol.com), March 17, 2002.

The four story, Italianate style Occidental Hotel was built in three stages during 1861-1869 and when completed occupied the entire east side of Montgomery Street, from Sutter to Bush. The architects were Caleb Hyatt, Thomas Johnston, and William Mooser. It was built about the same time as the Lick House (7-23 Montgomery) and the Russ House (where today's Russ Building is located). Together, these were the premier hotels of the city until the 1870s, when the Palace and Baldwin were built, and remained pretty high-class places until they went down in the earthquake and fire of 1906. For illustrations, see Victorian San Francisco: The 1895 Illustrated Directory, by Windgate Press (1996).

-- Bill Kostura (sfinoakland@aol.com), May 03, 2002.

Quite right the Occidental is gone. Let me know if you want a photo. My Granddad was Pastry Chef until she went down in 1906. He told stories about how the place really shook. As I recall she was dynamited, because she was no longer safe (but not in dynamited in fire control) but I could be mistaken.

-- Murphy Terrell (Murphy_Terrell@att.net), November 15, 2004.