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The Hotel del Coronado on the beach in Coronado, California

The Hotel del Coronado has been selling the same view since 1888

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Photo: Armandoartist, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

In 1885, Elisha Babcock and Hampton Story bought most of the Coronado peninsula, then brush and jackrabbits, with the idea of turning it into a resort town. They sold lots and built a hotel to draw buyers. The Hotel del Coronado, designed by the Reid brothers, opened in 1888 with a red-roofed wooden building facing the Pacific.

The land boom of the late 1880s collapsed soon after, and the partners ran out of money. John D. Spreckels, the son of a sugar magnate, took control of the hotel and the Coronado land company in the 1890s, and his family kept it for decades.

Famous guests

The Del drew presidents, royalty and film stars. It was used as a location in Some Like It Hot, filmed in 1958, which made it a postcard image for a generation. It was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1977.

The modern business

The hotel has changed owners several times and has been expanded with newer buildings and cottages. A large renovation in recent years restored the original Victorian building and added new guest rooms and a beach village. It is now affiliated with Hilton’s Curio Collection.

The Del is one of the largest employers in Coronado and a major contributor to the city’s transient occupancy tax, which helps fund services. It also hosts conferences and weddings throughout the year, which fills rooms beyond the summer season. For Coronado, a city of about 20,000 people that is also home to a large Navy presence, the hotel remains its most recognizable business.

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