Palace Hotel Timeline: 1901 to 1906

1901

February 3rd, 1901: R. J. Preston has taken Room 482 in the Palace Hotel. 

The Duke & Duchess of Manchester are staying at the Palace Hotel. 

February 13th, 1901: Walter R. Dinsmore, a young business man of this city, and Mrs. N. H. Cone were married yesterday at the Palace Hotel, where both of the happy couple reside as guests. The wedding was solemnized in the parlors of the bride's suite.

February 17th, 1901: McKINLEY'S TRIP MAY BE GIVEN UP. Extra Session May Prevent President's Visit to the Pacific Coast. The Palace Hotel management has gone to great expense buying new furniture and in other ways fixing up one of the best suites of apartments in the house in magnificent style not excelled by any hotel in America. Other hotel managers had also made elaborate preparations to care for the expected influx of visitors during the Presidential visit.

February 19th, 1901:

Card game in the Maple Room of the Palace Hotel. Sponsored by the California Club. 

March 16th, 1901: The General Citizens' Committee having in charge the reception to President McKinley held a meeting In the Mayor's office in the City Hall yesterday. It was decided to limit the expenditures for the reception to $15,000. The banquet will be held either In the Palace Hotel or the California Theater and 700 guests will be present.

March 27th, 1901: 

Manager J.C. Kirkpatrick of the Palace Hotel Is Appointed to Major Harney's Place on the State Board.

The old familiar sound of "front" to the bellboys of the Palace Hotel has ceased to have its charms. Since Manager Kirkpatrick' has won gubernatorial favor the cry is "water-front" or nothing.

April 2nd, 1901: Laundry Help at Palace Quit. Fifteen employes of the laundry connected with the Palace Hotel walked out yesterday. They assigned as reasons for quitting that under the new schedule that went into effect at 7 a. m. yesterday they should get that day off because they had worked Sunday. This was refused them and they quit. Their places were filled almost immediately.

April 10th, 1901: The event of Easter week, the wedding of Hugh Tevis and Miss Cornella Baxter, will take place this evening in the parlors of Mr. and Mrs. Baxter at the Palace Hotel.

April 21st, 1901: H. Anheiser, the hotel sneak thief who was convicted on a charge of burglary in Judge Cook's court for stealing an overcoat from the Palace Hotel on February 12, was yesterday sentenced to three and a half years in San Quentin. John West, a boy 16 years of age, was sent to the Whittier Reform School.

April 24th, 1901: Extensive plans for President McKinley's visit to the Palace Hotel are being made. 

April 26th, 1901: McDermott Made a Day Clerk. There possibly is no better known hotel clerk in the United States than John McDermott. He has held the position of night clerk at the Palace Hotel for the past ten years. "Mac," as he is popularly known, has recently been appointed a day clerk at the Palace and James Dunphy, who was on the day watch, takes his place at night. Frank M. Cummings another popular clerk of the hotel, has been confined to his home for several days with a severe attack of inflammation of the eyes.

April 30th, 1901: Walter R. Dinmore has for some time been connected as a salesman with the firm of Wetmore ,& Co., wine merchants. He engaged commodious rooms in the Palace Hotel and decorating them in a tasty manner, put a mercantile sign over the door and awaited wine patrons. He met with immediate success and large numbers of the tourists who were staying at the Palace visited his quarters and purchased California wines. He has recently declared bankruptcy with a negative account of $17,179.94.

May 7th, 1901: Citizens' Committee on Hotels is staying in Room 217 at the Palace Hotel.  

May 12th, 1901: PRESIDENT MCKINLEY IS TO USE THE CHAIR OF GEORGE WASHINGTON DURING HIS STAY IN SAN FRANCISCO. .....When General U. S. Grant came to San Francisco in 1879, Mr. Andrews wished him to sit in the chair. To accomplish this the owner decided to take it to the Palace Hotel, where the ex-President and his party were stopping. To trust his prize in the careless hands of an expressman was not to be thought of for a moment by Mr. Andrews. He therefore took the chair himself with horse and wagon over the long and dangerous road from Bolinas to San Francisco Bay and thence to the city by ferry, arriving in San Francisco on September 30.

     .....The chair has since belonged to their only daughter, Mrs. A. M. Hutchinson, now residing at 112 Fair Oaks Street, San Francisco, and will probably remain in her possession unless a tempting offer comes from a lover of antiquities. The treasure will be returned to her keeping after the President has paid his visit to San Francisco. 

May 13th, 1901: President to be guest of honor at Ohio society banquet. The banquet to be given by the Ohio Society in the ladies' grill room, Palace Hotel, Thursday night will be one of the most pleasant events of the President's visit. There will be 460 covers laid. President McKinley, the members of his Cabinet and Governor Nash will be the guests of honor.

May 17th, 1901: Mrs. McKinley's Illness. Secretary Cortelyou they met with members of the committee and decided to abandon the banquet at the Palace Hotel, for which such elaborate preparations had been made. The women of the Ohio Society had previously decided not to attempt to give their banquet at the California Hotel for the ladies of the Presidential party. The events scheduled for the afternoon were abandoned one by one, as those in charge had time to meet and reach such decision officially.

May 18th, 1901:

Banquet tendered by the Citizens of San Francisco to William McKinley, President of the United States.

Palace Hotel. Menu printed on 24k gold tablets!

Menu photos internet sourced.

Surprisingly, I have not found any articles of photos of this event in the papers. Such events in the past were covered extensively. 

May 24th, 1901: President McKinley in the Maple Room of the Palace Hotel. 

May 25th, 1901: McKinley leaves the Palace Hotel & San Francisco. 

June 14th, 1901: John W. Kiley, a prominent young business man of Boston, and Lou Umsted were the happy couple married at the Palace Hotel yesterday and their courtship was short.

June 17th, 1901: PRINCE AND PRINCESS HATZFELDT ARRIVE SUDDENLY IN SAN FRANCISCO. Unexpected Visit of the Titled Daughter of the Late Collis P. Huntington Is Supposed to Be Due to Matters Connected With the Distribution of the Railroad Magnate's Enormous Estate. Princess Hatzfeldt, the adopted daughter of the late C. P. Huntington. accompanied, by her husband. Prince Francis von Hatzfeldt, a retinue of servants and tons of baggage, slipped quietly into San Francisco last night, and are quartered at the Palace. Their coming was unheralded and their entry into the city would have been unnoticed had not the Princess been recognized by old friends. The Prince and Princess were driven to the Palace Hotel, where they were assigned Rooms 124 to 129. The servants, of whom there are many, followed with wagon load after wagon load of baggage. Every effort was made to keep the visit of the German Prince and his wife a secret, and success would have crowned these efforts were it not for the recognition at the ferry. They were plainly attired, and their arrival made no more stir about the immense caravansary than the ordinary traveler. They went to their apartments immediately upon their arrival at the Palace.

June 29th, 1901: Allan Pollok, for the last nine years buyer for the Palace Hotel and manager of the catering department of the big hostelry, severs his connection with the hotel to-day and will leave next Friday on a visit to Europe. On his return he will assume the management of the Crocker Hotel, to be erected at once on the corner of Powell and Geary streets.

July 7th, 1901:

How Theatrical Folk Live.

Mr. Morrisey of the Orpheum occupies the coziest apartments that the Palace Hotel can furnish; there he has home without the worry of occasionally discharging the cook. If Mr. Morrisey has a hobby, it is perhaps that of making happy his beautiful and talented life companion, Mrs. Morrisey.

July 14th, 1901: 

July 16th, 1901: Frank Cummings, who has been head clerk of the Palace Hotel for the last seven years, has resigned and will become head clerk at the Hotel del Monte. Mr. Cummings is immensely popular and has made many friends during his years of labor at the Palace.

July 17th, 1901: "Mac" Chief Clerk at Palace. The many friends of John McDermott will be pleased to hear that he has been made chief clerk of the Palace Hotel. "Mac," as he is more popularly known, has been a clerk of the hotel for the last ten years and is very popular. He is known from one end of the United States to the other. Although in his many years of service he has met tens of thousands of visitors, he never forgets either a name or a face. He can recognize a guest after the visitor has been away several years, and can place the date when he was last staying at the hotel. "Mac" was born in San Francisco and is a graduate of St. Ignatius College.

July 31st, 1901: Postal Superintendent Breed Dies. Frank P. Breed, superintendent of Station K Post office in the Palace Hotel, died yesterday morning in the Lane Hospital after a surgical operation had been performed upon him. He had been sick only twenty-four hours. Mr. Breed had been fourteen years in the service. He was 35 years old and unmarried.

August 21st, 1901: Captain John Metcalf, Lloyd surveyor and one of the best-known men in business circles on California Street, is to be married to-night in the Palace Hotel. The bride to be is Mrs. Annie Cave North of Menlo Park. The ceremony will be performed in the main parlor of the Palace by the Rev. Dr. Gardiner of Palo Alto.

October 11th, 1901: Room 66 & Room 237 mentioned in Palace Hotel ads.

October 17th, 1901: John L. Thompson, a delegate to the Episcopal Convention from Troy, N. Y., died last evening at the Palace Hotel from bronchitis. The deceased caught cold while paying a visit to the Pan American Exposition in a rain.

October 26th, 1901: Belles and Beaux at First Ball in Palace. The first cotillon of the season was danced last evening in the new ballroom of the Palace Hotel. It was given by the members of the Entre Nous Cotillon Club and proved a brilliant opening for the twelfth season of the fashionable organization. The new ballroom, in reality the old supper-room, is a decided improvement on the Maple Room, where the dances of the Entre Nous were held in former seasons. It is such a spacious and elegant apartment that decorations are altogether unnecessary. The members of the club recognized this fact and left the room just as it is.

November 13th, 1901: COURTYARD GRILL WILL BE USED PERMANENTLY. Major Kirkpatrick Plans a Handsome Exterior Resort for Use on Gala Occasions. Major Kirkpatrick of the Palace Hotel announced last night that the peristyle of the courtyard of the building will be permanently used for dinners and suppers on gala occasions, owing to the present success attending the gatherings last night after the grand opera. The temporary screen of curtains suspended on brass rods will he replaced by handsome screens of ornamental brasswork and solid plate glass, effectually protecting guests from winds and draughts caused when the doors from the streets are opened to allow carriages to enter the courtyard.

November 17th, 1901: The subject of a theater in that neighborhood, to stand upon land of the Sharon Estate Company, is a live one. After due deliberation, in which the manager of the Palace Hotel took part, it was decided that there was no room in the Palace Hotel for a theater. All the accommodations in the hotel are in constant demand, and the growth of the city ensures that the demand will never be less. There has been considerable discussion concerning the location of the theater, which is favored by the Sharon Estate Company.

December 14th, 1901: A very elaborate lunch party was given yesterday afternoon in the conservatory of the Palace Hotel by Mrs. Cyrus Walker. The affair was a notable one. Members of the fashionable set discussed a dainty menu at round tables that were beautifully decorated. For more than two hours the guests chatted and feasted and listened to sweet music furnished by an orchestra. The conservatory proved an ideal place for a luncheon. The guests were surrounded by plants and the soft glow of shaded electric lamps shone on the happy scene.

December 15th, 1901: 

The Mecca for all lovers of good living - the Grill Rooms at the Palace Hotel.

December 15th, 1901: Take Your Pick of These Christmas Dinners. The Palace Hotel, Christmas 1901:

1902

January 9th, 1902: A. Miller was in Room 304 on the fifth floor of the Palace Hotel playing a card game and was robbed out of $1500.

January 12th, 1902: HOW THE ROOFS OF SAN FRANCISCO ARE USED. On the top of the Palace Hotel are the servants' quarters, and from points of vantage you can sometimes see them making their way over the roof on the slender bridges. This roof is also a hospital for sick palms and ferns, and in one corner the corps of house painters which the huge hotel keeps constantly employed has its headquarters. A few years ago the guests were given the privilege of the Palace roof, but those gay days are gone and none but employes are now allowed on the roof. Below: The painters' quarters on the roof of the Palace. 

January 26th, 1902: Four of the best suites of rooms in the Palace Hotel were engaged yesterday to prepare for the arrival of the Vanderbilts on or about February 4th.

March 19th, 1902: Hal Smith, the assistant storekeeper at the Palace Hotel, has gone missing.  

March 20th, 1902: George Lindegren, the head storekeeper of the Palace was interviewed about his disappearance. It is believed he was murdered.

March 24th, 1902: Louis Bosia is mentioned as head waiter at the Palace Hotel. 

April 2nd, 1902: WELL-KNOWN CAPITALIST DIES AT PALACE HOTEL. S. W. Rosenstock Succumbs to Heart Failure After an Illness of Only Twelve Hours. S. W. Rosenstock, a retired wholesale boot and shoe manufacturer, died suddenly early yesterday morning at the Palace Hotel, where he has been residing for several years. He was taken suddenly ill on Monday evening and his physicians attributed his death to heart failure. The deceased was 70 years of age and came to California in the early fifties.

May 2nd, 1902: The leading officials of the Southern Pacific, the Union Pacific, the Oregon Short Line and the Oregon Railroad and Navigation Company were given a banquet last night at the Palace Hotel by President E. H. Harriman of the Southern Pacific.

May 4th, 1902: UNITY OF REPUBLICAN PARTY IS THE WATCHWORD SOUNDED BY NOTED SPEAKERS AT UNION LEAGUE CLUB'S BANQUET.

May 18th, 1902: AMONG THE BUILDERS. The sum of $300,000 will be involved in the addition of two stories to the Palace Hotel.

June 10th, 1902: The Palace Hotel was outlined in white lights for the Shriner Festival.

June 20th, 1902: Crook living in the Palace Hotel, Room 545, under the alias Richard M. James is actually J.B. Black, who was wanted by police. 

After twenty-five years of service as assistant manager of the Palace Hotel, George B. Warren has resigned and N. S. Mullen has been appointed- his successor.

June 21st, 1902: The banquet tendered to the Los Angeles Shriners at the Palace Hotel was beyond doubt the most select affair of all the Mystic Shriners festivities. The speeches were witty and interesting, the cuisine perfect and the Moet & Chandon White Seal Champagne was exquisite.

July 8th, 1902: The apartments in the Palace Hotel known as the Jockey Club rooms have been engaged for the campaign by Wakefield Baker, Charles Patton, Henry Ach and other independent Republicans, who recently met at the Mills building, and declared against all bosses.

July 10th, 1902: The Ghost Club, which haunts Parlor A of the Palace Hotel, is counted on for secret work in the manipulation of unpledged tickets.

July 23rd, 1902: Sharon Estate Company, corporation (owners) with W. H. McCormick (contractor), architects Reid Bros — Marble work in connection with floor of main court of Palace Hotel, on SW corner of Market and New Montgomery Streets, 100-vara block 354.

August 4th, 1902: LOST — An earring with 3 small diamonds. Return Room 942. Palace Hotel; liberal reward.

August 13th, 1902: SUPREME LODGE KNIGHTS OF PYTHIAS OPENS ITS BIENNIAL SESSION AT THE PALACE HOTEL AND FOR THE FIRST TIME IN ITS HISTORY BODY IS PHOTOGRAPHED WHILE MEETING. Taken in the American dining-room of the Palace Hotel. 

August 14th, 1902: The rallying point of the Flint forces is in the Palace Hotel, Rooms 160 on the second floor.

WANTED — First-class maid and seamstress with good references. Palace Hotel, Rm. 130.

September 10th, 1902: Miss Suzanne Lois Brooke, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Gilbert Brooke, will wed Thomas Roman More this evening in her parents' apartments at the Palace Hotel.

September 11th, 1902: Palace Hotel Improvements. The work of tearing up the pavement in the courtyard of the Palace Hotel was commenced yesterday. In the future carriages and baggage wagons will stop at the Jessie Street entrance. The courtyard will be repaved with marble and turned into a large reception room. The furniture for the room has arrived from the East.

Palace Hotel Improvements. Work was commenced this morning (September 10th) on the improvements which are to transform the appearance of the grand central court of the Palace Hotel. It is the intention to turn the space now used for cabs and express wagons into a lounging place. The arriving vehicles will discharge passengers and trunks outside the big doors on the New Montgomery Street entrance. The big palm tree will remain the central object of the court, but the circular curb of granite will be removed and the whole floor space will be paved in white marble. The asphalt driveway is being torn up today and the work will proceed as quickly as possible. 

September 17th, 1902: Suffering from the effects of alcoholism and despondent over his prospects, Harry W. Johnson, an agent in the employ of the J. M. Wright Company, dealers in druggists' sundries at 14 First Street, committed suicide in a room at the Palace Hotel some time Saturday night. The body was not discovered until yesterday morning, when the odor emanating from the room attracted the attention of Thomas Whalen, a bellboy. Whalen called William Glennsan to his assistance and the door was forced. Johnson's body lay upon the bed and decomposition was so far advanced that the best friend of the dead man would have found it difficult to recognize the remains. The cause of death was morphine poisoning.

September 26th, 1902: CHINAMAN IS KILLED BY PALACE ELEVATOR. Cage Starts While He Is on Top of It, Crushing His Skull. Hom Tin, a Chinese window cleaner, residing at 835 Washington Street, was killed yesterday morning by being crushed by the north elevator of the Palace Hotel. Hom was standing on top of the elevator cage cleaning windows in the shaft at the second story. The bell rang from the third floor and the elevator attendant, W. M. Menz, started the cage upward, crushing the Chinaman's head and killing, him instantly, the body falling to the bottom of the shaft. Menz stated that when the bell rang from the third story he called to the Chinaman to get out of the way, that he was about to move the cage, and that the Chinaman responded "all right," before he started the cage upward. The top of the cage is slightly rounded and it is believed that he slipped while getting off, and was caught between the cage and the wall of the shaft.

October 16th, 1902: Children's Hospital to Benefit by Unique Entertainment at the Palace Hotel. The Feast of Lanterns, for the benefit of the Children's Hospital, will open, this evening at the Palace Hotel. The Maple Room will be ablaze with light. Two thousand lanterns, with as many incandescent lamps, are to be used in decorating. The scene promises to be a brilliant one and novel enough to interest the most blase pleasure seeker. The unique entertainment offered in addition to the attractive articles for sale at the bazaar should compel a large attendance and bring many dollars into the desired fund.

COSTLY IMPROVEMENTS PLANNED FOR PALACE. Manager Kirkpatrick Arranges for Refitting of Big Hotel and Remodeling in Part. Colonel J. C. Kirkpatrick, manager of the Palace Hotel and member of the Board of Harbor Commissioners, again assumed, personal charge of his business affairs yesterday after an absence in the East of some six weeks. Kirkpatrick went East to arrange for extensive improvements which the owners of the Palace intend making in the big hostelry. Manager Kirkpatrick signed contracts while East for nearly $140,000 worth of improvements. The work will be commenced immediately. Beautiful and comfortable American, English and French furniture will be installed in the big central court of the hotel, which will be turned into a lounging room, similar to the office, but furnished more extensively and more elaborately. The dining-room off the office will be transformed into a ladies' lounging room. It will be artistically decorated and lavishly furnished. The ladies' reception-room, jutting off the marble corridor, will be transformed into an empire reception room for ladies. The present driveway entrance to the court will be turned into a driveway in the shape of a half-moon and visitors to the hotel will be enabled to alight from their carriages under a roof. Kirkpatrick announced that the owners of the hotel have abandoned the idea of building a theater in it. Two additional floors may be added to the building in the near future. The rooms will all be handsomely refurnished.

November 7th, 1902: One of the most, widely known colored men in this city, "Jerry" Petersen, died of pneumonia yesterday at San Rafael. For the last twenty-two years he had been employed at the Palace Hotel and was respected by all for his quiet courtly manners. He was especially attentive in waiting on the ladies and seeing that their visiting cards were sent to the right destination.

December 13th, 1902: GEORGE W. PRESCOTT, one of pioneer captains of industry in California and the first president of the Union Iron Works, was

found lifeless in his room in the Palace Hotel yesterday morning. The discovery that the aged man's useful career was at an end was made by his wife, who went to call him for breakfast shortly after 9'o'clock.

December 14th, 1902: A MAGNIFICEHT HOTEL. Recent Improvements Made at the Palace at Tremendous Expense. San Francisco has for many years been noted conspicuously above other cities for the superiority of its hotels, and chief among the caravansaries which have contributed to its fame is the Palace Hotel. At all times superbly equipped for the accommodation and entertainment of the traveling public, it has been made in recent years by the expenditure of nearly $2,000,000 the equal in point of the elegance of its appointments and superbness of its cuisine one of the finest hotels in the world. 

     From time to time the wonders of the Palace have been extensively exploited, the result being that it has been for many years the headquarters of all the notables of the world when visiting the city. Its roof has sheltered Presidents, Kings, Princes, titled persons of every degree, national politicians, millionaires, savants and civilians of every class. To the treatment accorded these visitors by the enterprising management of the hotel, which is in charge of John C. Kirkpatrick, one of the most widely known hotel managers in the United States, the fame this city now enjoys with the traveling public throughout the world is mainly due. Although the Palace was practically rebuilt a few years ago at enormous expense, Manager Kirkpatrick is constantly introducing innovations for the betterment of the hotel service. It was the Palace which first equipped all of its 2000 and more rooms with long-distance telephones, by which patrons are enabled to telephone at will to any point reached by the wire. Appreciating the value of this improvement, the management of the Holland, one of the leading hotels of New York, is equipping its hostelry in the same manner. The circular driveway in the court has been removed to the outer court, and the space thus won is now the favorite promenade of the guests.

     During the past year fully $250,000 was spent in improvements by the management. A fine new marble lavatory is now being constructed in the basement, which will be reached by means of a marble stairway from the present lavatory in the rear of the main office. The cost of this improvement will be $12,500. The present lavatory will be converted into a hat and cloak room and will be equipped with appliances for the convenience of guests. The grill service has also been greatly improved during the current year so that in this connection nothing is lacking to satisfy the taste of the most exacting. The court cafe, which is a popular feature of the hotel, has been provided with new furniture, as has also the office waiting-room. The banquet rooms have been enlarged and beautified, and in many other respects the hotel has undergone improvements the completeness of which render the Palace by long odds the finest hotel west of New York.

December 16th, 1902: John D. Spreckles Jr. and Miss Edith Marie Huntington were united in marriage in the Marble Room of the Palace Hotel last evening. His Grace Arch-bishop Riordan officiating.

December 23rd, 1902: A new central chandelier of beautiful design will be put into the Maple Room of the Palace Hotel, and new carpets laid this week. 

1903

January 10th, 1903: Jewelry store Schumacher & Co., located under the Palace Hotel, files for bankruptcy. 

January 20th, 1903: J. Parker Whitney, in the face of opposition, took Miss Daisy Parrott from the parental roof and made her his wife at the Palace Hotel yesterday. 

January 27th, 1903: MANY REVELERS FIND PLEASURE AT BAL MASQUE. In the gayest of fancy-dress costumes, their identity hidden behind mysterious masks, 150 revelers made merry last night in the ballroom at the Palace Hotel.

February 19th, 1903: Luke Kenney, for twenty-four years elevator man at the Palace Hotel and a well-known character, died Tuesday at his home in the Mission.

February 20th, 1903: Builders' Contracts. Sharon Estate Company (owners) with Royal Heating Company (contractors). Reid Brothers architects — Kitchen and toilet room ventilating system for the Palace Hotel, on SW corner of Market and New Montgomery Streets, block 354; $2633.

February 23rd, 1903: ENTERS PALACE BY FIRE ESCAPE. Thief Secures $48, but Overlooks Fortune in Jewelry. Carries Frank S. Johnson's New Suit to the Roof and Empties the Pockets. Some conscientious burglar, who seemingly believes that wealth never comes to those who wait, quietly went after a small portion of coin Saturday night and found it among the worldly goods of Frank S. Johnson. The bold thief secured $48 in money, but he overlooked gems valued at $8000, which lay on a bureau in the room. The latter gentleman, who is a member of the well-known Johnson-Locke Company, resides with his family at the Palace Hotel. His apartments are on the third floor and include the corner suite overlooking Market and Annie streets. Near midnight Saturday Mr. Johnson and his wife retired. Mr. Johnson's new $80 business suit had been carefully placed on the back of a chair and in one of the pockets was $43 in coin, a knife and a pair of gold-rimmed eyeglasses. 

     When Mr. Johnson looked for his new trousers yesterday morning they were gone, likewise the coat and the cash and other articles they had at first. Mr. Johnson thought possibly he had forgotten to lay out his new suit the night before. He hastened to the wardrobe, but nary a bit of new raiment did he find there. About this time it began to dawn on Mr. Johnson that something was wrong. There are plenty of spring locks on the entrance to the apartment, which plainly suggested that no intruder could have gained admission from the corridor of the hotel. An open window facing Market Street gave him a hint of a probable visit from the outside via a fire escape, and the conclusion, hastily arrived at, was shortly confirmed. To his great relief Mr. Johnson found that the valuable jewelry which was on the bureau in the room had not been taken by the marauder.

     While Johnson and his wife were hunting for the lost clothing several employes of the hotel, under the direction of Assistant Manager Rich, were playing sleuths on the roof of the big hotel in an effort to determine whether foul play or a suicide had occurred aloft during the night. It is the custom of one of the yard men of the hotel to go up on the roof every morning for the purpose of inspecting the fire apparatus and he was fulfilling that duty yesterday when he unexpectedly came across a suit of clothes scattered about the roof. Although the garments had the appearance of being quite new they showed signs of rough handling, and the fact that all the pockets were turned Inside out at once aroused the suspicions of the hotel attache that either some guest had been foully dealt with or had gone to the roof, disrobed himself and, with suicidal intent, plunged over the side of the tall caravansary to the sidewalk below.

     The yardman hastily summoned Assistant Manager Rich and there made known his discovery. A council was held. The suicide theory was the most favored, but the prevailing opinion was that the remains of the unfortunate man were still on the roof. Some one suggested that the owner of the clothes had drowned himself in one of the water tanks and a search for the body of the supposed suicide was immediately begun. While his assistants were thus engaged Mr. Rich found the tailor's trademark on the coat and on it also the name of "Frank S. Johnson." Certainly Mr. Johnson had not been on the roof or attempted to take his life, so it was decided to make a call at his apartments and compare notes. Mr. Johnson was just preparing to descend to the office and register a complaint about his missing clothes when Mr. Rich encountered him. It is evident that some thief had entered the room during the night, via the fire escape, taken the clothes to the roof and rifled the pockets, again making use of the fire escape to reach terra firma.

March 8th, 1903: The police have learned that Charles Johnson visited the room or R. C. Robbins in the Palace Hotel and extracted there from a gold-filled stop watch, four certified, checks aggregating $300, a $20 gold certificate, $5 in gold and $3 in silver. Mr. Robbins occupied Room 237 in the hotel which overlooks one of the fire escapes. The robbery of the room occurred on the 4th of this month.

April 3rd, 1903: MORE SPLENDOR AT THE PALACE. Hotel Court Now Rivals Any of the World in Elegance. Transformed in Forty-Eight Hours Into a Grand Reception Place. The great court of the Palace Hotel, for years famed for its spacious driveway and the magnificence of its architecture, has undergone a remarkable transformation. In the brief period of forty-eight hours the large space within the hostelry's high walls has been converted from a popular loitering place into a beautiful reception room second to none in elegance and artistic arrangement in the United States.

Some months ago, Manager John C. Kirkpatrick, with a view of keeping pace with the times and maintaining the wide reputation of his establishment, conceived the idea of making an important change in the court by closing the driveway and covering the entire rotunda with marble, which was immediately undertaken. While the work was under way a big contract for furnishing the new reception-room was placed with a prominent manufacturing firm in the East, which fulfilled its promise last week, when the furniture designed and constructed especially for the hotel was delivered here. Under the direction of a representative of the manufacturer sent here for that purpose, the furniture was placed in position yesterday for permanent use.

April 17th, 1903: F. C. Osgood of New York, who was widely known throughout the country, died shortly after midnight yesterday at the Palace Hotel, where he had been stopping for several months. Death was due to heart trouble, with which he had been afflicted for a number of years. 

April 25th, 1903: During his sojourn in San Francisco President Roosevelt will occupy apartments on the second floor of the Palace Hotel.

May 4th, 1903: Richard G. Sneath, the pioneer capitalist and a prominent figure in the political history of the city a half century ago, passed away in his apartments at the Palace Hotel yesterday morning, after a lingering illness. The deceased was 77 years of age.

May 11th, 1903: The city is now almost ready to extend an enthusiastic welcome to the executive of the nation. The streets are being rapidly adorned and finishing touches will make the picture of splendor complete to-day. Last evening Colonel J. C. Kirkpatrick, manager of the Palace Hotel, directed that the ladies' grillroom should be placed in possession of the decorators and the spacious hall will soon be made ready for the banquet festivities. The Empire Room, where the reception by the foreign Consuls and representatives of the army and navy will take place tomorrow afternoon, is ready for inspection. It is one of the handsomest rooms in the land. Colonel Kirkpatrick is giving his personal attention to the hotel arrangements for the entertainment of the Presidential party and the executive committee is therefore assured that the plans will be carried out in a style highly creditable. To make impressive the entry of President Roosevelt to the golden banquet at the Palace Hotel tomorrow night. President de Young and the banquet committee have arranged that citizens and invited guests shall first take their places at the banquet tables and that then President Roosevelt and the members of his party shall enter the dining-room. Over 400 gentlemen will be in attendance, and they will require some time to ascertain the location of their seats. Mr. de Young suggested that everything should be in readiness for the banquet to begin when President Roosevelt appeared and that the entire company would then be prepared to receive him with a fitting shout of welcome. Schedule below from May 12th.

May 13th, 1903: 

Glorious Scene at Palace Banquet.

Bright Remarks by Conspicuous Men.

Wit and Logic Enliven the Night.

May 13th, 1903:

Menu of the Banquet for President Roosevelt

and J.C. Kirkpatrick, who made it all possible.

June 7th, 1903: Fuel Oil for Cooking. John C. Kirkpatrick has petitioned the Board of Supervisors for permission to construct a storage tank for distillate fuel oil on the premises situated under the sidewalk on Annie Street, between Jessie and Market. The oil is to be used in the Palace Hotel kitchen ranges for cooking purposes.

June 13th, 1903: William Glennon is now a private detective at the Palace Hotel.

June 14th, 1903: NEW PALM IS PLACED IN THE PALACE HOTEL. Plant Is Not as Tall as Its Predecessor, but Considered More Hardy. The courtyard of the Palace Hotel has a new palm. It arrived, from Niles yesterday and during the afternoon, several workmen were busily employed placing the new variant in position. The new palm is not as large nor half as imposing as its predecessor, but it is at the same time credited with being a much hardier plant. Masons removed the receptacle stone by stone and after the roots of the dead palm had been removed the new palm was hoisted in place and the stand was again rebuilt.

July 21st, 1903: L. Sisenvine noted as the proprietor of the Palace Hotel cigar stand.

July 25th, 1903: Robert Fitzsimmons, the ex-champion pugilist, will wed Miss Julia May Gifford this afternoon. The ceremony will be performed by Judge Daniels at the Palace Hotel.

August 7th, 1903: Miss Agnes Hyman, a charming young woman, who is very popular in the younger social set, became the bride of Max C. Greenberg in the conservatory of the Palace Hotel at the noon hour yesterday. The ceremony was performed by the Rev. Dr. Voorsanger in the presence of about eighty-five friends of the happy couple.

August 8th, 1903: Mrs. J. H. Goodman, widow of a former banker of Napa, died yesterday afternoon at the Palace Hotel. Death was due to paralysis, she having suffered a stroke a months ago, since which her life had been despaired of.

September 14th, 1903: James F. Hallock, for many years auditor of the Palace Hotel, died yesterday morning at his home.

September 17th, 1903: Tom Hing, a Chinese employed at the Palace Hotel at night in cleaning the interior of the establishment, fell through a small elevator shaft in the grillroom shortly after 1 o'clock this morning, striking the basement floor and fracturing one of his ankles.

October 1st, 1903: Palace Hotel Property Mortgaged. A mortgage was filed for record yesterday covering a loan of $900,000 made to the Sharon Estate Company by the Hibernia Savings and Loan Society. The security given for the mortgage is the Palace Hotel property. Another important transaction in which the Sharon Estate Company is involved was made a part of the public record yesterday when a deed was filed by that corporation transferring to Hartland Law a lot on the northwesterly side of Mission Street, near New Montgomery. The lot has a frontage of 143 feet and the price paid for it several months ago was $430,000. A mortgage was also recorded whereby Law gives the property as security for the purchase price for the land.

October 26th, 1903: PAIN IN FOOT GOADS MAN TO SHOOT HIMSELF. Suffering Prompts Henry Page, Captain of Waiters at Palace Hotel, to Attempt Suicide. Henry Page, captain of the waiters employed in the ladles' grill at the Palace Hotel, shot himself at 11:20 o'clock last night through the breast. Page, who is a married man and the father of two children, lives with his family at 19 Ewing Place. For some time he has been suffering acute pain in one of his feet and had been to one of the clinics of the city for treatment. As he obtained no relief he threatened that he would shoot himself, but Mrs. Page did not believe for a moment that the threat was seriously made. At the hour named, however, Page left his bed and without warning to his wife went into the hall and deliberately shot himself. He was taken to the Central Emergency Hospital and after an examination of the wound Dr. J. V. Leonard, who attended him, gave little hope for his recovery. He later died at the hospital.

November 19th, 1903: WEALTHY BACHELOR DIES AT THE PALACE. Henry J. Dibbern, a member of the firm of Manheim, Dibbern & Co., died shortly after 8 o'clock yesterday, morning in his apartments at the Palace Hotel, where he had resided for a number of years. He had been under the care of a doctor for some time, owing to heart trouble which is given as the cause of his death. Late Tuesday night he was in the grill room of the Palace talking with friends about a proposed trip to the springs and went to his room about midnight. Yesterday morning, a few minutes before 8 o'clock, he rang for a bell boy and dispatched him for his doctor. The latter had hardly arrived at the Palace when Dibbern expired.

November 20th, 1903: Mrs. E. J. de Santa Marina, widow of the late well-known stock broker and clubman, died shortly after 2 o'clock yesterday morning at the Palace Hotel. The lady had been an invalid for some time. Shortly after the death of her husband Mrs. de Santa Marina was stricken with paralysis, and she succumbed to a third attack yesterday.

November 22nd, 1903: Station "K" of the local post office branch service will move into new quarters to-morrow or the next day at 40 New Montgomery Street. The office has heretofore been under the Palace Hotel.

December 7th,1903: Dr. M. E. Gonzales, a member of one of the old Mexican families of California, died in his apartments at the Palace Hotel at 9 o'clock last evening after a few hours' illness.

December 17th, 1903: The I Gondolieri Club will give its initial dance of the season this evening at Palm Hall, Palace Hotel.

December 20th, 1903: THE PALACE HOTEL. The Great Hotel of the West!  There is one thing in San Francisco that interests travelers besides the world-renowned glorious climate, and that is the Palace Hotel. It is the monumental landmark in the history of San Francisco's progress. It is the center of all attraction — the home of every visitor and traveler of note who comes to the city. Palatial! is the expression heard as one enters the famous court, which, in keeping with the progressive policy of the hotel management, has been converted into a lounging-room, the finest in the world. With its very handsome furniture in rich upholstering, its tropical plants in great profusion, and its myriads of electric lights, it is, indeed, a veritable fairyland and a sight never to be forgotten. Especially is this true during the evening, when music is played and the celebrated cafe in this court is filled with men and women busily engaged in discussing the "subtle crafts of cookery." Indeed, so popular has this cafe become of late that the management has found it necessary to enlarge it, and within a few days this improvement will be complete. The Empire Room, handsome in hangings and furniture of green, and set aside as a parlor exclusively for the lady guests; the Palm Room, furnished in red and in the winter converted into a most beautiful ballroom; the Louis XV parlor in pink and gold, and the ladies' writing room, in restful, green, add much to the ever-increasing popularity of this famous hotel. Then, too, there has recently been installed a telephone system with a private exchange in the office, by which guests not only communicate their wants to the clerk but are also enabled to talk with their friends either in or out of the city. This is indeed a great convenience and one which has created much favorable comment. Upstairs many of the rooms have been refurnished — rooms larger than one meets in hotels, nowadays; halls have been recarpeted, new baths supplied here and there, and in fact the Palace Hotel is not in any way lacking in this day of modern conveniences. Midway between the wholesale and retail districts, convenient to the many theaters, as well as to all depots and docks, a short, pleasant ride to the park and the beach, and reached from all parts of the city by streetcar lines, the Palace Hotel is indeed the ideal hotel of the West.

1904

January 3rd, 1904: Miss Elsa Ehrman . and Louis W. Neustadter will be married at the Palace Hotel tonight at 6 o'clock. The affair will be exceedingly quiet, only the families and immediate relatives being present.

January 16th, 1904: THE PALACE— A. O. S., City. The original court of the Palace Hotel was lighted for the first time October 2, 1875. That was the date of the opening of the hotel. Warren Leland was the first manager.

March 23rd, 1904: Wedded at the Palace. The persistent wooing of an ardent lover found its reward at the Palace Hotel yesterday evening when Miss Florida W. Graves, a pretty belle of Birmingham, Alabama, gave her heart and hand in marriage to Edward D. Smith, a resident of her native city. 

March 24th, 1904: Mrs. Wynkoop, Wife of a Prominent Young Physician of New York, Dies Suddenly at Palace. A bridal tour ended sadly yesterday at the Palace Hotel, when death suddenly summoned Mrs. Carlie Wynkoop, wife of Dr. David Wynkoop of New York.

Lynn Austin, the genial clerk of the Palace and for many years connected with other fashionable hostelries of California, has resigned his position and will go to Santa Cruz April 1 to accept the management of what is commonly known as the "tented city".

March 28th, 1904: LOST— A large leather wallet containing private papers. Return to room 639, Palace Hotel. $5 Reward.

March 30th, 1904: PALACE HOTEL WINS THE FAIRMONT LEASE. Representatives of Sharon Estate Resolve to Hold Supremacy. Negotiations between Mrs. Oelrichs and representatives of the Sharon estate have reached a point that warrants the announcement that the Palace Hotel management has secured the new, Fairmont Hotel on the crest of Nob Hill. It Is calculated that the Fairmont will be ready for the reception of guests in June, 1905. The manager of the Palace, Colonel J. C. Kirkpatrick, is fully determined to hold the prestige in the hotel field of the Pacific Coast which was gained twenty-five years ago and has ever since been maintained by the Palace. It is understood that the lease agreed upon, by Mrs. Oelrichs and the representatives of the Sharon estate covers a period of twenty years. When the initial overtures for the Fairmont were made on behalf of the Palace, Mrs. Oelrichs' representative named a figure so high that Colonel Kirkpatrick could not recommend its acceptance. Subsequent events have made it clear that the hotel business in San Francisco, which has been reasonably profitable in the past, will be immensely important and remunerative in the future. The immediate success of the St. Francis is accepted as one object lesson. The story is current that Manager Pollok and his associates had some notion of reaching out for control of the Fairmont. The high figure named by Mrs. Oelrichs caused a suspension of negotiations however. At the time, Mrs. Oelrichs placed the mortgage with the Hibernia Bank on real estate in this city to raise $45O.00O, the amount required for the completion of the hotel enterprise, she had entered into a provisional contract or arrangement with Baumgarten of New York for the furnishing of the hotel. A few days ago, Baumgarten received advices from New York that the plans made with him for the equipment of the house had been canceled, and that the decorations and furniture would be supplied by the Palace Hotel management!

April 4th, 1904: Blaze in Rubbish Chute. Burning paper in the bottom of the rubbish chute of the Palace Hotel yesterday afternoon caused unnecessary alarm among a number of guests and prompted one of the employes to send in an alarm. Before the fire engines arrived on the scene the small blaze had been extinguished and quiet had been restored in the establishment.

April 6th, 1904: James McCulIough, who has filled the position of key clerk at the Palace Hotel for several years, was yesterday promoted to the position of rooming clerk to succeed "Len" Austin, who recently resigned to accept the management of the tent city at Santa Cruz.

April 10th, 1904: POOR PAINTERS BADLY INJURED. Breaking of "Swing" in Rear of Palace Hotel Results in a Very Serious Accident. Two men sustained injuries that may result fatally and two more were seriously injured by the falling of a painter's "swing" in the rear of the Palace Hotel yesterday afternoon. Con Gunderson, who resides at 83 Clementina Street, was treated at the Harbor Hospital for a fractured skull, two fractured ribs, extensive internal Injuries, contusions of the chest, right elbow and both hips. C. A. Bort, living at 758 Howard Street, suffered a dislocation and fracture of the right hipbone, internal injuries and a deep laceration over the right eye. Both may die. John Cole of 434 Minna Street suffered from shock and deep cuts on the left hand and Joseph Jamieson of 416 Turk Street was treated for a serious contusion of the left hip.

     The accident was caused by overweighting the "swing." At the time it happened there were six men on the planking and the strain was too great. The center rope, which is held in position on the roof, snapped and the swing broke in the center. The four men that were injured were pitched to the sidewalk, thirty-five feet below, but the two others, N. Spencer of 909 Kearny Street and C. Peterson of 118 Sixth Street, clung to the two outer ropes and landed safely. The painters were working on the Jessie Street side of the Palace Hotel and had painted the building from the roof down to the first story. Three of them were on the swing and three more stood on a fire escape. Preparatory to moving their apparatus the three men that were on the fire escape climbed into the swing that they might be lowered to the ground. Peterson and Spencer released the end ropes and Bort had charge of the center. When an attempt was made to descend the center rope was heard to snap, the planking broke in two and the four unfortunate men plunged to the sidewalk. All of the men were employed by John Quardt, who, has the contract for painting the hotel.

April 13th, 1904: The Amateur Driving and Athletic Association will hold a big open meeting in Room 1000 of the Palace Hotel tomorrow night and every amateur sportsman who wishes to see.

May 24th, 1904: BUSHELMAN wanted. Rooms C and D, Palace Hotel. 

June 2nd, 1904: The wedding of Miss Violette Natalie Morris, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Faran N. Morris, and Mark Litchenstein of Salt Lake City was celebrated last evening at 6 o'clock in the ballroom of the Palace Hotel. .....The Maple Room of the Palace Hotel was last night a vast sweet pea garden, wherein pretty Miss Amy E. Marx daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Henri Marx, became the bride of Albert L. Arendt of Pleasanton.

June 5th, 1904: TRANSPORTATION CLUB HAS A HOUSEWARMING. The recently organized Transportation Club of San Francisco, composed of the coast representatives of all the important railroad lines in this country, formally opened its temporary rooms in the Palace Hotel Friday evening with a jinks. The affair was attended by several hundred railroad men, who fully taxed the capacity of the clubrooms, which are located on the half floor of the hotel.

June 7th, 1904: Morris Schneider and Miss Maybelle Ayres were married last evening in San Francisco, the "Marble Room" of the Palace Hotel being the scene of the happy event.

Dr. Albert Noble is noted as being the house physician for the Palace Hotel. 

June 19th, 1904: The Frank-Steinman wedding at the Palace Hotel on Thursday night was a brilliant affair. The Marble and Maple Rooms were pressed into requisition and were garlanded with a profusion of blossoms and ferns. The bride is the handsome daughter of Mr. and Mrs. B. U. Steinman, the latter the Mayor of Sacramento. The groom, A. A. Frank, who arrived early last week from Milwaukee, was accompanied by his parents, who will make a short visit in California. The Franks are said to be among the wealthiest residents of Milwaukee, where the young folks will make their home the wedding Journey over.

June 22nd, 1904: FIRE IN THE PALACE HOTEL. The bartender in the grillroom at the Palace Hotel smelled smoke coming from the basement shortly before 4 o'clock on Monday morning. He notified John Connor, the night watchman, who discovered a fire under the grillroom. An alarm was turned in from box 266 and the fire was speedily extinguished. The damage was estimated at $5.

July 3rd, 1904:

July 16th, 1904: Sharon Estate Objects to Assessment of New Montgomery Street and Palace Hotel. Among the applications for reductions in assessments filed with the local Board of Equalization yesterday was one from the Bank of California, which claims that the valuation of $221,900 placed by Assessor Dodge on its premises at the corner of California and Sansome Streets is too high and should be placed at $146,900. The Sharon Estate Company protested that the assessment of $900,000 on the Palace Hotel should be reduced to $600,000, as the building has been in constant use for twenty-nine years. The company also claims that the assessment of $1,410,000 on the hotel lot is too high, but does not specify at what figure it should be assessed.

July 29th, 1904: Edward H. Chapman, formerly manager of the Dewey, takes Alda B. Cassie as wife at the Palace Hotel.

August 15th, 1904: A pretty wedding took place at the Palace Hotel on Thursday noon, when Judge Dunne united in marriage Mrs. Kathryn Gorman Ross to Herbert John Such of Shanghai, China.

September 6th, 1904:

Knights and Fair Women Gather as Hosts. Parlor of Palace Hotel Scene of Gayety. Never before in all their gay career were the ruby reception-rooms of the Palace Hotel so glad as last night, when the members of the ladies' triennial committee were hostesses to the brave Knights. Palms beckoned to cool retreats, gay tiger lilies and orchids flamed forth from a hundred nooks, strands of gray green hops draped the arches and the Stars and Stripes gleamed from every wall.

The headquarters of the commander of the parade will be at rooms Nos. 976-977, Palace Hotel.

September 20th, 1904: The magnificent suite of the Imperial Parlor, the Marble Hall and the Maple Room in the Palace Hotel will be thrown open to-night for a dress reception to the grand sire, other grand officers, commander of the Patriarchs Militant and prominent members of the Odd Fellows order.

October 13th, 1904: Room 244 mentioned.

October 31st, 1904: Room 507 mentioned.

November 16th, 1904: Future Home in the Palace Hotel. The new quarters of the Transportation Club on the ground floor of the Palace Hotel, formerly occupied by the Union League Club, were thrown open to the members last night. About 200 persons attended the opening and were loud in their praise of the work accomplished by the house committee in making the club's new home one of the handsomest in this city.

November 30th, 1904: Mrs. Clara H. Fleming, wife of Arthur H. Fleming, and a daughter of the late Millionaire Fowler of Detroit, died at the Palace Hotel late yesterday afternoon.

December 3rd, 1904: ...a special meeting of the board to be held next Friday evening at 8 o'clock in a room on the half-floor of the Palace Hotel.

December 18th, 1904: PALACE HOTEL, SAN FRANCISCO, CAL. More Comfortable Than Ever— Steam Heat in all the Rooms. Always to the front, alive to everything that will add to the comfort and pleasure of the guests, the management has, for several months, been busily engaged installing a steam heating plant in this wonderful hotel. A radiator will be placed in every room and one can choose whichever kind of heat is wished, as each room has an open fireplace. Very many prefer the open fires — do not like the dry heat made by steam— and thus this hotel, built years ago, possesses advantages of which the houses of modern times cannot boast. The radiation is suited to the size of the room, large radiators for the outside rooms, small ones for the connecting inner rooms and medium size for the rooms facing on the open courts. Many of the rooms have been refurnished — new carpets put down— new baths supplied here and there— and the walls newly papered and decorated. With the unusually large rooms comfortably furnished and steam heated, the famous PALACE HOTEL will compare most favorably with the hotels of recent date and will certainly, as of yore, uphold its title undisputed.

     The beautiful court with its handsome furniture and rugs— its palms and myriads of electric lights— is always most impressive. Palatial! is indeed the expression heard from every new guest who enters here. At the extreme end of this court is the celebrated Palm Cafe, one of the many noted restaurants in the Palace Hotel; noted not alone for the quantity of the quickly served, food but also for the quality.

     One important feature in this hotel, not noticed in hotels erected at this date, is the great space devoted exclusively to the comfort of its guests— a space so vast that several banquets and parties may be in progress at the same time, yet not interfere with each other, nor with the hotel's regular, routine business. The large colonial ballroom, used at times for banquets, and at others as a recreation room for the ladies— the famous Marble and Maple Rooms— the Empire Parlor and the Louis XIV Reception Room all serve to make this hotel deserve its title — "The Palace."

     The room service is almost perfect since the introduction of the telephone system. Through a central office in the hotel, the guest can convey his wishes to the clerk, as well as talk to anyone on the outside. A direct telegraph wire brings the New York and Chicago Stock Exchanges to the very doors, and the Palace Hotel, although built some time ago, is to-day as complete as those houses of most recent date. Midway between the retail and wholesale districts, convenient to all theaters, as well as depots and docks, a short ride to the park and the beach, the PALACE HOTEL, is indeed the ideal hotel of the West.

December 23rd, 1904: Mrs. Monroe Salisbury, for years a recognized leader of society in San Francisco, passed away at her apartments in the Palace Hotel late last night.

1905

January 30th, 1905: NIGHTLY CONCERTS FOR GUESTS OF THE PALACE. Novel Feature to Be Introduced In Grand Court of the Hotel This Evening. Nightly orchestral concerts are to be features of life at the Palace Hotel in the future. During the week workmen have been busily engaged installing a big Aeolian pipe organ on the third floor, (another paper says first floor), overlooking the west side of the grand court. It will be there that the hotel orchestra will hereafter be stationed during the evening to render choice music for the entertainment of the guests. The first of the series of concerts will be given tonight under the direction of Herr Schoeniger. He will hereafter preside at the organ, which promises to be an interesting innovation at the hotel. In this evening's programme Schoeniger will be assisted by several soloists, among being Signores Colli and La Puma and Mr. Woodward. The programme will be as follows: Coronation march, from "La Prophet" (Meyerbeer), orchestra; overture, "The Marriage of Figaro" (Mozart), Aeolian pipe organ; O Parodis Sortl de l'Onde, "L'Africanna" (Meyerbeer), Slicnor Colli; "Gondoliers," "Venetian Love Song," "Good Night," suite romantiqua, "A Day in Venioe" (Nevln), orchestra; prologo from "Pagllaccl" (Leoncavello), Slgnor La j Puma; "The Voice of Love" (Schumann), orchestra; grand march from "Aida" (Verdi), 1 Aeolian pipe organ; Clelo c Mar from "Gloconda" (Penehlelli), Signor Colli: fantasia from Mendelssohn's "Song Without Words" (Gruenwald). orchestra; duo from "Gioconda" (Ponchlelli). Signor Colli and Signor La Puma; selections from "La Boheme" (Puccini), orchestra.

February 21st, 1905: A companion for a young lady to spend 2 or 3 hours 3 days a week in German conversation; must be perfect linguist; apply by letter only. Room 454, Palace Hotel.

March 26th, 1905: Illustrates the City. A neat little brochure telling of sights worth seeing in and around San Francisco has been issued by the management of the Palace Hotel. The printing is clear and there is a pleasing absence of advertising matter, which usually obscures the real information looked for in a guide. The only exception is a reference to the Palace Hotel itself, and as that is one of the sights of the city the guide certainly would not be complete without It. Colonel Kirkpatrick will send a to any person applying for one.

March 28th, 1905: HEAD CUT BY FALLING GLASS.— J. W Harrison of Merced, while walking along Market Street yesterday in front of the Palace Hotel was struck on the head by a piece of glass. A Chinese washing windows on the sixth floor broke a pane of glass, which fell Into Market Street, striking Harrison. He was cared for at a nearby drugstore.

April 8th, 1905:

Society folk thronged the Palace and St. Francis hotels yesterday afternoon and evening after the opera. The dining and grill rooms of the two big hotels presented a memorable sight as the fashionable hundreds sauntered in to partake of dinner and supper and discuss Wagner's masterpiece. The crowds began to arrive shortly before 7, when the Intermission of the opera took place. The men changed their afternoon clothes for evening dress, although the hour was yet early. The fair maids and matrons looked resplendent in dazzling gowns and chatted merrily to their escorts while discussing the repast. Dinner was served at the Palace Hotel in the Palm Room and in the Ladies' Grillroom. The crowd was so great that it was necessary to place tables in the men's grill room to accommodate the guests.

April 28th, 1905: Pretty girls and handsome gowns were in evidence at the final assembly and german of the Entre Nous Cotillon Club, which closed its fifteenth season brilliantly in the ballroom of the Palace Hotel last evening.

June 8th, 1905: Marriage Licenses. John Breuner, 37, Palace Hotel, and California J. Cluff, 18, Palace Hotel. Both were married at the hotel.

June 12th, 1905:

July 7th, 1905: 

At the Palace Hotel.

Pommery Champagne

was served exclusively at the banquet to Hon. William H. Taft, Secretary of War, at the Palace: Hotel last night, again demonstrating, the fact that this wine is the selection of discriminating judges.

July 8th, 1905: Room 203 mentioned.

August 11th, 1905: Sues Palace Hotel for Damages. Lillie M. Wellington, a domestic formerly in the employ of the Palace Hotel, brought suit yesterday against the Sharon Estate Company for $5000 damages alleged to have been sustained by her in an elevator accident on August 13, 1904. The plaintiff alleges that as she left the elevator at the third floor she was caught between the car and the landing and seriously Injured, owing to the inefficiency of the operator of the car. As a result of the injury, she spent four weeks in bed and is prohibited from manual labor.

August 17th, 1905: Miss Agnes Poole, who lives at 907 Vallejois Street, had her hand badly mashed in the machinery while at work in the Palace Hotel laundry. She was taken to the Harbor Emergency Hospital and later, to St. Thomas Hospital, where it is thought she may have the hand amputated.

September 11th, 1905: The wedding of Miss Zacharias and Emanuel Weiner took place on September 3 in the Empire Room of Palace Hotel, Rev. Jacob Voorsanger officiating.

September 17th, 1905: The Story of Table Linen. Captain Douglass, who has charge of the linen of the Palace Hotel, gave me some figures that were startling. He said that the linen kept in stock in the hotel amount to $3600. They have 1000 tablecloths. 6000 napkins and 1200 "tops." He explained the meaning of the word "tops" by saying that when a tablecloth was soiled a top, or smaller cloth, is laid over it instead of changing the whole cloth. Their table linen is bought in Belfast and sent on direct from the factory there, saving in that way a very large amount of money. They have their own special pattern and the linen is of excellent quality.

November 8th, 1905: The clock tower in the Chronicle Building catches fire and burns down. It was feared the Palace Hotel was at risk due to the hot embers floating through the air in that direction. 

November 14th, 1905: N. S. Mullan, assistant manager of the Palace Hotel, returned yesterday from a two months' trip to Honolulu.

November 26th, 1905: Robert C. Whitney, a traveling salesman reported to Policeman Driscoll yesterday morning that his Room No. 963, in the Palace Hotel, had been entered between 1 and 6 o'clock byway of the hall window. The burglar had gone about his business very quietly, for Whitney's slumbers were not disturbed. Whitney discovered a that $217.25 in coin, a check for $55.50, payable „to the order of the Crown Distilleries; a gold watch valued at $75, and a Knight Templar's charm valued at $25 were stolen.

December 5th, 1905: To-day's chief event will be the wedding of Miss Beatrice Splivalo and Francis Rawls Shoemaker, to take place at noon in the Empire Room of the Palace Hotel.

December 13th, 1905: 

December 17th, 1905: SURPRISES FOR GUESTS OF THE PALACE HOTEL. More Rooms, Beautiful Decorations and Modern Conveniences to Be to Great Hostelry. There are many pleasant surprises in store for the guests of the world-famous Palace Hotel this year. In the first place, 290 more rooms are to be added to the gigantic structure, this without disturbance to the business of the house. The hotel is, always spending liberally and keeping, abreast of the demands of the age. Just now the Ladies' Grill Room is in the hands of decorators from W. J. Sloane Company, of New York, who are also at present finishing up one hundred bedrooms and parlors in the most beautiful way imaginable. Steam heat or open fires await the pleasure of guests and there are telephones in every room, all connecting with a central exchange in the hotel office.

     All dust is now removed from the carpets in halls and rooms by a sanitary compressed air sweeping plant, which deposits it through pipes into the basement. In the grill rooms the management is installing a ventilating plant that will give a complete change of air every ten minutes. These are a few of the good things going on at the world's greatest hotel.

     The Palace has always been a center of social activity but just now there is more going on than ever before. In addition to banquets, smart set cotillons, parties, etc., the Palace, is becoming quite the correct place for weddings. The Empire Room, where marriages are celebrated, is a dream of beauty. The furnishing alone cost over $20,000. Considering all features and improvements the Palace may be ranked even more than ever before as one of the pre-eminent sights of San Francisco. It is the flower of modernity in all its appointments, its cuisine is famous the world over and for comfort it is in every sense a palace, a mansion for enjoying life as if at home.

December 22nd, 1905: Christmas Tree at Palace. The putting up of the huge Christmas tree in the Palace Hotel court took place yesterday morning. It attracted a great deal of attention, and a large crowd of onlookers stood around during the operation. The tree is the largest ever within this court. It is to be illuminated with electricity and covered with partly colored lights. As in years past the tree will be a great holiday feature at the hotel.

December 24th, 1905: PALACE HOTEL PROVIDES FOR HOLIDAY FEASTING. Places Many Small Tables Down Marble Hallways, In Full View of Gorgeous Christmas Tree. The management of the Palace Hotel has made ample provision for cafe accommodations during the holiday season. It has placed down the marble hallways in the court, just adjacent to the Palm Dining-Room, a large number of small tables. These will all command a view of the gorgeous Christmas tree in the main court. A number of tables will also be placed in the court proper, so there will be plenty of room for the holiday feasting. These arrangements have been made owing to the closing of the ladies' cafe, now being redecorated and refurnished.

December 26th, 1905: A romance that had its beginning in Alaska two years ago culminated in a quiet wedding at the Palace Hotel yesterday afternoon, when Miss Alice Clark became the wife of Luther G. Brown, one of the best known of the younger members of the bar in Los Angeles. 

1906

January 2nd, 1906: T. W. Kendall and Miss Alma Risch are united in matrimony at the Palace Hotel.

January 24th, 1906: Miss Ella Keefe of Tonopah, Nev., will be married to Captain Thomas S. Duke of the San Francisco Police Department to-night at the Palace Hotel.

February 4th, 1906: Frank C. Martin, who has been the day cashier at the Palace Hotel for fourteen years, has resigned. He will go into the employ of John Caffrey, Pacific Coast agent for Charles Graef & Co. He will be succeeded by Jesse Armstrong, deputy county recorder of Alameda.

February 6th, 1906: MRS. HERMANN OELRICHS ARRIVES FROM NEW YORK. Her Visit Here May Settle the Question of Future of Fairmont Hotel.

Mrs. Hermann Oelrichs arrived from New York last night and is at the Palace Hotel. It is reported that her coming here this time may mean a decision by her of what her intentions are regarding the future of the Fairmont Hotel. This report is emphasized by the fact that Emile Baumgarter, the well-known decorator and hotel furnisher of New York, arrived on the same train with Mrs. Oelrichs, and came at her request to give advice as to the cost, style and furnishing of the big hostelry, in a way commensurate with the magnificence of its structure. On the arrival of Mrs. Oelrichs and her maid at the Palace they were shown to the apartments that had been reserved for them. They were, however, not at all in keeping with what she wanted, and she later selected the most elegant and expensive rooms in the hotel.

February 9th, 1906: PALACE HOTEL NOT IN DEAL. Sharon Estate Will Not Entertain Any Proposition to Take the Fairmont. MRS. OELBICHS IS BUSY. Owner of Beautiful Caravansary Is Looking After Interior Decorations. The question of who is to conduct the beautiful Fairmont Hotel still remains in status quo. That is, so far as anything of an authoritative nature is given out. The Palace Hotel people are now entirely out of the deal. Manager Kirkpatrick said yesterday that while the Sharon estate had made an offer to lease the property some time ago, it was not now in the field as a bidder. The offer of the Sharon estate had been refused by Mrs. Oelrichs and upon this refusal it decided to drop any further negotiations and at once went ahead to have plans made for the two new stories to be added to the Palace. The construction of these two stories will begin early in June.

     Mr. Kirkpatrick added to his statement that all possibility of the Sharons making any proposition for the Fairmont was now entirely ended. They would, at the time they made a proposition for the Fairmont, have liked to have had it to run as an accessory to the Palace, but now. however, they had changed their minds.

     The St. Francis people, who have also considered the proposition of the acquisition of the beautiful hotel on the hill, are reported to have decided that the new wing they are adding to their hostelry will be ample for their immediate needs. In the meantime, Mrs. Oelrichs is spending most of her time at the Fairmont and with Emile Baumgarten, the hotel furnisher from New York, is getting plans and ideas regarding the furnishing and fitting of the interior of the palace on the hill. The style of fittings that Baumgarten is suggesting to Mrs. Oelrichs is said to be of the most sumptuous sort. It is reported to excel that of any other hotel in the world. The cost will run into the hundreds of thousands. It is the intention of the owner to make the Fairmont the representative hotel of the United States and an enduring monument to her father and the Fair family.

February 22nd, 1906: Fully five hundred representative men of the foremost walks of life in San Francisco gathered last night at the Palace Hotel at a magnificent dinner given to Dr. Douglas Hyde, president of the Gaelic League. In speeches ringing with fellowship and hope for the oppressed of Erin, encouragement was extended to the leader in the movement to restore to Ireland a national existence. Five hundred covers were laid upon rows of tables in the new white and gold banquet room of the Palace, which was tastefully decorated with American and Irish flags. 

BIG CONFLAGRATION IN A POWER-HOUSE. Red Fire Produces a Great Spectacle Early This Morning. At an early hour this morning a big blaze started in the powerhouse of the San Francisco Gas and Electrical Company's station, 129 Stevenson Street. Electric lights in many hotels, homes and other places were extinguished as the result of the fire. The Palace Hotel, City Hall and many other big buildings were in darkness. 

     The business portion of the city was in darkness after 1 o’clock. The Palace Hotel suffered most severely from the shut down, as the banquet to Dr. Douglas Hyde was still in progress. The hotel management soon produced candles and the festivities were resumed under their mellow and somewhat indistinct light.

February 25th, 1906: Special Sale of Furs and Rugs. Such as Polar Bears, Brown Bears, Leopards, Grizzlies, Tigers, as well as Automobile and Carriage Robes, at moderate prices. Sale will last a few days only. Room 714, third floor, Palace Hotel.

March 6th, 1906: 

March 7th, 1906: PREPARATIONS GOING FORWARD FOR EDUCATIONAL CONVENTION. Delegations from every State and Territory, and thousands of visitors taking advantage of the low railroad rates, will be in San Francisco when the National Educational Association convenes on July 7.  Headquarters have been secured at the Palace Hotel, Hotel St. Francis and all the leading hotels and large halls in this city, excursions on the bay and to other points of interest on the Pacific Coast are now being arranged.

LADIES' GRILL AT PALACE WILL REOPEN TOMORROW. Room ls Elaborately Decorated and Fitted With New Ventilating System, Among Other Features. The Ladies' Grillroom at the Palace Hotel, which has been undergoing extensive alterations and improvements for the last four months, will be reopened to the public tomorrow in time for luncheon. During the time it has been closed it has been the hands of the decorators who have made it one of the handsomest dining halls on the Pacific Coast.

     The improvements to the room have cost the Sharon estate about $25,000. The walls have been frescoed in white and gold, while at either end are hand-painted pictures representing different scenes in and about the Golden Gate. The windows are draped with heavy crimson velvet curtains, fringed with gold. The carpet is of the richest Wilton, in tones of red and black.

     The crowning beauty of the room consists of the four superb crystal electroliers. These were made to order and each cost $2000. There are no others on the coast to equal them. Added to the luxury of the general appearance of the dining-hall, ventilating system has been put in, which sends a fresh current of air through the room every eight minutes. The success of the new ventilating scheme was demonstrated at the Dr. Douglas Hyde banquet last month.

Photograph of the Hyde Banquet.

Held in the Ladies' Grillroom with the new curtains and chandeliers shown.

April 6th, 1906: Californians Will Be Installed in the Maple Room of Palace Hotel. Those in charge of the convention of the National Educational Society, to be held in this city from July 9 to 12, are already at work. The executive committee of California headquarters has secured the Maple room of the Palace Hotel for the week, and it will be made especially attractive.

April 14th, 1906:

April 15th, 1906: What Goldfields are Doing for San Francisco. 

April 16th, 1906: The Entre Nous Cotillon Club will hold their next assembly on April 27 in the Palace Hotel ballroom.

April 17th, 1906: GAY PARTIES SUP AT PALACE HOTEL. Ladies' Grill and Palm Garden Beautifully Decorated With Flowers. In gay little parties of fours and eights and tens many of the smart folk of San Francisco supped at the Palace after the opera last night. The Ladies' Grill and the Palm Garden were beautifully decorated with flowers and ferns to please the first night patronage.

     By five o'clock the Palace Hotel was in ruins. The old hostelry, famous the world over, withstood the siege until the last and although dynamite was used in frequent blasts to drive the fire away from the swept section toward Mission Street, they made their way to the point of the hotel until the old place began to crumble away in the blaze.

     From Second to Third Streets, Market Street held its own until late in the afternoon. The Call Building was ablaze, but the Examiner Building, the Palace Hotel, the Grand, and the other structures toward Second Street stood. Two attempts were made to dynamite the new Monadnock Building when it was seen that the Hearst structure was doomed. And slowly came the blaze from Mission Street just below Third, sweeping everything before it and igniting the Examiner Annex. Then the main building took fire and by two o'clock only the Third Street wall was standing. Later the Palace took fire in the rear and the flames made quick progress to Market Street. By five o'clock Colonel Kirkpatrick's famous hotel was no more. The Grand went at the same time, and in a few minutes the flames had Market Street again.

April 20th, 1906: Like a Ship on a Storm-Tossed Sea. "Everywhere is the scene of destruction," says J.R. Hand of the Hand Fruit Company. "I was in the Grand Hotel. That huge hostelry tossed like a ship riding on a stormy sea. Just as I began to realize in part what was occurring an upright beam tore half way through the floor of my room. All that I have left from the awful scene is the key to my room, No. 249. When I arrived at the hotel I was told that my room was the last vacant room in the hotel. That was on the third floor."

April 23rd, 1906: Thomas A. Davis, a traveling man of New York, was killed by falling debris while entering the Palace Hotel on Wednesday morning. Davis arrived in San Francisco on Monday evening last, and on Tuesday night was married to Miss Virginia Shippley, head stenographer of the California Electrical Company. They were married quite unexpectedly and the bride of the day before became a widow in the morning.

The Monadnock building, next to the Examiner, was uninjured by fire, but shaken up by the dynamiting. Of the Palace Hotel the outer walls and partition walls remain. The Grand fairly volatilized in the tremendous heat. The remains of the Palace have been the subject of much interested inspection since the fire. All the outer walls and every partition are standing. Each room had brick partitions. The wreck shows that the Palace was a wonderfully safe building for the period when it was constructed and would have suffered little in an ordinary fire.

April 25th, 1906: PALACE HOTEL TO BE REBUILT. Managers of Sharon Estate Will Restore Famous Tavern. St. Francis Not Irreparably Damaged by the Fiery Baptism. The managers of the Sharon estate decided yesterday to rebuild the Palace Hotel on the original site. All the features which rendered the great hotel so famous and popular will be preserved and several features of modern hotel equipment will be added to the new Palace. The new structure will be at least ten stories high and will be rendered as nearly fire and earthquake proof as the skill of expert architects and builders can attain.

     The Sharon estate people comprehend that the Palace Hotel was an institution which the world regarded as part of San Francisco, hence the purpose to restore the tavern and make it in every respect worthy of the city beautiful. Business as well as sentimental reason prompt Senator Newlands and his associates to rebuild the hotel. William Dohrman, auditor of the St. Francis Hotel, today explored the building as far as the fourth floor. The interior resembles the inside walls of a dead furnace. The effect of the intense heat is shown by melted glass and metal objects. The walls, however, do not appear to be sprung and the building can be repaired. The engine-room in the basement sustained little or no damage. The steel superstructure is apparently unaffected, and save at the southeast corner, there are no cracks in the towering walls. The annex forming the third wing, which was in course of construction, was uninjured. VAULTS ARE INTACT. The vaults containing the safety deposit vaults are intact. While the metal finishings have been melted off, it is believed that the contents are safe. It is believed, roughly estimated, $500,000 will restore the magnificent hostelry to its former splendor.

April 26th, 1906: Miss. Wymans, Realty Syndicate, Oakland, wishes information about Dr. G. H. Martin, former residence Palace Hotel.

May 30th, 1906: NEW PLANS FOR PALACE HOTEL. Sharon Estate People Come to Look Over the Field. Fred Sharon, Senator Newlands, the young son of the; Earl of Hesketh and H. L. Wright solicitor for Lady Hesketh, arrived in this city yesterday to look after the interests of the Sharon estate. If the general plan that they are now discussing is carried out the old Palace Hotel will not be restored along its former lines and the world famed hostelry will undergo a change of style and architecture that is likely to be unwelcomed in the affections thousands of people held for the commodious caravansary with its great court and the gaiety that centered there.

     Financial interest is to take precedence over sentiment and the new Palace Hotel is to be a narrower structure, covering possibly only half the block and towering high into the air, maybe twice the height of the old structure, which was but seven stories. The remainder of the land, it is said, is to be devoted to a business structure.

     The Sharon estate people are anxious to rebuild along lines that will produce the greatest amount of revenue. Many propositions confront them. What to do with the Grand Hotel site is a subject engrossing their intention. One suggestion that has been made is that the new Palace be placed on that corner. What the definite plans will be will not be known for some time, however. The people of wealth who control the Sharon estate have come from afar to investigate the situation, so important do they regard the steps that are now to be decided upon. The visitors are holding conferences with Colonel J.C. Kirkpatrick, the general manager and with other directors of the estate, W. F. Herrin and Judge J. P. Allen.

May 31st, 1906: We have already decided to put up a magnificent building there, (the Palace site) but what the structure will be we cannot say whether it is to be a hotel or a business block. On all sides, we hear expressions of the deepest regret at the burning of the old hostelry, which seems to have been greatly endeared to the people of this city. It was built thirty-five years ago, and of course during that time the city has expanded to such a vast extent, that naturally the surroundings of the old place, have changed. All these changes must be considered before we can come to a conclusion as to what we shall erect there.

June 3rd, 1906: "We were due to leave the city for San Jose at 9 o'clock. I hurried to the Palace Hotel to secure a conveyance, but was told at the office that the barns were burning. I found an express wagon and asked the driver if he would take us to the depot. He named his price at $30, to which I readily assented. I had hardly completed these arrangements when a man rushed out of the Palace Hotel and offered him $300. The women by this time had crowded around the wagon and after one look at their anxious faces the driver said he would stick to his word."

June 7th, 1906: OWNERS OF PALACE HOTEL WILL ERECT TEMPORARY HOSTELRY. Sharon Estate - Trustees Order Work Rushed on Two Story Structure. Pending the erection of the Palace Hotel, the representatives of the Sharon estate will put up a temporary hostelry. It is to be a handsome affair in every way. One of the principal ideas in constructing this temporary building is to keep together the great force of help connected with the restaurant department until the new hotel opens. This includes every cook and attendant connected with the big dining rooms and grill in the old Palace.

     The new structure is to be located in a prominent part of the city, convenient to all the car lines. Architect Trowbridge. who built the St Regis of New York, has already drawn an outline of the plans for the new building. It will cover a 50-vara lot. It will be two stories in height and in a measure will resemble the old Palace. The great feature of the hotel, will be a dining hall 108 feet long by 40 feet wide. This will be so arranged that it can also be utilized for a ballroom. It is to be beautifully decorated and as artistically finished as is possible to make it. Attached to this will be a grill room, conducted the same as the old grill was at the Palace. Besides these, two spacious rooms, there will be a reception room for the ladies and a bar modeled in the design of the original Palace bar. A band will play in the main dining hall during the dinner hour, and also from 9 o'clock until 11 o'clock in the evening.

     In fact, it is the idea of the Sharon people to conduct this temporary hotel along exactly the same lines as the magnificent hostelry of old was conducted. The crockeryware to be used will be the sumptuous new service that was ordered six months ago to be made in Germany for the use of the old hotel. It was ordered in the most expensive designs and nothing to equal it has ever been seen in this state. It is already on its way across the Atlantic and will arrive here by the end of the month. The order for the glass and silverware was yesterday placed in New York and will be in keeping with the crockery. The upper floor of the building will be arranged in twenty-five bedrooms and suites, all to be complete with every modern convenience. These rooms are mainly intended for old patrons of the hotel who have already requested the Sharon people to care for them until the magnificent structure on the old site can be built. Mr. Kirkpatrick thinks that the new structure will be ready for occupancy in about two and one-half months. Bids were received yesterday for the wrecking of the old Palace, but as the last bid which was the sixteenth to come in, did not arrive until nearly 6 o'clock last night, none of them were opened.

June 9th, 1906: STATELY COURT FOR NEW PALACE. Sharons Are to Restore Main Feature of the Old Hostelry. The places for the construction of the new Palace Hotel that is to be built on the site of the old Palace occupied the attention of the representatives of the Sharon estate all day yesterday. That it is to be similar in style and design to the famous old hostelry has already been decided upon, and that there will be a court in the center is also another assured fact. This is good news for the people of this city, especially to those who have lived in the Palace for many years. The burning of this, the first great hotel built on the coast, was felt as a personal bereavement to every Californian. The Palace was built thirty-five years ago by the late William C. Ralston, then cashier of the Bank of California. It was at that time equal to any hotel in this country, and the court exceeded in size, grandeur and beauty the court of any other hotel in this or any other country. No hotel in the world has ever boasted a court of anything like its magnitude.

     It is therefore not surprising that in the new hostelry the court is to play a prominent factor. In all probability it will not be quite as large as the old one, but it will be magnificent. The style of architecture has not as yet been decided upon, but it will differ materially from the old building, this being necessitated by the modern ideas of structure. The old Palace was composed of a great mass of brick and mortar, while the new one will be of steel and stone. Several different styles of architecture are now being drafted by as many different architects and until these are all completed and placed before the Sharons no decision will be made. The building, however, is to be as magnificent as money can make it, and when completed it is expected it will be one of the most superb in the world.

TEMPORARY PALACE. Post and Leavenworth Corner Leased By Sharon Estate. The northwest corner of Post and Leavenworth Streets is to be the site of the temporary Palace Hotel. After examining a great many pieces of obtainable ground, the Sharon estate has finally chosen this corner, a little more than 137:6 feet square. A. J. Rich & Co. who report the lease, which was made at their office today, state that the Palace Hotel will at once erect a substantial building covering the entire property. A grill and banquet hall will be established to accommodate patrons. The second story will be occupied by the administrative forces of the Sharon Estate Company, from which location they will direct all the work that will concern the company in the erection of the new Palace Hotel, and will probably have on this present location about 100 suites of rooms for the accommodation of important personages who must necessarily visit San Francisco during the next two or three years. 

June 16th, 1906: GRAND HOTEL SITE FOR SALE. Sharon Heirs Will Part With Old Hostelry Property. The Grand Hotel property is for sale —that is, the Sharons are willing to part with it, provided they can get its full market value. Their reason for this is that the new Palace Hotel is to be of such large dimensions that it will practically be able to care for the former number of guests of both these establishments.

July 5th, 1906: THE OLD AND THE NEW. In a few days the contractors will have men at work tearing down the walls of the Palace Hotel. The derrick and the steam winch will lift aside the twisted steel girders and drag down the stout masonry. While there is rejoicing that a splendid monument to the courage and loyalty of the Sharons is to be erected in its place, there are few of us who will not feel a pang of sorrow on seeing the grand old building that had for so many years been our pride leveled to the ground. That is the sentimental side of it, and sentiment with us of the West is something that is cherished. Commercially the rebuilding of the new Palace Hotel is going to be of tremendous moment to this city. The name of the famous caravansary is known wherever civilized man visits in the remotest parts of the globe. It was the Mecca of many a traveler from the Indies, from Northern and Southern Europe, the South, the North and the Far East. That it shall rise again more magnificent than ever is inspiring, more than encouraging, for in its vast tiers we will see the marks of the evolution of a new period in our history. Fate ordained that the old Palace should be humbled in its ashes and that the new should rise even more proudly than the old. It is the immutable law of progression. The rebuilding of the Palace Hotel will be but one of the great achievements of the people of San Francisco. The stones of once imposing structures had scarcely grown cold when man was there to reconstruct that which had been destroyed. One hundred years ago the task of repairing the appalling damage that has been done this city would have been regarded impossible. To remove the debris alone would have made our sturdy and determined ancestors wince, much as they would have gone to the task with unbounded energy and toiled to show their courage. In these days massive machinery, railroads and all that goes to make up progressive civilization is at hand to do the work of rebuilding and do it quickly. When critics say with rash insistency that San Francisco cannot be rebuilt within ten or fifteen years, they should study the case of the Palace Hotel. The new building will be complete within two or three years, a better and a larger structure than it was before. When one takes into consideration that there are hundreds of men in San Francisco with the Sharon spirit, born of pioneer days, and that these men will do just as the Sharons are doing, the thought of a slow-growing city will surely perish. All the world wonders at our pluck and determination, and we have only just begun to give them an example of both.

July 11th, 1906: FORTUNE AWAITS MAN LOST IN DISASTER. James McGivney if Still Alive Will Inherit an Australian Relative's Large Savings

HIS FATE UNKNOWN. May Have Died in Earthquake or Left City in Confusion of Great Fire. He was employed at the time of the earthquake in the Palace Hotel, and every trace of him seems to have vanished as completely with the destruction of that place as though he, like the woodwork of the building, had gone up in smoke.

July 12th, 1906: Mrs. James B. McNamara of 61B Prospect Avenue, who is a cousin of McGivney, came to The Call office yesterday with the information that she saw her relative in San Francisco after the fire and that he told her he was going to Oregon. McGivney was employed at the Palace Hotel as an elevator operator before the fire, and went north in the expectation of obtaining employment there. He will be receiving an inheritance of $100,000.

July 14th, 1906: The Palace Hotel building was most largely insured by the Commercial Union of London.

July 15th, 1906: Plans are already being made by Mrs. Ynez Shorb White for her dances next winter, as she has been besieged by requests from both girls and men that she should not discontinue these affairs, which were so delightful a feature of last winter's social season. The patronesses will, with a few exceptions, be the same as before and the dances will, as formerly, take place at the Palace Hotel. Not, alas! in the beautiful white and gold ballroom of the beloved old building on Market Street, but in the grill room of the temporary Palace building to be erected at Post and Leavenworth streets, and which will be completed before the late fall. Mrs. White has decided to have five dances during the season instead of four as heretofore.

July 22nd, 1906: STATION MAY RISE ON PALACE SITE. Southern Pacific Said to Have Made Offer to the Sharon Estate. The Sharons are still anxious to put up another Palace Hotel on the old site, and that they are loth to have the property go out of their hands, but when they receive an offer of such magnitude as is reported to have been made by the Southern Pacific it naturally makes the Sharon people stop and think.

July 25th, 1906: "The Palace Hotel Is to be rebuilt," said Senator Newlands yesterday, "notwithstanding all the rumors and reports that are floating around to the contrary. "I can easily understand how these reports have started, because we seem to have taken no action in the way of tearing down the ruins of the old building. We cannot proceed with that work yet," continued Senator Newlands. "The insurance companies will not let us tear down the ruined walls until they have completed their appraisements. The report that the Southern Pacific Company has bought, or is to buy, the Palace property is without foundation so far as I know. Yes, the Grand Hotel property is for sale. The site would be an excellent corner for the Southern Pacific depot." The work of building the new Palace Hotel will begin as soon as the insurance companies give their consent. The old building was insured for $1,250,000. Its contents and furniture carried $250.000. The insurance has not been paid. The new Palace is to cost about $6,000,000. It will be the most magnificent structure of its size in the world. The court, so dear to the people of the city, is to be larger than before. It will be glassed over at the second floor so that the upper rooms will have windows opening to fresh air.

August 9th, 1906: ANY ONE having Illustrated souvenir book of Palace Hotel win confer a favor by sending the same to Palace office. 2123 California St.

August 15th, 1906: REFUSES TO JOIN IN REBUILDING PALACE. Lady Hesketh Unwilling to Assist in the Erection of a Greater Hostelry. HER SOLICITOR SO ANNOUNCES. Senator Newlands and Fred Sharon Will Seek Elsewhere for Financial Aid. LADY FLORENCE HESKETH, daughter of the late United States Senator William Sharon of Nevada, has given notice through her London solicitor that she will not help in the rebuilding of the Palace Hotel. She arrived at this decision after a thorough discussion of the subject with Sir Thomas Hesketh, who advised his wife to devote her funds to some other purpose.

August 16th, 1906: NEW PALACE READY FOR ITS GUESTS. Colonel J. C. Kirkpatrick, managing director of the Sharon Estate Company, stated yesterday that the new Palace Hotel on the corner of Leavenworth and Post streets will be formally opened on September 1. Although It has been constructed with the Idea of accommodating only a limited number of guests, it has an attractive feature that will be welcomed by the old patrons of the famous hostelry — a handsome dining-room and court similar to those of the old Palace. The dining-room has been built so that it may be utilized for dancing purposes, and it has already been engaged for several society events this winter. The temporary hotel will remain in commission until the new Palace rises above the ruins on the old site at the corner of Market and New Montgomery Streets. Plans for the latter are now being drawn.

August 24th, 1906: HOTEL PROMOTERS REINCORPORATE. The Palace Hotel Company, which will have as a primary object the rebuilding, and management of the famous old hostelry in this city, has filed articles of incorporation in the State of Nevada. The incorporators are Frederick W. Sharon, Francis G. Newlands, William H. Crocker, John C. Kirkpatrick, William F. Herrin and Wellington Gregg Jr. The company is capitalized for $5,000.000, which will be divided between the Sharon Estate Company, consisting of Frederick W. Sharon, Lady Hesketh and Senator Newlands and his daughters and others identified with the Sharon Estate Company, and William H. Crocker. The largest interest in the capital stock will be taken by the latter company, which controlled the old Palace Hotel.

     It was stated yesterday that it has not yet been decided by the original incorporators of the new hotel company whether they will hold all the stock among themselves, but it is probable that with a view to fixing local interest in the new establishment the company may place a portion of the stock with a few persons whose co-operation would be desirable. Messrs. Sharon, Newlands, Kirkpatrick and Herrin are directors of the Sharon Estate Company. The Crocker interest in the newly incorporated hotel company will be represented on the board of the latter concern by W. H. Crocker and Wellington Gregg Jr., who is connected with the Crocker-Woolworth National Bank.

     Plans for the new Palace Hotel are already in the hands of architects and will be submitted shortly to the promoters of the big enterprise, who are at present in consultation with engineers in this city regarding the removing of the vast amount of debris from the site of the old hotel and preparing the ground for the modern structure. John C. Kirkpatrick, who so successfully managed the old Palace for so many years, will retain his responsible position in the new hotel. The fact that the Crockers have joined in the project to rebuild the Palace Hotel emphasizes their confidence in the future of San Francisco, for they are one of the largest stockholders in the St. Francis Hotel, which is already in the hands of the rebuilders of the city.

September 18th, 1906: WILL ERECT PALACE IN TWO YEARS. Contracts for all the structural steel required for the new Palace Hotel of San Francisco have been awarded to the American Bridge Company. The gratifying assurance is received is that the materials will be delivered within four months after the specifications have been placed in the hands of the steel manufacturers. This assurance of prompt delivery of material in this city convinces Mahoney, the contractor for removing the old structure and erecting the new, that the vast work can be finished within two years.' Steel delivery within three months after an order has been placed is about the best that can be done in Chicago and New York, whose examples of rapid construction are afforded. Delivery within four months in San Francisco is a much better concession than the contractor expected. The recreated Palace will surpass the old caravansary in several essential points. The equipment will be modern and superior in every detail. Nothing in the world of inns will outclass the new tavern. The architects, Trowbridge & Livingstone, will have the plans ready for the contractor early next week. Trowbridge is in the city, giving the work personal supervision. Money for the execution of the great enterprise is available through the agency of the Crocker National Bank of San Francisco ample capital has been subscribed, as the investment, aside from its value as a business proposition, appeals readily to a sense of city pride. 

September 29th, 1906: STOCK OF PALACE HOTEL TAKEN. Stock of the new Palace Hotel is all taken and rebuilding is to begin soon. The stock of the Palace Hotel Company, limited to $5,000,000 is practically taken. The Sharon estate signed for $3,000,000 and W.H. Crocker accepted the responsibility of placing the remaining $2,000, 000. Yesterday Raphael Weill subscribed for $100,000 worth of the stock, purchasing 1000 shares.

October 5th, 1906: BLASTING OF PALACE HOTEL. The Supervisors' fire committee declined yesterday to grant a permit to „E. W. McLellan to blast the ruins of the Palace Hotel until such time as he secures the written consent of the following owners of adjacent improvements: Union Trust Company, Crocker Estate Company, Law Bros., M. H. de Young, Claus Spreckels and the Mutual Bank. Chairman Duffy of the committee held that it was only just that adjacent property owners should be protected. Duffy said that if the desired consent is secured the blasting must be done at night.

October 18th, 1906: WILL INVESTIGATE DYNAMITING. President Duffey of Works Board May Arrest Wreckers of the Palace Hotel. NO PERMIT TO BLAST. “Tomorrow morning I shall make a personal inspection of the ruins of the Palace Hotel, and I find the report that blasting was done there tonight is true, I shall order the arrest of the responsible parties. As chairman of the fire committee of the Board of Supervisors I refused to favorably recommend the petition of the hotel people to blast, save under certain conditions, which included the permission and consent of owners of adjacent property. I do not think this consent has been obtained. I know that the Board of Public Works has not granted permission to use blasting powder, nor has the contractor filed his bond, which is required in all cases where blasting is done at the possible jeopardy of other property owners.”—Statement of George Duffey, president of the Board of Public Works.

     At about 9 o'clock last night the thunderous sound of heavy blasting came apparently from the ruins of the Palace Hotel. Contractor E. W. McLellan of Los Angeles has a force of men working on the building, tearing the superstructure down. The old hotel was built to stay and the laborers find it a tedious job to loosen brick from brick.

     So McLellan applied to the Board of Supervisors for a permit to blast. The petition was filed with the fire committee, of which George Duffey, recently appointed president of the Board of Works, was chairman. Duffey saw the danger in which adjacent buildings would be placed if explosives were used and refused to recommend the application unless the petitioner could secure the consent of the Law brothers, owners of the Monadnock building, the Crocker Estate Company, Claus Spreckels, the Union Trust Company, M. H. de Young, and others whose holdings might be menaced by the work. H. E. Bothin, of the Atlas building, filed a protest against the blasting. Without the sanction of the Supervisors and the permission and direction of the Board of Works nothing could be done legally by the razers. According to President Duffey they have no legal right to blast. At least six heavy charges of powder were set off last night. In the darkness surrounding the hotel block it was impossible to locate to a degree of certainty just on what property the explosive was discharged. But a canvass of the four sides of the block narrowed the location of the firing to the hotel site. About the only person who declared that the blast was not fired in the hotel ruins was the night watchman there. When asked where the blasts were fired he waved his hand vaguely in the direction of Mission and Third Streets. Inquiries along this imaginary line, however, threw the center of concussion back into the hotel ruins. The facts will develop tomorrow.

October 19th, 1906: ORDERS THE BLASTING OF PALACE HOTEL TO CEASE. Fire Committee Requests Chief of Police to Prevent Use of Powder in Razing of Walls. The fire committee of the Board of Supervisors ordered a notice sent yesterday to the Chief of Police to stop all blasting operations on the Palace Hotel walls. Supervisor Mamlock, who presided, said that he had received information that blasts had been fired in the ruins of the hotel on Wednesday night. Mamlock said the fire committee had never recommended that a permit be granted for blasting to E.W. McLellan, the contractor who is taking down the walls, and no permit had been granted by the Board of Supervisors. Mamlock asserted that McLellan was violating the law and that the blasting operations must cease. President Duffey of the Board of Works made a personal inspection and found no evidences of blasting at the Palace Hotel ruins. Duffey notified McLellan not to use powder to raze the walls unless he secured a permit.

October 23rd, 1906: E. W. McLellan filed the written consent of W.H. Crocker, Crocker Estate Company, Crocker Realty Company, the Crocker National Bank and the Sharon Estate Company to the firing of small blasts of powder to wreck the Palace Hotel walls.

October 27th, 1906: William Hoffman to Get $4000 a Year for Directing Music at the Palace. Professor William Hoffman, teacher of the violin in the St. Thomas Conservatory of Music, Ann Arbor, Mich., has resigned his position and will return to San Francisco. Professor Hoffman arrived in Ann Arbor from San Francisco only a short time ago and intended to remain at St. Thomas Conservatory as a teacher, but a tempting offer of $4000 a year, made by the Palace Hotel In San Francisco to take charge of its orchestra, caused him to decide to return there. He left Friday for the coast.

November 17th, 1906: PALACE HOTEL TO OPEN TODAY. The first guest at the new Palace Hotel at Post and Leavenworth Streets will be registered this afternoon, and the first dinner served in the new hostelry will be a feature of the day's entertainment provided by the management. After a week or so of delay, Manager Rich has received the consignments of supplies that held back the opening, and everything at last is ready for the complete comfort of the visitors. Twenty-four rooms in the hotel will accommodate transient guests, there being no arrangement made for the housing of permanent guests. Every care has been taken by the management for the comfort and welfare of the guests. In a few weeks, the annex on the corner diagonally opposite, containing nineteen rooms will be open. Besides Manager Rich, Frank Burnett will act as cashier, J.M. Brownell as clerk, and Victor Reiter as head waiter. 

November 18th, 1906: The first guest to register at the new Palace Hotel was Major Frank McLaughlin, who is in the city for a few days from Santa Cruz.

(Ctd from article at right:) Vari-colored lights and groups palms were arranged artistically and made appropriate cozy corners for guests and friends that gathered to join the management in celebration of the opening. Bevies of men and women gathered in the large dining-room and the luxurious reception hall. The women's parlor and men's smoking rooms were well patronized. In the main dining-room the Sharons spread a small banquet for twelve friends while at the other tables were seated prominent San Franciscans. The first guest to register was Major Frank McLaughlin. Among others at the hotel are Frank H. Bucks and Mrs. Bucks, F. U. Vail and Mrs. Vail, Cora Calvert Foy, W. Roderick Dorsey of Shanghai and William A. Allen of the steamship Korea. An elaborate programme of music was arranged by Professor William F. Hoffman, comprising selections from leading operas.

November 21st, 1906: Edward M. Greenway's Birthday Dance Opens the Season With Brilliancy. Not a vestige of doubt remains that San Francisco society folk are in the mood for all manner of merrymaking and gayety as was proved by the gathering at Edward M. Greenway's birthday dance last night at the Palace Hotel. Nothing has taken place since the fire that has been more of the rehabilitated, more of a sign of the revivifying of the city, more reminiscent of the old days of prosperity, than this ball, which has become an annual affair to which people look forward with the most pleasurable anticipation. This year there was the question in every mind as to whether things would be at all as of yore, and one of the signs most eagerly looked for was as to whether Mr. Greenway would give his birthday dance. It has come a little late on account of delay in completing the little new Palace Hotel, but none the less was it a joyous occasion. In fact, so thoroughly gay and happy a ball had not taken place for many years before. The reaction from trouble was felt everyone was delighted with the hotel, new to most of them, and which gave the affair the air of a dance at a country-house; there were any number of the most beautiful gowns and everyone was greeting everyone else with a sort of a "long-lost but rediscovered" air that was charming. The new ballroom with its effective soft-gray walls was simply decorated with tall potted palms and other plants, producing a most artistic background for the throngs of guests that filled the room. The gathering was a notable one in the social annals of the city and many, of those present, particularly men, were re-entering society after many years of absence. A special car came from Burlingame, which was switched on the track on Post Street and brought the guests directly to the hotel. Many beautiful gowns were worn and in spite of existing conditions there was no lack of jewels observed.

November 26th, 1906: DEFECTIVE FLUE CAUSES SCARE AMONG THE GUESTS. Palace Hotel Is Filled With Smoke and After Alarm Is Turned In It Is Discovered There Is No Fire. While the dining-room of the new Palace Hotel, Post and Leavenworth Streets, was crowded with fashionable guests about 10 o'clock yesterday morning a flue blew out in the boiler room. Smoke immediately filled the hotel, and a still alarm was quickly turned in by the steward. When the firemen arrived they discovered that no danger existed. The windows were thrown open, the smoke disappeared and the guests returned to finish their meal.

December 1st, 1906: Edward Cuneo, aged 14, killed by falling of brick from Palace Hotel, and contractors place responsibility on President Duffey of Works Board. Senator Newlands and other Sharon helm owning hotel property may be indicted for manslaughter. ....The Cuneo lad, with his two companions, was on the sidewalk on Market Street before the hotel when the wind loosened a heavy column of masonry at an upper window. The brick and mortar fell outward, striking the top of the fence about the property just as the boy was passing. Part of the mass fell into the street, crushing young Cuneo and killing him instantly. Many people were in the vicinity at the time and saw the fatality. Policeman J. J. Tillman of the Southern station telephoned for assistance, and Captain Colby and a squad arrived with an ambulance and removed the Castro boy to the Central Emergency Hospital, where his injuries were treated. The body of young Cuneo was taken from under the debris and removed to the Morgue.

     The police immediately stopped car traffic on Market Street, while they took precautions to prevent other fatalities. There was great danger apparent from the walls of the Grand Hotel, which swayed in the heavy wind. Shortly after the fatal accident the wall of a building at 570 Market Street crashed down, barely missing three women who were passing.

     E. W. McLellan and A. D. McLellan, contractors who are wrecking the Palace Hotel place the blame for the death of the Cuneo boy on President Duffey of the Board of Works. They say that they wanted to put a high fence about the hotel ruins fifteen feet from the sidewalk, but were ordered by Duffey to place it within three feet of the curb.

December 2nd, 1906: DANGEROUS WALLS TO COME DOWN. Works Board to Be Aided by Truck Companies in the Razing of City's Ruins.

As the result of the killing of little Eddy Cuneo by falling bricks from the ruins of the Palace Hotel on Friday, the Board of Public Works decided yesterday to pull down all dangerous walls in the burned district at once. The board will make arrangements with the Fire Commissioners to have two truck companies with their complement of firemen begin active operations tomorrow morning in the removal of such walls, so that similar accidents will be prevented in future. President Duffey announced that wherever property owners have failed or neglected to tear down swaying walls, the fire department will do the work and the expense thereof will be charged to the property owners. In order to insure the payment of the bill the board will refuse to issue permits for any buildings on lots from which walls have been removed by the city authorities. Secretary Levy announced that the Grand Jury had expressed its determination to stand by the Board of Works in the work of tearing down walls and to indict for manslaughter any property owner whose falling walls may kill somebody. The board also directed Policeman Beach to stop all further blasting of the Palace Hotel walls until Contractor McLellan had built a roof over the sidewalk in order to protect pedestrians from falling bricks. The board will not permit McLellan to resume operations until the roof has been put up. After the meeting Duffey hotly resented the charge made by McLellan that Cuneo's death resulted through his being compelled to build a fence back from the sidewalk line, instead of along the street curb, as he wanted to [do]. "I personally told McLellan that he would have to build a roof over the sidewalk of the Palace Hotel to prevent falling material from striking passers by," said Duffey. "I pointed to the roof around the Crocker building to give him an idea of what I wanted. McLellan refused to obey my orders, and I believe that he is criminally responsible for Cuneo's death on that account."

December 31st, 1906: Part of the front wall of the old Palace Hotel, which for so many years has been the pride of old San Francisco, with its seven stories of brick and iron beams, was pulled to the ground yesterday afternoon with a crash and a roar that could be heard for blocks. The interior of the great structure had been stripped of its retaining walls, leaving the shell a menace to the lives of passers-by, but the work so far has been carried on with remarkable success with no danger to lives or damage to surrounding property.

     The E. W. McClellan Wrecking Company, in charge of the operations, first attacked the east wall, facing on New Montgomery Street, fastening wire cables at the base of the wall and with a donkey engine in the center of the interior of the space, pulled inward, weakening the foundations until the whole seven stories crumbled down upon each other in practically the same spot on which they stood. They next fixed upon the front wall, taking in about forty feet from the corner, and after three attempts, during which a large crowd had gathered and traffic was suspended, the walls began to sway, brick archways crumbled, and suddenly amid the shouts of the thousands, the massive beams and tons upon tons of brick and mortar crashed to the earth in a great, choking cloud of dust. Very little debris was thrown into the street, and traffic was immediately resumed. Operations will be continued today and will not cease until the famous old hostelry is but a thing of the memory. 

Palace Hotel Timeline

1907 to 1912