Huntington Hotel, 1401 South Oak Knoll Avenue, Pasadena, Los Angeles County, CA

Significance: By the 1890s, Pasadena's mild winter climate and scenic beauty was attracting thousands of winter visitors. Resort hotels flourished from the turn of the century until the 1930s. The Huntington Hotel was constructed in 1907, during the height of the resort era. It was designed by two prominent local architects, Charles Whittlesey (first four floors) and Myron Hunt (later addition of top two floors and belvedere) and is associated with prominent hotelier Danniel Linnard. / The Huntington Hotel was the work of Charles F. Whittlesey and Myron Hunt, two of Southern California's early master architects. Both operated within a stylistic range that served to link the building with the traditions and history of the region, thus increasing its romantic appeal for those visiting from less exotic places. Whittlesey designed the building up to the fourth floor in 1906. It is one of his most ambitious and finely detailed Mission Revival buildings. He was one of the first architects to use reinforced concrete cast in place for both building structure as well as ornament. The Huntington was one of the earliest examples of the use of this technology. Myron Hunt was a very popular early exponent of a "California" style. He completed the building to its eventual roof level in 1913 and redesigned its interiors. In the hotel design he attempted a synthesis of Classical and Renaissance elements to generate an early version of a Mediterranean Revival architecture that became dominant in Southern California in the 1920's and 30's.
Unprocessed Field note material exists for this structure: FN-210
Survey number: HABS CA-2251