National Register of Historic Places

Lafayette Hotel

San Diego, San Diego County, California
Listed
July 30, 2012
Type
Building
Period
Industrial
Ref No.
12000443

About this property

The Lafayette Hotel and Club is a hotel in San Diego, California, United States, that opened July 1, 1946. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on July 31, 2012. The Lafayette's original name was Imig Manor, owned by local entrepreneur Larry Imig. It was originally built at a cost of $2 million on El Cajon Boulevard. When Imig Manor opened in 1946, its first guest was Bob Hope; other celebrities followed. “The buildings and the pool are steeped in the history of Hollywood’s heyday, the 1940s and ’50s,” according to the developer. By 1960, Interstate 8 replaced El Cajon Boulevard as the main east-west connector of San Diego, and hotel operations ceased due to the loss of through traffic on El Cajon Boulevard. The building was passed through several owners, until Hampstead Lafayette Partners purchased 2.6 acres (11,000 m2) in North Park, including the Lafayette Hotel, for $11.5 million in March 2004. In 2010 a year-long, $4 million facelift was announced, aided by a $2.4 million loan from the city's Redevelopment Agency. District 3 City Councilmember Todd Gloria called the revitalization a return to the hotel's “glamour and opulence.” From 2013 to 2018, the hotel was the venue for Finest City Improv, an improvisational theater. The hotel was closed from fall 2022 to summer 2023 for extensive renovations, including upgrades for the guest rooms and the addition of eight new restaurants and bars. The hotel reopened in July 2023 after a $31 million renovation. The hotel has a swimming pool designed by Johnny Weissmuller, a ballroom, and 141 guest suites, each named for a great name in film history. In 2024 the hotel was inducted into Historic Hotels of America, an official program of the National Trust for Historic Preservation.

Location

2223 El Cajon Blvd.
San Diego, San Diego County, California
32.75628, -117.14145

Categories

COMMUNITY PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENTARCHITECTURE
National Register nomination ›
Sources

Property data from the National Register of Historic Places, National Park Service (public domain).

Description adapted from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

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Native Heritage
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Nearby Historic Sites

Teacher Training School Building-San Diego State Normal School
Industrial
0.3 mi
University Heights Water Storage and Pumping Station Historic District
Industrial
0.4 mi
Georgia Street Bridge-Caltrans Bridge
Industrial
0.6 mi
Chaplain's House
Industrial
1 mi
San Diego Veterans' War Memorial Building-Balboa Park
Industrial
1.3 mi

Questions about this property

When was Lafayette Hotel listed on the National Register?

Lafayette Hotel was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on July 30, 2012.

What type of historic resource is Lafayette Hotel?

Lafayette Hotel is classified as a building in the National Register of Historic Places.

What is the period of significance for Lafayette Hotel?

The period of significance for Lafayette Hotel is recorded as the industrial era.

Can I research the history near Lafayette Hotel?

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