Lafayette Hotel & Suites in San Diego
Encyclopedia
The Lafayette Hotel and Suites is a hotel in San Diego, California
. It was opened on July 1, 1946.
The Lafayette's original name was Imig Manor, owned by local entrepreneur Larry Imig. The LaFayette 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 (10,521.8 m²) in North Park, including the Lafayette Hotel, for $11.5 million in March 2004. Hampstead Partners is restoring the Lafayette as a boutique hotel. 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
said the revitalization is a return to the hotel’s “glamour and opulence.”
The hotel has an Olympic-sized swimming pool designed by Johnny Weissmuller
, a ballroom, and 131 guest suites, each named for a great name in film history. Its Red Fox Restaurant is a longtime San Diego favorite.
.
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
. It was opened on July 1, 1946.
The Lafayette's original name was Imig Manor, owned by local entrepreneur Larry Imig. The LaFayette was originally built at a cost of $2 million on El Cajon Boulevard
El Cajon Boulevard
El Cajon Boulevard is a major east–west thoroughfare through San Diego, La Mesa and El Cajon, California. Before the creation of Interstate 8 it was the principal automobile route from San Diego to El Cajon, the Imperial Valley, and points east....
. 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 (10,521.8 m²) in North Park, including the Lafayette Hotel, for $11.5 million in March 2004. Hampstead Partners is restoring the Lafayette as a boutique hotel. 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
Todd Gloria
Todd Gloria is an American elected official in San Diego, California. He serves as a San Diego City Councilmember representing District 3. He was elected to a four-year term in 2008...
said the revitalization is a return to the hotel’s “glamour and opulence.”
The hotel has an Olympic-sized swimming pool designed by Johnny Weissmuller
Johnny Weissmuller
Johnny Weissmuller was an Austro-Hungarian-born American swimmer and actor best known for playing Tarzan in movies. Weissmuller was one of the world's best swimmers in the 1920s, winning five Olympic gold medals and one bronze medal. He won fifty-two US National Championships and set sixty-seven...
, a ballroom, and 131 guest suites, each named for a great name in film history. Its Red Fox Restaurant is a longtime San Diego favorite.
In popular culture
The Lafayette Hotel served as a film set for the feature film Top GunTop Gun
Top Gun may refer to:* Top Gun is a 1986 film starring Tom Cruise.**Top Gun , soundtrack to the movie**Top Gun , a number of games based on the movie...
.