The San Francisco call., 1910-06-18
NEW DOWNTOWN HOTEL REVVES TRADITIONS OF THE OLD DAY
new HOSTELRY in
old HOTEL QUARTER
Project Revives Traditions of
Past and Romantic Story
of Ownership of Site

. The long hoped for rehabilitation Of
the downtown hotel district is about to
begin. This is assured by the lease
made few DAYS ago Of the southeast
corner OF Kearny and Sutter streets to
a local hotel company through Keith &
Mccarthy.
Plans for = large hotel are now being
prepared By Architect l. B. Dutton. 1t
viii be an eight story building. with a
spacious lobby. office and drawing
rooms a grill. barber shop and bar Of
lire most modern type. and all the other
accessories Of a first class hotel.
This viii be the first new hotel to
take the place of the old Lick, occi-
dental California. Grand and Russ
house. that famous collection Of good
old hostelries that used to be such a
feature Of san Francisco's downtown
district
1t is a singular fact that in spite of
the extensive rebuilding Of this district
on q erander scale than formerly not
one Of the old hotels destroyed by the
fire has been reconstructed, except the
Palace. That indeed, was always in a
class by itself
TRAVELLERS LIKED OLD HOTELS
it was the older hotels that attracted
the greater number Of travellers from
mp and down the coast, from Mexico
10 Alaska, from the interior west and
even from the far shores of the Pa
Cific. There was 2 IA amiliarity and good
comradeship among this group Of hotels
that made strangers feel at home. They
liked to bring their wives and their
whole families TO these good old houses,
situated so conveniently for visitors to
financial and shopping districts.
Greater and more snowy hotels have
come into existence farther up town
since the fire, but none that could quite
take the place of the old hostelries.
Their traditions have survived, and
many an old timer from the interior
has come TO town in the last four years,
hunted around for one of his old stop
ping places and disconsolately put up
at 4 new hotel. and finally gone away
with a feeling OF homesickness.
The news OF the first successor to the
old hotels is hailed with delight by the
businessmen OF the retail and financial
district. IT is believed that this Will
act a. n incentive for the rebuilding
OF at least one more OF the famous
hostelries. the Occidental. It's former
site. Montgomery street between Bush
AND Suffer. which is still vacant except
for the temporary one story. structure
occupied by the Donohoe Kelly bank, in
all probability viii be occupied by a
new Occidental hotel within year or
two.
TO REBUILD OLD OCCIDENTAL
For year past there has been an
effort by various interests to bring
this about The Mills estate represen-
tatives. il is understood, have offered
rfysl,arTlo I IN o0O ToKyro nd clJcb a
building. The Donahue and Donohoe
owners Of the ground have been ne
gotiated with. But the number of heirs
TO be consulted and the recent death in
England Of one Of the principal leg
atees has delayed the matter. It is
thought, however. that before long
some agreement viii be reached and
plans made for hotel.
Even these two new hotels would in
a measure restore the traditions OF the
former nostelries and give old travellers
q chance to go to the same locality and
feel at home when they revisit san
Francisco
a ROMANTIC HISTORY
The new hotel to be erected on the
site Of the old Thurlow block, at the
corner of Kearny and Sutter streets,
has an interest aside from the part it
viii play in restoring old hotel tradi-
tions. This plot. Of land, valued at
something like 500 900. is a part of the
Jacob Z. Davis estate, over which there
was a fierce will contest extending over
IL years.
It was by the merest accident that
the present rightful heirs and owners
Of this property. Mrs. John NJ Curtis
and Mrs. William @. Mugan, came into
possession Of it and more than mil
lion dollars worth of other real es-
tate.
Back of all this again lies the pioneer
story Of the time, in the early sixties,
when young Boyd and Davis came down
% San Francisco from Sacramento to
stavest some money and try their for
sunes here. Davis acquired a good deal
3f real estate Davis wife died and
he had her body cremated and her
ashes sealed up in a tin box which
he put into his safe. This seemed like
a sacrilege to the Scotch Presbyterian
relatives Of his wife.
Davis was Dunkard, and when he
got old and in III health he went back
T. his native place, Philadelphia. He
died in a hospital there. and his dying
request was that his ashes should be
buried in the Dunkard cemetery at
Germantown. Pa. He also requested
that his wifes ashes be mingled with
his.
Her relatives strongly objected to
this provision belng carried out More
over. a great tumult had arisen over
his estate of two million dollars be-
cause no viii could be found. It was
thought that Lizzie and Belle Muir. his
nieces, who had grown up in his home.
would be the benehciaries of his will
il il could be found.
HARD FOUGHT LEGAL CONTEST
Attorney Joseph c. Campbell of San
Francisco took up the legal battle for
the nieces. now Mrs. Curtis and Mrs.
Augan. 1t was learned almost by acci-
dent that the tinsmith who sealed up
the box containing Mrs. Davis ashes
remembered putting a paper into it,
The box was opened and there was the
viii Tt gave all his property TO his
two nieces.
In the meantime a dozen Davis
claimants had arisen in different parts
Of the United States. second, third and
fourth cousins. SO called, all laying
claim TO the estate.
Then the fact was brought out that
Davis original family name was not
Davis at all, but Dediker. He had been