2 Historic Hotels Get Together : Gaslamp Group to Rebuild Dismantled Structures

Some people thought San Diego developer Dan Pearson was crazy when he proposed dismantling two of the city’s oldest hotels, then reconstructing them as one.

Less than five years later, though, half of his dream has come true, and he is ready to start the rest.

The Horton Grand and the Kahle Saddlery were two of the finest hotels in Southern California when they were built in the late 1800s.

And when development threatened them a few years ago, Pearson decided to act.

Gaslamp Quarter Enterprises, a company owned by Pearson, dismantled the hotels piece by piece and stored the parts in its warehouse on 4th Avenue. The company now hopes to reconstruct the two buildings into one antique-luxury hotel that will take its patrons back to the horse-and-buggy days.

Ground breaking for the $10-million hotel, called the Horton Grand Saddlery, is scheduled for April 18. The project at 4th Avenue and Island Street should be completed in May, 1986.

“Everyone we went to, departments and agencies, said, ‘You can’t do it,’ ” Pearson said. “We were willing to take a try, and it was easier than expected.”

The Horton Grand, originally constructed in 1886, was named for Alonzo Horton, San Diego’s founding father. Notable guests of the hotel included President Benjamin Harrison, Hawaiian King Kalakua and boxing legend Jack Dempsey, according to hotel managing director Billy Riley.

The Kahle Saddlery was built in 1887 and was a favorite “watering hole” for many Southern California cowboys.

The Horton Grand faced almost certain demolition in 1979 to make room for the Horton Plaza shopping center, and the Kahle Saddlery was on a site designated for a senior citizen housing project.

After “enormous” debate, preservationists and city officials worked out a solution whereby the buildings would be moved to another location, Pearson said. Gaslamp Quarter Enterprises was selected for the job.

But the buildings could not be moved, he said, because 19th-Century buildings have no internal support beams, and they could have collapsed. Pearson then decided to dismantle them.

The project is being financed with a combination of private funds, city contributions and a $1-million Urban Development Action Grant, Pearson said.

The hotel could generate $104,000 in property taxes and $125,000 in hotel-motel taxes for the city during the first year of operation, he said.

Pearson said he knows of no other project in the country in which a large building was dismantled, then reconstructed. He decided to attempt the feat because of what he called the importance of preserving the Victorian hotels.

“How do you replace a Picasso? The answer is you can’t,” he said. “How do you replace two of the finest hotels in the city? The answer is you can’t.”

Every piece of wood and every brick was numbered and catalogued so that workers would know where it came from, Pearson said.

Robert Miles Parker, a local preservationist, said he believes most preservationists in the community are pleased with what Pearson is doing.

Saving the hotels was a “very long, very complex, very controversial issue,” said Parker, founder of Save Our Heritage Organization. “I am very pleased with the efforts.”

The hotel will be like no other in San Diego, Pearson said. “It will be like those quaint hotels in San Francisco.” A stay will cost a minimum of $85 to $90 per night.

Hotel officials are working to re-create the inside of the hotel as it was 100 years ago, Riley said. Staff members are searching for antique furniture to fill the 110 rooms.

The original furniture and fixtures were sold when the hotel was dismantled, she said. However, some people who bought the furniture have offered to sell it back.

The hotel will serve afternoon tea, and employees will wear period costumes even though the hostelry will have all the features of a modern hotel.