Fate of Lofty Hilltop Hotel Hinges on Sale

While the U.S. Grant Hotel has been restored to its former splendor, the fate of downtown San Diego’s other famous hotel of the past, the El Cortez, remains uncertain.

The El Cortez, with its landmark hilltop location at 7th Avenue and Ash Street, was once one of the best-known hotels on the West Coast.

The popular Starlight Room on the 14th floor provided patrons with dining, dancing, a commanding view of San Diego Bay, and was the spot--at least legend has it--where patrons could wave at pilots landing at Lindbergh Field.

Today, the El Cortez’s 250 guest rooms are empty. Only its banquet rooms and lobby are in use--the latter for twice-weekly religious services, the former rented for occasional parties. A few small businesses operate from shops and offices on the ground floor.

The hotel opened in 1927 and closed in October, 1978, after being bought by evangelist Morris Cerullo to house a short-lived religious center.

When the El Cortez closed, people came from around the country to attend the final Starlight Room party at the hotel where they had once been guests.

“People still come in every day and say they spent their honeymoon or went to proms here,” said Jewell Arnold, who is in charge of renting the banquet rooms.

In 1981, Cerullo, whose World Evangelism organization had stripped the hotel of its furnishings after buying it for $7.5 million, sold majority interest to El Cortez Associates, headed by developer Terry Considine. No price was disclosed.

El Cortez Associates pushed hard in 1983 to have the hotel site selected as the location for San Diego’s new convention center, but a bayfront site was selected instead.

Later, proposals were made to restore the El Cortez using funds from either city-backed bonds or with the help of tax credits under the Historic Preservation Act, which were used in restoration of the Grant. Nothing came of either proposal.

According to spokeswoman Jackie Perrett, Considine lives in Denver and is seeking a Republican Senate nomination in Colorado, so he has little interest in the property other than selling it. She said a sale is being discussed at a price between $7.5 million and $7.8 million.

Robert Colba of Fort Worth, Tex., a partner with Considine in El Cortez Associates, said he expects that the hotel will be sold to a San Diego area group within 30 to 45 days.

Neither Colba nor Perrett gave any indication what plans the prospective buyers might have for the property.

Kathryn Willetts, chairwoman of the San Diego Historical Society, said, “I would be very surprised if (the El Cortez) were sold in 30 to 45 days. Rumors like that go around all the time.”

Willetts said that, even with the 20% tax credit offered for redevelopment of the El Cortez, prospective buyers back off when they learn the costs involved and “reality hits them.”