More than a hotel

Gina PICCALO didn’t merely report on the fabulous architecture of the Alexandria Hotel and its amazing history [“At the Corner of Have and Have-Not,” May 22], she also reminded us of what architecture is about: people.

All of us want to be successful and live in clean and upscale environments, but many of us will lead honorable lives more like that of Alexandria Hotel tenant Guy Waters, who worked for the California Coastal Commission for 13 years, or John Webb, a petrochemical engineer who spent two tours of duty in Vietnam, sent his kids to college and then cared for his dying mother. Both men lived honorably, ran low on cash, became sick and had nowhere to live.

Long live the Alexandria for the poor; many times they are the most noble among us.

Susan Lugo-Stein

Irvine