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Guide to the Hotel Brewster Register MS 15
MS 15  
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Collection Details
 
Table of contents What's This?
  • Biographical / Historical Notes
  • Scope and Content
  • Arrangement
  • Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements
  • Processing Information
  • Preferred Citation
  • Conditions Governing Access
  • Conditions Governing Use

  • Title: Hotel Brewster Register
    Identifier/Call Number: MS 15
    Contributing Institution: San Diego History Center Document Collection
    Language of Material: English
    Physical Description: 1.5 Linear feet (1 box)
    Date: 1890 January 1-June 14
    Abstract: This collection includes one register from Hotel Brewster for the dates January 1-June 14, 1890, listing the guests’ names and cities of residence.
    creator: Hotel Brewster.

    Biographical / Historical Notes

    The Hotel Brewster was built in 1888 and sat on the corner of 4th and C Streets. Owned by Horace Brewster, it was a four story, first class hotel that boasted of a second floor dining room and ballroom as well as several shops accessible from the lobby, including a pharmacy. According to a listing in the American Hotel Guide located in the back of the register, the hotel’s nightly rate in 1890 was $2.50 and up. The hotel was very popular with ranchers and upper-class Mexican citizens and frequently hosted prominent local businessmen such as Philip Morse and local landowners including the Couts family. During World War I, the Brewster would set up cots in the hallways and lobby and rent them out to soldiers. The hotel was torn down in 1934 and replaced with several single story shops.

    Scope and Content

    The hotel register, of the James T. Hair Co. brand, is made up of daily guest logs, one page in length each, dating from January 1-June 14, 1890. Each log includes the guest name, place of residence and room number assigned, as well as notes in the margins addressed to hotel staff, and occasional annotations related to the companions and activities of certain guests. Prominent local businessmen such as Philip Morse and local landowners including the Couts family are listed as guests. Hotel guests traveled from across the country as well as abroad, hailing from as far away as Sweden, Britain, Canada and Mexico. The register includes a page of time tables for local modes of transportation including railways and steamships, and an American Hotel Guide listing hotels across the country by state and city. There is a blotter page consisting of local ads inserted into the register as well as a flyer for a local theatrical performance.

    Arrangement

    The pages in the register are arranged chronologically.

    Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements

    Binding of register is brittle and partially detached, and the back cover is torn. The register's covers and pages are discolored. (April 26, 2011)

    Processing Information

    Collection processed by Katrina White on April 26, 2011.
    Collection processed as part of grant project supported by the Council on Library and Information Resources (CLIR) with generous funding from The Andrew Mellon Foundation.

    Preferred Citation

    Hotel Brewster Register, MS 15, San Diego History Center Document Collection, San Diego, CA.

    Conditions Governing Access

    This collection is open for research.

    Conditions Governing Use

    The San Diego History Center (SDHC) holds the copyright to any unpublished materials. SDHC Library regulations do apply.

    Subjects and Indexing Terms

    Brewster, Horace
    Couts family
    Couts, Ysidora Bandini
    Hotel Brewster.
    James T. Hair Company.
    Morse, Philip
    Hotels -- California
    San Diego (Calif.)