Background
The Hotel del Coronado was established by Elisha S. Babcock of Indiana and Hampton L. Story of Chicago who were rabbit hunting
in Coronado in 1884 and saw the potential for a grand seaside resort. Babcock and Story combined forces with Jacob Gruendike,
president of the First National Bank of San Diego, to purchase the Coronado peninsula in 1885 for $110,000, and formed the
Coronado Beach Company to finance Babcock and Story’s seaside resort vision. In 1888 their hotel, the Hotel del Coronado,
opened to great national acclaim. Designed by James and Merritt Reid of Reid & Reid in a Queen Anne Victorian style, the Hotel
del Coronado contained a dining room with a seating capacity of 1,000, 750 guest rooms, and a bowling alley, theater, and
ballroom. The hotel was the first large structure in the country to utilize electricity for lighting. A hotel legend states
that Thomas Edison himself directed the installation of its electrical wiring, although this remains unverified. Since the
hotel’s opening, its guests have included members of royalty, eleven United States presidents, and a myriad of notable personalities
and celebrities. Proposed property expansions in the late 1990s caused local controversy as owners made plans to develop and
modernize amidst the protests of residents and longtime fans of the hotel. Despite this, the hotel continues to be extremely
popular with tourists and locals alike. The Hotel del Coronado has been honored with numerous accolades and distinctions,
including designation as a National Historic Landmark in 1977 and being named one of the Top Ten Resorts in the World by USA
Today in 2008.