Hotel Brewster Register, 1890 January 1-June 14

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Summary

Creators:
Hotel Brewster.
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.
Extent:
1.5 Linear feet (1 box)
Language:
Preferred citation:

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

Background

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.

Biographical / historical:

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.

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.

Arrangement:

The pages in the register are arranged chronologically.

Physical / 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)

Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

Access and use

Restrictions:

This collection is open for research.

Terms of access:

The San Diego History Center (SDHC) holds the copyright to any unpublished materials.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

Preferred citation:

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

Location of this collection:
1649 El Prado, Suite 3
San Diego, CA 92101, US
Contact:
(619) 232-6203
Website