Pioneer Pieces: Luxury at its Finest

The Palace was the first great luxury hotel of the West.  Imagine 7 stories tall, with bay windows overlooking the cable cars and the famous Lottie's Fountain (named after Lottie Crabtree of music hall fame). At that time, the Palace was the most valuable piece of concrete in the world.  Even the silver plates on which guests dined were valued at $40 a plate, empty!

President Grant visited in 1879 on a chariot pulled by 7 white horses with grooms and horsemendressed in lavendar.  A sea of silk hat admirers greeted the President and welcomed him with all the finery for which the Palace was known.

Besides Grant, Presidents Hayes, Harrison, McKinley, T Roosevelt, and Taft were also guests at the Palace.  Foreign dignitaries included Grand Duke Boris of Russia, King Albert of Belgium, Prince Louis of Savoy, The King of Hawaii, and Lady Randolph Churchill.  Regular guests like the Rockafellers, Morgans, Carneiges, Pullmans, Huntingtons, Swifts, Vanderbuilts, Goulds and Fricks enjoyed the elegance of the Palace on several ocassions.

Next time an actual menu from the Palace...