HomeMy WebLinkAboutSLO What Oct 2015
HISTORY of SAN LUIS OBISPO
History of San Luis Obispo 29
Joseph A. Carotenuti
City Historian/Archivist
It was Sunday afternoon, April 18, 1886 when the harbinger of bad news, the fire bell atop City Hall began its
ominous clanging. It didn’t take long for most to see the smoke rising above the tall Andrews Hotel and the “lurid
flames” reported the Tribune, seemingly came from everywhere. Later investigation showed the shabbily constructed
flues in the attic accelerated the fire throughout the building. More than once, Myron Angel warned in the pages of
the newspaper of the shoddy construction. Not only the hotel but the County Courthouse nearby was in danger as
residents rushed in to retrieve valuable records. Fortunately, the Georgian building was saved but not so the Bank of
San Luis Obispo, the first county bank (another Andrews enterprise), the post office, the main livery stable, along
with other shops and offices. It indeed was a sad day for everyone. In what must have seemed like a scene from
Dante’s Inferno, San Luis Obispo was simply burning to the ground.
It was a spectacular fire as flames eagerly looking for – and easily found – more to consume. When it was over, San
Luis Obispo lost buildings…and watched the promise of the magnificent Andrews Hotel go up in a fiery, destructive
night of havoc. If there was a civic date for community depression, it was April 18, 1886. Not even a year from the
gala opening, the stunning building, a lighthouse for the soon-to-arrive railroad was gone.
It was not as if the town simply looked on as most able bodied men joined the volunteer fire department passing
buckets of water and attempting to salvage anything from inside. Colorful names such as the Good Will Fire
Company or Rescue Hook and Ladder were no match for a hungry fire.
It was not the time for the faint hearted, and J. P. Andrews lost no time in developi ng plans for a second Andrews
Hotel opening many years later. The second hotel, however, was simply a commercial venture unlike its predecessor
as by then the railroad was a seasoned community convenience. The second Andrews was a much more prosaic
structure ending its days as a dormitory for Cal Poly students but not before becoming the site of one of the city’s
most gruesome and famous murders…a topic for another time.
Indeed, the dream of the first Andrews Hotel had been quickly transferred to the 144 guest rooms and suites called
the Ramona Hotel opening in 1888. The three thousand residents would still have a fine hotel to receive railroad
guests. Little did anyone realize that from its front veranda, the President of the United States would one day gre et
the community?
Building and planning aside, the obsession with the railroad was the community discussion. Surely, the railroad
would continue south. Within the last 15 years it had reached Soledad, then San Miguel and the grand resort in Paso
Robles. Surely, it was time to reach the County seat!
Enjoy the annual railroad celebration at the San Luis Obispo Railroad Museum: October 1-4.
Contact: jacarotenuti@gmail.com October 2015