A Curious Tale About the Diva Hotel, and San Francisco Writ Large

It opened in 1915 as the Somerton Hotel, after the great building boom following the 1906 earthquake and fire.  Since 1985, it was known as the Diva Hotel and was the destination of theater-goers and performers. In fact, its history is riddled with no shortage of famous people who crossed its threshold.

Like the Chinese Theater on Hollywood Blvd., the Diva even had its own Walk-of-Fame (of sorts) outside its front door.  Performance luminaries such as Billy Crystal and Joan Rivers, left their monikers in the cement grid on the sidewalk outside.  Yet it wasn't just those personas we see behind the fourth wall, the Diva was also a destination for those who worked behind the scenes, such as costume designers and set dressers, brought in for special assignments.  They could have been put up in any number of hotels, but because of its rich history, the Diva was often their first and only choice.  

When I was the chief concierge at a boutique hotel around the corner, and an avid theater-goer, it thrilled me to hear which famous person was at the Diva, as it was at the nadir of our Theater District, and across the street from two of our most renowned theaters.

The once historic Diva Hotel.

When the pandemic decimated hospitality the world over in 2020, the Hotel Diva was certainly no exception.  Like a lot of smaller, boutique hotels under 150 rooms, they were given a devil's bargain: go out of business, or allow the city to pay for our most vulnerable citizens to have a safe space, and stem the spread of the virus.  This was called Project Roomkey.

As the California Department of Social Services stated in their press release, "Project Roomkey was established in March 2020 as part of the state response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The purpose of Project Roomkey and Rehousing Strategy was to provide non-congregate shelter options, such as hotels and motels, for people experiencing homelessness, to protect human life, and to minimize strain on health care system capacity."

And not a moment too soon.  Because of swift action by the government, countless lives were saved and scores of smaller hotels were able to remain in business.  In fact, despite the media narrative that San Franciscan is a crime-ridden, homeless encampment-strewn city, San Francisco saw far fewer Covid deaths than any city with a similar population.    This included Indianaoplis and San Antonio.  In fact, per capita to the population, San Francisco had fewer Covid deaths than cities half its size.

When hundreds of smaller hotels were facing mass closures, as the entire hospitality industry worldwide shut down over night (literally), many proprietors were able to keep their lights on because the state stepped in and foot the bill for those in the most vulnerable and susceptible demographic: homeless seniors and families.

This is a good thing.  However, I am torn.  On the one hand I am grateful that the most underserved and vulnerable have a place to call home, that is not a back alley.  On the other, I mourn for the loss of not only a unique boutique hotel, but one with such a storied thespian history that is now a happy memory.

But that is not the end of the story.  When I went to the Diva Hotel to photograph these historic monikers, I found nothing but a blank sidewalk.

Sadly, in a fit of what can only be considered stupidity, someone authorized a construction crew to destroy this irreplaceable treasure and throw it away like yesterday's fish.  I had attempted to photograph it for posterity, only to find it wiped away forever.

I had to ask for permission from GlobetrotterGirls.com to use this photograph, as The Diva Hotel has no willful retention of its own history.

And therein lies a metaphor for San Francisco in general.  In an attempt to help vulnerable people, visitors are now denied the opportunity to visit this historic hotel.  But on the other hand, Project Roomkey's appropriation of the Diva Hotel probably saved (and continues to save) hundreds of lives.  Yet like San Francisco, the rush to get back to a post-Covid normal has resulted in the bulldozing over its own culture.  And what makes this most egregious is that we will never know if it was the left hand not knowing what the right hand was doing, or some mid-level manager just not caring.

San Franciscans have to decide what kind of city it wants to be: one that honors its unique history and culture, or one that tramples it in a clumsy attempt to fast-track back to normal.