Thursday's Stanford Court Hotel: The Smallest of the Big Four

If you live in the San Francisco Bay Area, the name Stanford is synonymous with the university in Palo Alto, CA. But Leland Stanford, who was one of the Big Four railroad barons (along with Collis P. Huntington, Mark Hopkins, and Charles Crocker) spent most of his adult life in San Francisco. He lived in the mansion he built on Nob Hill in 1876. When his only son died at the age of 15 in 1884, grief-stricken, he removed every piece of furniture and stripped every wall, save for one. He left his son's room completely intact. In fact, as a way to channel his grief, he poured himself into making Stanford University the academic powerhouse it is today. Although he died in 1893, his legacy exceeded his years on this planet.

When the great 1906 Earthquake and Fire struck, the house had already sat empty for decades, and like the other railroad barons' homes on Nob Hill, it too was destroyed in order to create a firebreak for the approaching inferno.

But what to do with this Nob Hill addressed parcel, centrally located with commanding views of the city. In 1912, investor Lucien H. Sly envisioned the potential for this plot of land and built the upscale Stanford Court Apartments. It wasn't until 1972 did it become the Stanford Court Hotel we know today.

As it is the youngest of the Nob Hill hotels (at 54 years old), it is also the least known. Despite that, elements of Leland Stanford's life are peppered throughout the hotel. Few people outside of film history nerds like myself know that Leland Stanford invented movies.

What?!

The great San Francisco photographer, Eadweard Muybridge was hired by Stanford to settle a bet. When a horse ran, did it lift all its hooves from the ground? In 1878 24 cameras were set up at regular intervals with trip wires connected to them. When the horse ran down the track, a photo was taken when the camera was triggered. What was originally a bet, resulted in 24 photos of a horse running in sequence.

When the technology eventually came to fruition, Stanford's horse photos were later added to a film strip, becoming the first moving image. That legacy is immortalized on the wall beneath the lobby's dome, in a mural depicting the groundbreaking event in 1878 called, “Sallie Gardner at a Gallop.” The hotel's relationship with film is also depicted in a mural over the hotel's bar displaying scenes from the car chase scene in the 1968 film, Bullitt.

In another case of hotel irony Sean Connery stayed at the Stanford Court while he was shooting the 1996 thriller, The Rock. His scenes were mostly shot at the Fairmont Hotel, ironically located directly across the street.

In 1988, the hotel was bought by Stouffer's Hotels. Yes, the folks that brought you Stove Top Stuffing also managed a five-star hotel on Nob Hill. Over the last 30 years, the hotel's ownership passed through many hands and is currently operated by Highgate Hotels. They too are looking for a buyer for this storied property, and there may be a possibility The Stanford Court Hotel is living its last incarnation as a house of lodging.

But not yet. It is still a classic San Francisco Hotel.