Hello everyone! This is a friendly reminder that any of these fun places we may visit, we are a guest at. Please treat both businesses and trails with the utmost respect. We here at Hidden San Diego follow the 'Leave no Trace' mantra, meaning whatever you bring with you comes back with you. If you see trash on a trail, please do your part to help remove it. Remember, we are not picking up trash from another person but instead cleaning up for Mother Nature. Happy adventures!
Phone: (619) 544-1886
32.710367, -117.161252
Dog-friendly: Only service dogs   Kid-friendly: Yes
The Horton Grand Hotel is actually two historic hotels restored into one. Located downtown, the Horton-Grand was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1980.
The Horton Grand was built in 1887 as a luxury hotel whose design was based off the Innsbruck Inn in Vienna, Austria. It is of Italianate Victorian architecture style
The Brooklyn-Kahle Saddlery Hotel, which is the second hotel which now makes up the Horton Grand Hotel, was a bit less form and combined the styles of Western-Cowboy meets Victorian. It was originally known as the Brooklyn Hotel. Wyatt Earp lived in the Brooklyn Hotel during most of the 7 years he lived in San Diego.
Many prominent guests have stayed here including Babe Ruth and President Benjamin Harrison. Both hotels were scheduled for demolition in the 70’s (is that of any surprise to anyone given how little care is given to historic buildings in San Diego). The City of San Diego had purchased them to build the Horton Plaza shopping center on the site.
The hotels were dismantled brick by brick, with each brick numbered, catalogued, and stored. In 1986 the hotels were rebuilt into an entirely new hotel at the present location at Fourth Street and Island Avenue.
We took a tour of the Gaslamp learning about the various brothels of the red light district. This hotel was one of our spots. Check out our adventure here!
The Horton Grand is reputed to be haunted, including by the ghost of a man named Roger Whitaker who reportedly occupies Room 309. Several other ghosts are known to haunt the Horton Grand, including that of Ida Bailey – the one time owner of the brothel that stood on this site.