C Street Inn Explained

C Street Inn
Location:Core
Address:630–636 C St, San Diego, California, 92101, United States
Location City:San Diego
Location Country:United States of America
Coordinates:32.717°N -117.1588°W
Status:complete
Completion Date:1913
Landlord:Jack Shah Rafiq
Owner:Jax Properties LLC
Cost:$75,000
Top Floor:6
Floor Count:6 above ground; 1 basement level
Building Type:Apartment hotel (SRO)
Architectural Style:Edwardian Commercial
Structural System:Concrete and brick
Developer:Chaffey Concrete Construction Company
Rooms:100

The C Street Inn, formerly known as the Hotel Polhemus and Cecil Hotel, is an affordable housing complex in downtown San Diego's Core district that was vacated in 2022 due to egregious conditions. It was built in 1912 and opened in 1913 with 100 rooms.

Since the 2010s, the basement was utilized as a performance venue for the San Diego International Fringe Festival and it has been a filming location for independent films. In 2022, the city began a relocation process for all of the hotel's residents after it was vacated for its awful living environment.

Throughout the hotel's history, several minor fires caused damage, triggering temporary evacuations and it has been the location of numerous criminal incidents.

History

Arthur J. Hamilton was the building's architect who also designed the Robert E. Lee Hotel.[1] The concrete building was erected in 1912 for $75,000. Hamilton & Smith Brothers planned for the first floor to be occupied by stores. Chaffey Concrete Construction Company was assigned to construct the building[2] located at 630–636 C Street[3] [4] in Core, San Diego.[5]

1913–1930: Hotel Polhemus

In 1913, Willis P. Polhemus owned the new building and the land it sat on.[6] [7] R.B. Thorbus was the proprietor and manager in 1914.[8] Florence C. Thorbus ran the La Mesa School of Expression for Motion Pictures out of the hotel.[9]

In January 1920, the Industrial Welfare Commission held a meeting at the hotel, focusing on minimum wages for employed women in San Diego.[10] That same month librarian Mary Elizabeth Downey stayed at the Polhemus while in town to speak at the San Diego Public Library.[11] In 1921, A.P. Wilkinson sold the hotel to George A. Brown and J. H. Sprague.[12] In 1929, Hotel del Coronado room clerk Edgar P. Schiller was hired as manager after the Polhemus was leased to George W. Wood.[13]

1931–1990: Cecil Hotel

See also: Cecil Hotel (San Diego). In 1931, the Cecil was relocated to the Polhemus building that was refurnished, redecorated, and expanded to 100 rooms from its former location.[14] Roland Schneider was elected secretary and former secretary Whitten was elected treasurer.[15] In 1934, Polhemus sold the property to an undisclosed buyer for $75,000.

In 1990, a fire started on the third floor, which 25 tenants were evacuated. A cigarette from a new tenant caused a blaze of $2,500 in damages.

1991–2022: C Street Inn

In the 1990s, Hotel Cecil became known as the C Street Inn.[16] [17] In 1998, the inn was damaged from a fire and 40 people were evacuated due to a cigarette igniting a mattress on the fourth floor.[18] [19] In 1999, another fire broke out causing evacuation of the building. Police safely helped a man who jumped out of his hotel window to avoid smoke inhalation.[20]

In 2009, the hotel faced a default.[21] In 2014, a body was found by a maintenance worker after a guest complained of an odor. Police said it was not a suspicious death.[22]

Vacate and tenant relocation

In 2022, the hotel had to be vacated for infestations of mold, rodents, fire hazards and horrid living conditions.[23] [24] The city and attorney Mara Elliott said owner Jack Shah Rafiq and his company Jax Properties LLC[25] [26] would be held responsible for covering the occupants' relocation costs that totaled $339,840.[27] Rafiq appealed and claimed the city wanted low-income residents out of the area.[28] [29]

A fire marshal and police attempted to get people out in April, but that was unsuccessful after they spoke with Rafiq. Tenants received a 10 day eviction notice in May that was not followed up.[30] Elliott announced in July that the building was a public nuisance and that residents would be relocated. Neil Rico was living in the building at the time and claimed the situation was unfair to tenants who relied on the living quarters there to meet their fixed and limited incomes. In August, a receiver was appointed control of the property.

Basement

The basement of the building has entrances from the main lobby of the hotel and a stairway from a business entrance on Seventh Ave.[31] In the mid 2010s, the basement was used as a performance venue called Gray Area Multimedia,[32] [33] formerly known as Rosewood Five Studios at 1150 Seventh Ave.[34] [35] [36] The San Diego International Fringe Festival occupied the space in 2017 and Luke Pensabene managed the location.[37]

Pensabene helped produce several independent films that recorded principal photography in the basement such as South of 8,[38] The Phantom Hour,[39] Friend of the World, Hacksaw,[40] Touch,[41] and Everybody Dies by the End.[42]

Criminal incidents

In April 1916, after kicking several trash cans, Los Angeles resident William Haupt was arrested outside the building by Officer Tim Holcomb.[43] Later that year, a man was arrested for attempting to steal a tire from the building clerk's automobile.[44] [45] In 1918, fifteen year old William Dowlar, who was a bellboy at the hotel, was arrested for stealing a $150 diamond, a kodak, and a fountain pen from a hotel guest.[46]

In 1921, Franklin McGuire was arrested for shortly after stealing over $100 worth of clothes from a room in the building.[47] In 1922, two armed men were arrested in downtown San Diego after briefly being pursued by police.[48] They were wanted for holding up the building's hotel clerk R. W. Smith. During the attempted robbery, there was a scuffle and a gun was discharged but no one was injured. The thieves had previously made off with a suitcase with $150 in clothes from the nearby Panama Hotel,[49] and were already wanted by police in Long Beach, California[50] after robbing an apartment clerk of $45,[51] and stealing a car in Sacramento.[52] They were set for a bail of $1,000 each[53] and were suspected in other recent thefts.[54]

In November 1924, four inmates awaiting trial for robbery charges in Oklahoma, were staying in the building. Detectives were alerted and questioned them in their room, but the men were able to mislead law enforcement that they were ranch owners traveling the country. On January 16, 1925, they robbed over $3,000 from the nearby San Diego Pantages Theatre.[55]

In 1931, night clerk P. W. Price was robbed at gunpoint on the second floor of the building.[56] In 1932, night clerks of the building and nearby Churchill Hotel were robbed within an hour of each other.[57]

In 1958, clerk Charles Sutter was robbed of $150 by the "Elevator Bandit" who forced him into the building's elevator and escaped while the elevator ascended.[58]

In September 1978, the building was one of ten hotels in the downtown area raided by the San Diego Police Department. Policewomen went undercover as prostitutes, rented rooms, and made 15 arrests.[59] [60] That same month, Moses Franklin was arrested for assault in a room he shared with a teenage runaway from Tucson, Arizona.[61]

In 1992, William Dean Short, a prison escapee from Muskogee, Oklahoma, was caught and arrested in the building.[62] In 1999, Lt. Ray Sigwalt said San Diego police homicide was called after a 66 year old man died from a sixth floor fall into the building's air shaft.[63]

In 2022, the city alleges that excessive criminal activity was reported in the building. Police responded 190 times over a three year period since May 2019, spending 465 hours to address burglaries, public intoxication, and other nuisances.[64] [65] [66]

Notes and References

  1. News: 1930-02-22 . Local Architect Dies Suddenly: A. J. Hamilton, Designer of Polhemus Hotel, Succumbs to Heart Disease . San Diego Union.
  2. Web site: 1912-07-14 . Contract Let For Six-Story Hotel . 2024-10-08 . San Diego Union and Daily Bee . California Digital Newspaper Collection.
  3. Web site: Jennewein . Chris . 2022-07-26 . City Attorney Orders Crumbling SRO Hotel Downtown to Be Vacated . 2022-08-15 . . en-US.
  4. Web site: 2003-11-07 . THE CITY OF SAN DIEGO Historical Resources Board . 2024-10-06 . California Historical Resources Inventory Database.
  5. Web site: 2003 . State of California - The Resources Agency DEPARTMENT OF PARKS AND RECREATION PRIMARY RECORD . 2024-10-07 . California Historical Resources Inventory Database.
  6. Web site: 1920-06-27 . Hotel lease and furnishings sold to Kansas man . 2024-10-08 . San Diego Union and Daily Bee . California Digital Newspaper Collection.
  7. News: 1934-02-12 . Cecil Hotel Sold . 2024-10-03 . The San Diego Sun . 1 . Newspapers.com.
  8. News: 1914-03-27 . Here It Is --- Look! . 2024-10-07 . The San Diego Sun . 17 . Newspapers.com.
  9. News: Thorbus . Florence C. . 1915-07-08 . La Mesa School of Expression for Motion Pictures . 2024-10-08 . . 3 . Newspapers.com.
  10. Web site: 1920-01-06 . To explain details of women's wage law . 2024-10-08 . San Diego Union and Daily Bee . California Digital Newspaper Collection.
  11. News: 1920-01-13 . Prominent Librarian to Speak Tonight . 2024-10-08 . The San Diego Sun . 5 . Newspapers.com.
  12. News: 1921-04-04 . Big Reality Deals Are Consumated . 2024-10-08 . The San Diego Sun . 4 . Newspapers.com.
  13. News: 1929-01-07 . Hotel is Leased . 2024-10-08 . The San Diego Sun . 10 . Newspapers.com.
  14. News: 1931-01-03 . Hotel Cecil in San Diego moves into new place . 2024-10-06 . . 3 . Newspapers.com.
  15. News: 1931-01-19 . Mosher Takes Office Tonight . 2024-10-03 . The San Diego Sun . 2 . Newspapers.com.
  16. Web site: 1990-06-21 . 25 Evacuated During Apartment Blaze . 2024-10-04 . . en-US . .
  17. News: 1999-07-24 . Man leaps to escape hotel fire . 2024-10-03 . North County Times . 23 . Newspapers.com.
  18. Web site: 40 evacuated when fire damages downtown hotel . 2024-10-03 . . en . .
  19. Web site: Early morning fire rousts hotel guests; none injured Burning mattress in 4th-floor hall . 2024-10-03 . . en . .
  20. Web site: Hughes . Joe . 1999-07-24 . Fire routs residents 1 injured in 2-alarm blaze at SRO hotel; halogen lamp cited . 2024-10-03 . . en . .
  21. Web site: Lewis . Connie . 2009-07-06 . Number of Hotel Foreclosures, Defaults Increasing . 2024-10-03 . . 4 . en . .
  22. Web site: Kucher . Karen . 2014-12-01 . Body found in downtown SD hotel . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20241004161735/https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/2014/12/01/body-found-in-downtown-sd-hotel/ . 2024-10-04 . 2024-10-04 . . en-US.
  23. Web site: Ramirez . Jasmine . 2022-07-25 . Downtown San Diego hotel to be vacated due to rodents, mold, other hazards . 2022-08-15 . . en-US.
  24. Web site: 2022-07-25 . Downtown San Diego hotel to be vacated due to 'deplorable' conditions . 2022-08-15 . . en.
  25. Web site: Figueroa . Teri . 2022-09-30 . San Diego City Attorney seeking penalties from owner of downtown hotel declared 'public nuisance' . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20220930233149/https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/news/courts/story/2022-09-30/c-street-inn-injunction-lawsuit . 2022-09-30 . 2023-01-15 . . en-US.
  26. Web site: 2023-02-08 . Downtown News Briefs – Feb. 2023 . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20230327035005/https://sdnews.com/downtown-news-briefs-feb-2023/ . 2023-03-27 . 2023-10-03 . SDNews.com . en-US.
  27. Web site: 2022-07-26 . Ayuntamiento: Propietario de hotel de 109 años de antigüedad en el centro de San Diego recibe orden para ayudar a reubicar a 72 ocupantes . 2022-08-15 . Telemundo San Diego (20) . es.
  28. Web site: Davis . Dillon . 2022-07-25 . Downtown hotel with 'deplorable' conditions vacated by city . 2022-08-15 . . en-US.
  29. Web site: 2022-07-25 . Downtown San Diego hotel to be vacated because of 'deplorable' conditions . 2022-08-15 . . en.
  30. Web site: Warth . Gary . Cook . Morgan . 2022-07-27 . Hotel residents say future uncertain as they face eviction from building city says is unsafe . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20220727020842/https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/communities/san-diego/story/2022-07-26/hotel-residents-say-future-uncertain-as-they-face-eviction . 2022-07-27 . 2022-08-15 . . en-US.
  31. Web site: Cook . Morgan . 2022-08-24 . Some tenants of downtown hotel fear city eviction will lead to homelessness . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20241004230333/https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/2022/08/24/some-tenants-of-downtown-hotel-fear-city-eviction-will-lead-to-homelessness/ . 2024-10-04 . 2024-10-04 . . en-US.
  32. Web site: Friend of the World at Gray Area Multimedia - filming location . 2024-10-04 . Sceen It . en-US.
  33. Web site: Stone . Ken . 2020-07-25 . San Diego's Spielberg? Q&A With Director Brian Butler Near Sci-Fi Film Premiere . 2024-10-04 . . en-US.
  34. Web site: Eadie . Bill . 2017-06-27 . Handicapping the Fringe – San Diego Story . 2024-10-04 . San Diego Story.
  35. Web site: Accomando . Beth . Beth Accomando . 2016-06-23 . Survival Guide To San Diego International Fringe . 2024-10-04 . . en.
  36. Web site: Smith . Jeff . 2016-06-30 . SD Fringe: Recommendations for final days . 2024-10-04 . . en.
  37. Web site: Irontree Films – We're Filmmakers from San Diego . 2024-10-04 . en-US.
  38. Web site: Golden III . Lee B. . 2015-10-29 . Watch The New Trailer For Tony Olmos's Grim Crime Pic, SOUTH OF 8 . 2024-10-04 . Film Combat Syndicate . en-US.
  39. Making Movies - Behind the Scenes of "The Phantom Hour" . 2019-08-02 . Charybdis Pictures . Video . English . 2024-10-05 . YouTube.
  40. Web site: DeFellipo . Michael . 2019-09-15 . Review: Anthony Leone's "Hacksaw" . 2024-10-05 . Horror Society . en-US.
  41. Teaser & Poster for Short Horror Thriller 'Touch' by Justin Burquist . 2022-07-05 . en-US . Brewer . Mac . 2024-10-06 . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20220706023118/https://www.horrorsociety.com/2022/07/05/teaser-poster-for-short-horror-thriller-touch-by-justin-burquist/ . 2022-07-06 . Horror Society.
  42. Web site: Everybody Dies by the End . 2024-10-05 . . en.
  43. News: 1916-04-10 . Maybe They Don't Have Garbage Cans in L.A. . 2024-10-08 . The San Diego Sun . 1 . Newspapers.com.
  44. News: 1916-07-07 . Here, There and Everywhere . 2024-10-08 . The San Diego Sun . 7 . Newspapers.com.
  45. News: 1916-07-07 . Six Months . 2024-10-08 . The San Diego Sun . 2 . Newspapers.com.
  46. Web site: 1918-10-15 . 15 October 1918 — . 2024-10-08 . San Diego Union and Daily Bee . California Digital Newspaper Collection.
  47. News: 1921-03-29 . Wore the Clothes . 2024-10-08 . The San Diego Sun . 6 . Newspapers.com.
  48. News: 1922-10-07 . Armed Men Admit Polhemus Holdup . 2024-10-08 . The San Diego Sun . 25 . Newspapers.com.
  49. News: 1922-10-07 . Armed Pair Admit Hotel Holdup Job . 2024-10-08 . The San Diego Sun . 1 . Newspapers.com.
  50. News: 1922-10-17 . Men Arrested In South Identified As Wanted Here . 2024-10-08 . The Long Beach Telegram and The Long Beach Daily News . 2 . Newspapers.com.
  51. News: 1922-10-17 . Pair Identified as Bandits by Beach Resident . 2024-10-08 . . 38 . Newspapers.com.
  52. Web site: 1922-10-08 . Robbers caught on city street confess charge . 2024-10-08 . San Diego Union and Daily Bee . California Digital Newspaper Collection.
  53. News: 1922-10-10 . Hold Alleged Bandits . 2024-10-08 . The San Diego Sun . 3 . Newspapers.com.
  54. News: 1922-10-06 . 5 Robberies in 48 Hours; Thieves Flee . 2024-10-08 . The San Diego Sun . 4 . Newspapers.com.
  55. News: 1925-12-03 . Convict Admits Robbing Local Pantages Theatre . San Diego Union.
  56. News: 1931-01-05 . Thug Takes $31 in Hotel Theft . 2024-10-03 . The San Diego Sun . 16 . Newspapers.com.
  57. News: 1932-04-02 . Hotels Lose $60 To Bandit: Robber Carefully Wipes Away Fingerprints . 2024-10-03 . The San Diego Sun . 1 . Newspapers.com.
  58. News: 1958-01-21 . Elevator Bandit Suspect Held in Long Beach . San Diego Union Tribune.
  59. News: Garlington . Phil . 1978-09-15 . Police Raid 10 Downtown Hotels . 2024-10-03 . . 19 . Newspapers.com.
  60. News: Garlington . Phil . 1978-09-15 . Downtown Hotel Raid . 2024-10-03 . . 23 . Newspapers.com.
  61. News: 1978-09-28 . Man Accused . San Diego Union Tribune.
  62. News: 1992-05-13 . Escaped Convict Arrested at Hotel . 2024-10-03 . . 189 . . .
  63. Web site: Hughes . Joe . 1999-08-13 . Man, 66, found dead on hotel landing . 2024-10-04 . . en . .
  64. Web site: 2022-07-25 . Owner of 'Squalid' 109-Year-Old Hotel in Downtown San Diego Ordered to Help Relocate 72 Occupants: City . 2022-08-15 . . en-US.
  65. Web site: Berjan . Sarah . 2022-07-25 . 109-year-old hotel in Downtown San Diego to be vacated due to 'deplorable' conditions . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20220726010007/https://www.chulavistatoday.com/community/109-year-old-hotel-in-downtown-san-diego-to-be-vacated-due-to-deplorable-conditions-5622563 . 2022-07-26 . 2022-08-15 . ChulaVistaToday.com . en.
  66. Web site: Elliott . Mara W. . Mara Elliott . 2022-07-25 . Downtown Residential Hotel Ordered to Vacate . City of San Diego.

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "C Street Inn".

Except where otherwise indicated, Everything.Explained.Today is © Copyright 2009-2025, A B Cryer, All Rights Reserved. Cookie policy.