A Brief History || Historical Photos
Historical Timeline of The Stockton
| Feb. 26, 1903 | The Stockton Investment Company is formed to build a "first class" hotel in downtown Stockton |
| Jan. 15, 1907 | Three different hotel proposals and sites are considered |
| Feb. 1907 | Lee A. Phillips and architect Edgar B. Brown push to build the hotel; The Cowell Block, also known as "Weber's Hole," is selected as site for hotel. |
| March 1907 | Mayor appeals to citizens to support the hotel by buying "stock subscriptions." |
| March 11, 1907 | $273,750 is subscribed for the new hotel. |
| March 19, 1907 | The "Great Stockton Flood." |
| May 21, 1907 | Newspaper criticizes "welchers" and "dillydalliers" who haven't paid subscriptions. |
| May 25, 1907 | Headline: "It is a Go." Hotel receives enough funds to proceed with construction. |
| June 11, 1907 | Architect E. B. Brown revises design and eliminates proposed "tower." |
| 1907 | $500,000 in bonds are collected for construction. |
| July 1, 1907 | First payment made to obtain the building site. |
| Sept. 1907 | Bids are collected for site demolition and excavation work. |
| Feb. 26, 1909 | Complaints that the excavation has 15 feet of "stagnant water" & "green scum." |
| May 27, 1908 | The Vonder Horst Brothers, of San Francisco, are selected as the contractor. Construction cost estimated at $500,000. All concrete work scheduled to be completed in 150 working days. |
| June 26, 1908 | An artesian well is completed for the hotel's water supply. |
| July 12, 1908 | Construction work begins on the hotel (pile driving). |
| Jan. 21, 1909 | Another Stockton flood. |
| Feb. 13, 1909 | Concrete work is completed. |
| March 5, 1909 | Vonder Horst Brothers abandons the job due to financial difficulties. The Building Committee oversees completion of the hotel. |
| July, 1909 | Six lawsuits are filed against the Vonder Horst Brothers. |
| Sept. 16, 1909 | Don H. Porter named manager and officially dubs the building "The Stockton." |
| Oct. 19, 1909 | Anchor tenant, The IXL Clothing Company, holds its grand opening. |
| Feb. 5, 1910 | City Hall personnel, including the Mayor and City Council, move into 2nd floor Annex. |
| April 30, 1910 | Ground floor open for "public inspection." |
| May, 1910 | The Stockholder's Banquet is held in the "main dining room and adjoining grill"; Hotel Stockton grand opening celebration May 26 with three-day fair; Hotel dining room opens for patrons. |
| 1910 | Rooftop sign reading "Hotel Stockton" is installed; New manager A. I. Wagner. |
| 1911 | Windscreens added under the Roof Garden pergolas. |
| 1913 | Ragtime dances are held in the hotel. |
| 1915 | Red ceramic tile replaces vent grilles at lower storefronts; Fabric awnings installed on the west and southwest elevations. |
| 1926 | Building is sold to McDonough Estate Company of San Francisco (Nov.); Stockton City Hall moves out of the hotel. |
| 1933 | Hotel is leased to Jack Beaty and an $80,000 renovation is begun (new bathrooms and lighting fixtures added). |
| 1937 | Hotel's first air-conditioning system is installed. |
| July, 1940 | Jack Beaty Jr. joins his father in managing the hotel. |
| 1941-1945 | World War II reduces the hotel's occupancy and it falls into disrepair. |
| 1948 | Best Picture winner All the King's Men is filmed at the hotel. |
| 1949 | Jack Beaty dies and his son announces plans for a $150,000 hotel rehabilitation. Two new elevators are installed & passenger elevator is extended to the 6th floor. |
| 1950 | George Earnest becomes the new manager; The Roof Garden is covered by roll roofing. |
| April 25, 1951 | Earnest announces plans to tear down and replace the west annex with an 8-12 storey addition (never built). |
| 1955 | The Roof Garden windscreen is removed on the west side; Three gooseneck streetlights are added to the Colonnade roof. |
| August, 1956 | Hotel experiences its first fire. Damage is $17,000. |
| 1958 | KJOY radio moves into the west end. Broadcast antennas are erected on the roof; Hotel experiences its second fire (August). |
| 1960 | The Hotel Stockton closes its doors (the bar & restaurant remain open) Nov. 26; San Joaquin County occupies the former hotel as offices; The rooftop sign is removed; The north and south Roof Garden windscreens are removed; The twelve original pole streetlights are removed from the colonnade roof; Colonnade parapet balustrades are filled-in solid; Exterior catwalks and fire escapes are added to the building; Landscape and fountain median added to Weber Ave. |
| 1963 | The new Stockton Courthouse is completed and the welfare dept. moves into the hotel. |
| 1964 | San Joaquin County offices move out of the hotel. |
| 1965 | $500,000 is spent to permanently convert the hotel into welfare offices; KJOY radio's broadcast antennas are removed from the roof. |
| June 1966 | The bar and restaurant close. |
| 1976 | The County of San Joaquin takes ownership of the hotel; The Rooftop Garden and balconies are deemed "unsafe" and closed to the public; The County Public Administration Department occupies the building. |
| Feb. 9, 1981 | The Hotel Stockton is nominated for the National Register of Historic Places. |
| 1991 | Synthesis Design Group completes "Architectural & Structural Assessment" ( July); The County vacates the building (Dec.). |
| June 1999 | County sells the Hotel Stockton to the City of Stockton Redevelopment Agency. |
| 2001 | Civic Partners pursues a plan for conversion of the building and rehabilitation for city offices. |
| 2003 | CFY Development selected to develop the building for shops, restaurant and apartments. |