In the 19th Century, it was but a fantasy in a young prospector’s mind. Later, it became a castle for he and his wife. In 1915, it was reborn as a grand hotel. And to this day, The Claremont Hotel Club & Spa remains a place where its inhabitants’ dreams routinely come true.
The Beginning
A Castle on the Hill
Born of a golden era, the history of The Claremont dates back to the early days of the Gold Rush, when a Kansas farmer by the name of Bill Thornburg "struck it rich." He came to California with his daughter and his wife who dreamed of living in an English Castle. Thornburg purchased 13,000 acres (part of the old Peralta and Vicente Spanish grants) to fulfill his wife’s dream and built the castle and several stables, which housed pedigreed hunters and jumpers. He hired Cockney grooms to care for them and raised English foxes for hunting parties.
Harder Times
Shortly after Thornburg's daughter married a British Lord and moved to England, Mrs. Thornburg died. Bill Thornburg subsequently sold the "castle" to a family by the name of Ballard. While the Ballard family was out on July 14, 1901, a dry and windy day, tragedy struck and the castle burned to the ground. As the municipal water supply was not well regulated, the volunteer fire department was helpless when the hot, dry summer winds blew flames across the Berkeley Hills, also destroying many other homes in the area. Only the Ballard livery stables, barn and some of the costly furnishings survived the fire.
A Lucky Game of Checkers
The destroyed property fell into the hands of Frank Havens and “Borax” Smith, a famous miner. They planned to erect a resort hotel on the property with trains running directly into the lobby. However, these plans were abandoned. One night, Havens, Smith and John Spring, a Berkeley capitalist, played a game of checkers in the old Athenian Club of Oakland with the stakes being the property. As legend goes, Havens won.
The Claremont Hotel Company
Havens and the “Claremont Hotel Company” began building in 1905, but the infamous earthquake of 1906 and subsequent Panic of 1907 interrupted construction. The additional land the Claremont Resort & Spa now rests on was purchased in 1908 and after much turmoil, The Claremont Hotel opened for business in 1915 as the sprawling Mediterranean hostelry seen today. From the charming rural surrounding and expansive veranda and lobby, larger than any other hotel on the Pacific Coast, to the on-site private school and radio station, The Claremont Hotel was one of the nation’s grand transient and resident hotels. In 1937 Claude Gillum, who had been with The Claremont since 1926, purchased the property for $250,000 and virtually rebuilt it from the foundation up, completely refurbishing the interior.
Free Drinks for Life
A state law, which radically changed the design of The Claremont, prohibited the sale of alcohol within a one-mile radius of the University of California. Since the hotel is constructed on the borderline between Berkeley and Oakland, it was assumed to be within the one-mile radius. Thus, it was not allowed to serve liquor. In 1936, The Claremont was one of very few hotels without a bar. This situation changed when a female student at the University began to investigate to see if the building was indeed within the one-mile radius. She and her friends measured the shortest route from the U.C. campus to the front steps and found The Claremont was a few feet over the one-mile radius, meaning a bar could be opened. (It is now called the Paragon Bar & Café). The woman responsible for these findings was awarded free drinks at The Claremont for the rest of her life.
Romanticism
The grounds and natural settings give The Claremont a picturesque quality reminiscent of the Age of Romanticism. In the 1930’s, the entire second floor was flanked by a large porch where visitors would sit, take walks and admire the surroundings and spectacular sunsets. Some will remember The Claremont’s Garden Room “high atop the hill” where such famous bands as Count Basie, Louis Armstrong and Tommy Dorsey performed. During this period, lawn sports such as tennis, badminton and croquet were gaining popularity and the resort’s first tennis courts and pool were built. Around 1940, the porch was enclosed and transformed into office and dining space. At that time, The Claremont was painted entirely white, the roof was fire-proofed, and the shingles were turned a whitish-silver color.
In 1954, Mr. Harold J. Schnitzer of Harsh Investment Corporation bought the property and leased it to Mr. Murray Lehr. It became a popular site for conventions held in the Bay Area. By 1959, The Claremont had more convention and exhibit space than any hotel west of Chicago and represented the largest convention resort in the Bay Area.
