Silver treasures once belonging to THE US GRANT were recently uncovered by a guest. Her Father had kept a box tucked safely away with miscellaneous silver-plated flatware, including these two spoons which read 'U.S. Grant Hotel' on the back.  Most of the items her Father had collected dated back from the early 1900's up to the 1940's, but the year of these treasures are unknown. If only these fabled walls of THE US GRANT today could tell us their story...   

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Downtown San Diego, home to 19th-century saloons and today's Gaslamp Quarter, has always liked to keep visitors well lubricated.

The Prohibition era dried things up, but cops would often look the other way if a big convention was in town. The law was the law, of course. But soused tourists liked to spend money, and a wink and a nod wouldn't hurt anyone unless someone squealed.

In the waning days of the Roaring Twenties, someone did.

The resulting scandal put the mayor and police chief on the hot seat, embarrassed the American Legion and sent a bunch of men into the welcoming arms of the county jail warden. It's a story of crime and alleged corruption that's not unlike from those told in the widely acclaimed new Ken Burns/PBS documentary about the violent and surprisingly boozy years of Prohibition.

The tale begins in August 1929, nine years into Prohibition's almost-total ban on the manufacture and sale of alcohol. The American Legion, a veterans organization formed 10 years earlier after World War I, was coming to town for a convention.

The ex-soldiers wanted to imbibe, so an "irrigation committee" was formed. According to testimony, its purpose was to see that the "boys got good liquor."

It's not clear where they got it, but it wasn't impossible to find booze in or near San Diego at the time. Mexico — Tijuana and Agua Caliente in particular — were hot spots for liquor seekers, and rumrunners brought liquor from Canada and elsewhere to the West Coast via the sea. (In 1930, in fact, a speed boat would be found in Coronado with a cargo of 138 cases of booze and two dead rumrunners.)

The committee contacted a bootlegger and set up a deal for 3,500-4,000 gallons of liquor, according to testimony. The bootlegger assumed the San Diego cops wouldn't make a fuss. "I knew it was customary for the authorities to relent at times of conventions," he later testified.

That may have been true. Other testimony suggested that both the San Diego mayor and the police chief indicated they wouldn't interfere. "I am not going to bother the conventions, particularly the American Legion convention," Police Chief Arthur Hill allegedly told a member of the liquor ring.

In this case, though, things didn't go according to plan.

"Somebody got sore" at the American Legion, according to testimony, and tipped off a cop about a cache of liquor in a building on Seventh Avenue. The policeman launched a raid — it wasn't clear what role, if any, the police chief played — and the gig was up.

The agents confiscated $27,000 worth of liquor, equal to more than $340,000 today. And it wasn't just any old rotgut: a chemist later found it was 44-58 percent alcohol, the equivalent of up to 116 proof, enough to make a legionnaire forget Prohibition (or the Great War, for that matter) ever existed.

Then things got even more complicated. The day after the raid, a confab was held in room 209 at the U.S. Grant Hotel, featuring some of the liquor ring members along with the mayor, the police chief and, for some reason, the coroner. The topic at hand: What now?

According to the coroner, Mayor Harry C. Clark had a plan to restore the booze to its proper place: "I'll go down and see if I can get it returned." This allegedly came after a reminder about who had helped pay for his campaign.

The booze was not returned. The authorities would keep it, although alcohol from somewhere reportedly resulted in several attendees at the Grant Hotel meeting being "stewed."

But the mayor's alleged words would return to haunt him. Months later, the coroner would recount them in front of a federal jury that was pondering the fate of 14 alleged members of the liquor ring. The coroner's charge against the mayor — that Clark tried to get the booze back where he thought it belonged — would be blared across the top of the front page of The San Diego Union.

Ultimately, the federal prosecutors won. A jury convicted six of nine defendants charged in the liquor ring. Five more pleaded guilty, including the bootlegger. The convicted men were each sentenced to up to six months in county jail.

The mayor and the police chief weren't charged. In fact, the federal prosecutor went out of the way to suggest they were being wrongly maligned.

After the mess was all over, everybody involved surely needed a stiff drink. But it was surely tougher to get one in a town that had learned a hard lesson about the risks of hospitality.

Note: This story is based on news accounts from the time in The San Diego Union.

Please contact Randy Dotinga directly at randydotinga@gmail.com and follow him on Twitter: twitter.com/rdotinga.

http://www.voiceofsandiego.org/this_just_in/article_f4068a76-f38d-11e0-b8f7-001cc4c03286.html 

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The_Piedmonter._Mom-Daughter_Visit.pdf Download this file

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Grace Rowlett was one of the countless many who entered the doors of the renowned US Grant Hotel during its century-old, and ongoing, history.

Her path to the US Grant Hotel began when she enlisted in the US Navy as a WAVE on June 9, 1944, two days after her 21^st birthday. After training at the Naval Station in the Bronx, New York and at the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, MD, she was finally stationed at the Naval Hospital in San Diego.

It was here that the 21-year-old, born on a Kansas farm and raised in Lincoln, Nebraska, experienced many memorable firsts during her brief stay in “America’s Finest City.” She received her first glimpse of the Pacific Ocean while stationed in San Diego. Soon after, she took her first trip to a foreign country, once returning from the short commute to Mexico with a custom-made wooden ashtray engraved with her name and the city in which she bought it, “Tijuana.” She also first met her husband of 65 years, Lonnie, in 1946 while both worked at the hospital.

A devoted fan of the Big Band-era music of the 1930s and 40s, one of her all-time favorite songs was Glenn Miller’s instrumental hit “In the Mood.” Her affinity for this genre was so strong that she once broke up with a suitor over his failure to take her to a promised Artie Shaw concert. This being the case, the US Grant proved to be a popular venue for her to take in the upbeat rhythms and relaxing ambience that she often found there after completing her naval duties. With ample dance space, ideal acoustics and two beautifully designed symmetrical rows of arches spanning the length of the room, the elegant “Little Club” located downstairs was a preferred after work destination.

By March 1946, she had been discharged from the Navy and departed San Diego to hopscotch to American Samoa and then throughout the US with her new family. For her service, she was authorized to wear the American Campaign Ribbon and the World War II Victory Ribbon. Despite her relatively brief stay and residences in several places afterwards, she would later reflect fondly on the time she spent in San Diego when discussing her early life, including her service in the Navy, until close to her passing on May 6, 2011. The US Grant Hotel undoubtedly played an integral part in that early chapter of her life.

During the more than 100 years of the famed US Grant’s existence, its history has touched many lives. Grace Rowlett was one of them, as evidenced by the photo keepsake she retained for nearly 66 years. The storied hotel also serves as a historical conduit for her loved ones, allowing them to trace her footsteps and connecting them to both her past and their own in a very tangible way.

This photograph, dated November 7, 1945, was taken alongside her date at the Little Club, now-Celestial Ballroom, at age 22. It was well preserved in a photo holder card, the cover of which contains an artist’s depiction of the US Grant Hotel as it appeared at the time, with a nascent radio antenna on each side of the roof and a vintage sign spelling the hotel’s name vertically along the height of the front of the building.

See the full gallery on Posterous

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Comic Con 2011 is upon us, but did you know Comic Con's roots are in fact traced back to THE US GRANT? Originally called the Golden State Comic Con, the 3-day event in August 1970 was held in THE US GRANT’s lower level event space (now the Celestial Ballroom) for approximately 300 people. All the core Comic-Con elements were in place from the start, including big-name guests like Ray Bradbury and Jack Kirby, a dealer’s room with collectible comics and movie memorabilia, an art show, a charity art auction and even a souvenir program.  A test drive, one-day “mini con” was held a few months prior in March 1970, with an attendance of only 100 and with the primary intent to raise funds for the August spectacular.  In narrative fashion, the mini-con’s program foreshadowed “the years to come will see us grow and San Diego will take its rightful place in fandom.”  Today, Comic Con International opened to crowds of 125,000 eager attendees at the celebrated San Diego Convention Center. 

For information regarding the 2011 event, visit http://www.comic-con.org/cci/ 

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We received an engaging letter from Mr. & Mrs. Hendrick, thanking our ambassadors for their recent experience as guests of THE US GRANT, but moreover, sharing with us their story of their first visits to San Diego, and how they once could only dream of staying at our fine hotel one day.  52 years later, their wish came true.  Thank you, Mr. & Mrs. Hendrick for choosing THE US GRANT, a Luxury Collection Hotel, as your place of retreat, and we look forward to welcoming you back in the near future! Please enjoy their story from the letters below.

See the full gallery on Posterous

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Though this story's happy ending will not be complete until next weekend, we are delighted to share its bright beginning in anticipation for the big day. What follows is a true story of a military couple based in San Diego who had to postpone their nuptials, but in a turn of fate won a wedding at the iconic US GRANT Hotel in San Diego. 

On February 27, THE US GRANT hosted our third annual wedding showcase, A Royal Affair. The event featured high-end wedding vendors from San Diego and brought out nearly 1000 people. In addition to the amazing vendor displays and opportunity to view the stunning venues at the hotel, THE US GRANT offered an exceptionally amazing wedding giveaway for one special attendee, where every detail of their wedding from the wedding planner to the florals would be handled and hosted by THE US GRANT.  Though many brides anxiously awaited the announcement of the winner, the lucky couple whose names were called on that fateful day could not have been more deserving. 

The Bride and Groom, Quinn Challinor and Brad Jacobs, are both in the Navy, and were to get married last year, but unfortunately had to postpone after learning news of their pending deployment. With thousands of tickets and names that could have been drawn for the wedding, it was written in the stars for Quinn and Brad, who both cried tears of joy when their names were announced during the event in front of hundreds of hopeful brides.  Throughout the planning process, the lucky couple has since shared time and again that if they hadn’t won this wedding they didn’t know when they would have been able to tie the knot because the military is moving them to the middle of the country at the end of May.   

Our very own royal wedding for Quinn and Brad is valued at more than $75,000, with the ceremony to be held in the Crystal Ballroom followed by a recpetion for 100 guests in the Celestial Ballroom. Partners in creating this grand affair include event coordination by Ever After Events, Centerpieces and Bouquets by Annette Gomez Florals, Linens and Chair Covers by Concepts Event Design, Wedding Treats by CAKE and Sensational Treats, and entertainment by Tim Altbaum Productions.  

A true gift to such a deserving couple, THE US GRANT staff is anxiously awaiting Quinn and Brad's special day next weekend to share in their joy and provide to them a royal wedding steeped in legendary style. 

(An image of Brad, Quinn, and THE US GRANT's Director of Catering & Convention Services taken just moments after the announcement of their raffle win was announced.)

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March 31, 2011 will mark 10 years since my husband and I tied the knot at The US Grant Hotel. It was a magical day filled with family and friends. It was filled with abundant joy, but also an overflowing of tears. Just two weeks before our wedding, my father was diagnosed with terminal cancer and ended up dying just two months after our wedding. There were over 300 family and friends at the reception, all of whom were there to wish my husband and me their best, but also many of them were there to say goodbye to my dad. It was at the US Grant Hotel that I danced my first dance with my now husband and also heard my dad give the last toast he was ever to give. It was a beautiful and bittersweet, and probably the most amazing, memorable night of my life. My husband and I will always hold the US Grant near to our hearts. In fact, I am taking him there next weekend, as a surprise, to celebrate his belated 39th birthday. Oddly enough, it's on the same day that my dad would have turned 79.

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We would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone for sharing your exceptional stories. Although the contest officially ends today, memories continue to be made and we hope you continue to share your adventures with us on the “What’s Your Story” blog. 

Deciding on one grand prize winner created a difficult decision, but in the end, the committee came to a consensus.  With that, we would like to congratulate Dale and Sandy Sanders with their story "Our Memories Of The U.S. Grant Hotel" recalling their August 1959 stay at THE US GRANT - you have been chosen as our Grand Prize “What’s Your Story” Winners!  Dale and Sandy, your story stood out to the committee because you truly went above and beyond guest loyalty and carried out the legend of THE US GRANT by naming your own son Grant.  We look forward to coordinating your “Epicurean Adventure for Two” for you to re-discover the destination as we continue to celebrate 100 years of Memorable Moments. 

 Congratulations to all nominees and thank you for sharing your stories!  

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Congratulations to our September “What’s Your Story” Winner – “Jitterbug Contest US Grant 1944” recalling a friendly showdown between newlyweds to win a 1944 jitterbug contest held at the hotel. Thank you, Wilma Jo, for sharing your truly touching story.  We look forward to welcoming you back to THE US GRANT to redeem your 2 Night Stay gift certificate, and you are now eligible to win our grand prize package – An Epicurean Adventure for Two, to be announced tomorrow – October 15, 2010 - THE US GRANT’s official 100^th Anniversary.

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My Husband and I spent our honeymoon night at the US Grant hotel 17 years ago on October 2^nd, 1993. I recall that I was so excited from the joy of our wedding, I asked him to walk with me from end to end of the lobby while we were still in our wedding clothes – wanting to bask in the feeling of being married; to show off my beautiful gown and most of all, to parade with my handsome new husband in front of all the lounging guests. Of course, he was busy checking us in, so my tuxedo’d brother-in-law got “the honor” of being my stand-in husband/escort for my little pramanade of glory!

We returned to the Grant after it’s renovation on our 15^th anniversary for dinner, bringing our boys as guests. The staff was so accommodating, making it one of the most special dining experiences our kids ever enjoyed.

This year, I have booked a room as a surprise for my husband. We will relive that magical night we enjoyed so long ago…your hotel remains one of my favorite spots on earth and will always be such a special place for our family!

Denise F. Bohdan

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I like a place with some history to it, but when my husband-to-be and I picked the US Grant as the place to spend our wedding night in the spring of 1993, I had no idea I would be returning to somewhere my great-grandfather had been almost 50 years before.

Nobody really knows why he up and moved across the country from Youngstown, Ohio to San Diego in the middle of World War II. He had no family out West, and was already 75 years old, a grandfather and widower when he made the move.

My Dad did some genealogy research on the family, and uncovered a letter my great-grandfather wrote addressed, “Dear Family” on US Grant Hotel stationery, dated Oct. 4-44, but it does little to shed light on the mystery. Mostly he talks about previous family history and what happened to different relatives. Dad is led to believe that he had some sort of job at the hotel — labor was scarce during the war years — and may have even lived there as well.

But mostly he remains an enigma. He died only two years after arriving, leaving no indication of what prompted him to leave everything familiar for new ground at his age.

But I didn’t know any of this 17 years ago when my husband and I were getting married. We only knew we wanted our stay to be somewhere romantic with a sense of history. What are the odds we would pick the one place with a connection to the only other relative of either of ours ever to live in San Diego? Seems it must have been fate, and maybe good luck, too, since we'll be celebrating Anniversary No. 18 this spring. Hmmm... maybe another visit to the Grant is in our future.

-Louise Julig

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Congratulations to our August “What’s Your Story” Winner – “WWII”  recalling 184 letters written during the war by a sailor to his companion back home. Thank you, Judy, for sharing your parent’s story.  We look forward to welcoming your family to THE US GRANT this Fall in celebration of your Father’s 85^th Birthday.  We invite you to redeem your 2 Night Stay gift certificate, and you are now eligible to win our grand prize package – An Epicurean Adventure for Two, to be announced in October, THE US GRANT’s official 100^th Anniversary month.

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Here is our story…My sisters and I found 184 letters written to our mother from our father during World War II. He was in the Navy, and he courted her with his letters. Through these letters, over about a year period, we learned about our Dad and the quite a bit about what life was like for a sailor during WWII. He talked in detail about each port, how long they were there, etc. Near the end of the war, their ship sailed into San Diego and my dad and his buddy stayed at the US Grant Hotel for several days.  Our Dad will be celebrating his 85^th birthday in September.  We are planning a Fall trip by train to San Diego (from Los Angeles) where we plan to rent a car, visit the Maritime Museum and stay, this time all of us, at the US Grant Hotel.  We still have the post card from the hotel he sent to her in 1945…the hotel looks the same.

In case you are curious, our parents married in June of 1946 and were married for 56 years. Our mother had always told us to be sure to read every single letter…she saved every single one…and the US Grant stood out at the end of his time in service.

Judy Hamilton-Cantu 

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I spent my wedding night with my bride in a beautiful room overlooking the city. It was such a luxurious stay and the staff was available to wait on our every wish. We are going to be returning for our 25^th wedding anniversary soon and I am going to be sure and book the same room. The hotel and staff made a perfect stay for us and we know they will repeat it for our 25^th.

James and Kathryn Bassler

San Diego, CA

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I recently had the pleasure of spending nine days at the U.S. Grant Hotel.  This was my first experience at the U.S. Grant, and although there is much history, I have to believe that the hotel is now at it’s pinnacle.  The hotel and the staff far exceeded my every expectation.  I was pleasantly surprised by the location - it is actually in the heart of the Gaslamp District.  Although the hotel has been around for 100 years, it’s hard to believe that it was ever better than it is now.  This is truly a five star hotel, and although it is beautiful throughout, the five star staff make it superior to any hotel that I have ever stayed at before.  I had a minor issue that required a change, rather than merely satisfying  my request – Harry and Magdalena upgraded my room to a Grand Deluxe.  This was the first time that I have been greeted by my first name by members of the staff which was truly impressive.  While the turn down service, mints and water are impressive, the quality of service provided by the staff – particularly at the front desk is what sets the U.S. Grant apart from the rest.  The U.S. Grant anticipated every need – down to the umbrella in the closet just in case of rain.  This experience was so memorable, I will never stay anywhere other than the U.S. Grant during my visits to San Diego. 

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