1905 ad
The Hotel Athens was a 100 room hotel at 1556 Broadway (1302 Broadway before the 1912 renumbering). It opened in 1905 with John B. Jordan, proprietor. 1
In 1924, it was remodeled and re-opened as the Federal Hotel with Robert W. Brown, proprietor. 2 The building also included ground-level commercial spaces; in 1925 it was home to a branch of the First National Bank.
One of the last newspaper mentions as the Federal Hotel was a strange story in 1930. Catherine Ladd fell out of a 4th story window, falling two stories onto a skylight. Amazingly, she escaped with only minor injuries. Her husband, Clarence A. Ladd, gave conflicting reports about what happened and was detained at the police station for questioning. 3 "Alcohol may have been involved."
By 1933, the hotel was the Rosebrook Residential Hotel. 4 It appears the Rosebrook closed in 1948, as there's a "salvage furniture sale" in the classifieds. 5
The building was demolished and in 1950, a new building was constructed. 6
1907 8
excerpt from 1925 photo
courtesy Tim Sanchez
excerpt of 1911 Sanborn map
c.1916 7
Links and References
- ad Oakland Tribune October 28, 1905
- ad Oakland Tribune April 28, 1924
- Wife Plunges Out of Window Oakland Tribune July 17, 1930
- classified ad Oakland Tribune December 8, 1932
- classified ad Oakland Tribune June 4, 1948
- Workman Injured By Falling Wrench Oakland Tribune February 17, 1950
- ohrphoto.oaklandhotels.018 Oakland History Center, Oakland Public Library
- San Francisco Blue Book 1907
