Exchange Hotel (San Diego, California)

Exchange Hotel
Franklin House (Exchange Hotel) in 1869
the tall three-story building
Location2729 San Diego Avenue
San Diego, California
Coordinates32°45′13″N 117°11′47″W / 32.7537°N 117.1963°W / 32.7537; -117.1963
Built1851
ArchitectRacine & Laramie Tobacconist
DesignatedOctober 10, 1951
Reference no.491
Exchange Hotel (San Diego, California) is located in California
Exchange Hotel (San Diego, California)
Location of Exchange Hotel in California
Exchange Hotel (San Diego, California) is located in the United States
Exchange Hotel (San Diego, California)
Exchange Hotel (San Diego, California) (the United States)

The Exchange Hotel, also called Franklin House, is a historical building in San Diego, California, built in 1851 by George P. Tebbetts and his partner Philip Hooff. It is first mentioned in the May 29 1851 issue of the San Diego Herald where the "Exchange Hotel and Billiard Saloon" is advertised to carry "the choicest wines, liquors, segars... (sic)."[1] Soon after, on June 29, 1851, a group of Freemasons met in the hotel to commemorate John the Baptist, their patron saint.[2] This group began Freemasons San Diego Lodge No. 35, F. & A.M., the oldest lodge in Southern California.[3]

Lewis Franklin, cousin of Selim Franklin who had built the Franklin House in San Francisco, had come to San Diego by 1851.[4] On July 19, 1855 he bought the hotel.[5] In November of that year it was renamed Franklin House.[6] Its ground floor was brick, fronted by a verandah that rose the entirety of the building's three stories. By 1858, the hotel had moved into the hands of Joseph Reiner, who renewed the bedding and furniture.[7] Freemasons continued to hold meetings there and at some point Joseph Mannasse, an early mason in San Diego, subsequently owned Franklin House.[5] After Franklin House was lost in an April 1872 fire, the site was a vacant lot for some time.[8] The Exchange Hotel site became a California Historical Landmark No. 491, listed on October 10, 1951.

  1. ^ "Exchange Hotel and Billiard Saloon". The San Diego Herald. May 29, 1851. Ad third from top of column 1, page 3. Retrieved April 30, 2024 – via California Digital Newspaper Collection.
  2. ^ "Masonic". The San Diego Herald. June 19, 1851. First notice after "Marine Intelligence" at top of column 1, page 3. Retrieved April 30, 2024 – via California Digital Newspaper Collection.
  3. ^ Zink, Orion (1976). "History of San Diego Lodge No. 35". sandiego35.org. Archived from the original on April 30, 2024. Retrieved 2024-04-30.
  4. ^ "Jewish Fast". The San Diego Herald. October 9, 1851. Near the bottom of column 2 on page 2. Retrieved April 30, 2024 – via California Digital Newspaper Collection.
  5. ^ a b Zink, Orion. MacMullen, Jerry (ed.). "The Exchange Hotel". San Diego History Center. Archived from the original on April 30, 2024. Retrieved 2024-04-30.
  6. ^ "City Improvements". The San Diego Herald. November 3, 1855. Near the top of column 1, page 2. Retrieved April 30, 2024 – via California Digital Newspaper Collection.
  7. ^ "Franklin House, west side of Plaza, San Diego". The San Diego Herald. May 8, 1858. Halfway down column 6, page 2. – via California Digital Newspaper Collection.
  8. ^ "Exchange Hotel #491". Office of Historic Preservation, California State Parks. Retrieved 2012-10-07.