Pico House

Pío Pico, a successful businessman who was the last Mexican Governor of Alta California, ordered construction of a luxury hotel in the growing town.{{Cite web|title=PCAD - Pico House Hotel, Downtown, Los Angeles, CA|url=http://pcad.lib.washington.edu/building/331/|access-date=2020-06-10|website=pcad.lib.washington.edu}}{{Cite web|title=The Life of Pío Pico|url=http://150.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=27514|access-date=2020-06-10|website=150.parks.ca.gov}} The architect was Ezra F. Kysor, who also designed the Cathedral of Saint Vibiana, and it was constructed between 1869 and 1870.{{cite web|url={{NRHP url|id=72000231}} |title=National Register of Historic Places Inventory/Nomination: Los Angeles Plaza Historic District / El Pueblo de Los Angeles (State Historic Park) |author=Hunt, John |date=August 14, 1972 |publisher=National Park Service |accessdate=22 August 2012}} and {{NRHP url|id=72000231|title=accompanying 36 photos|photos=y}} The resulting Italianate three storey, 33-room hotel, dubbed Pico House (or Casa de Pico) was the most extravagant and lavish hotel in Southern California, and its opening was cause for much celebration. It had a total of nearly 80 rooms, large windows, a small interior court, and a grand staircase. In the days of the hotel's primacy the courtyard featured a fountainLos Angeles Times, historical exhibit announcement. December 26, 1993.{{Full citation needed|date=January 2025}} and an aviary of exotic birds.Phelan, Regina V., The Gold Chain. Los Angeles: Arthur H. Clark Booksellers and Publishers, 1987 The structure forms three sides of a trapezoid whose open end immediately abuts the adjacent Merced Theatre, thus forming the courtyard. The back of the hotel faces Sanchez Street,Sanchez Street is no longer marked on contemporary maps, but a short block of it still exists between the Plaza and the Santa Ana Freeway, with its original paving of slag blocks in place, as was typical in the late 19th century. where the large gate used by supply wagons and other large vehicles can still be seen.

Its time in the spotlight did not last very long. By 1876, the Southern Pacific Railroad had linked the city with the rest of the country and more residents and businessmen began pouring in. Pio Pico himself started having financial troubles, and lost the hotel to the San Francisco Savings and Loan Company.Salomon, Carlos Manuel (2010). Pio Pico: The Last Governor of Mexican California. Norman, Oklahoma: University of Oklahoma Press. pp. 160-162. {{ISBN|978-0-8061-4090-2}}.

In 1882, the hotel was so crowded with guests that Manager Dunham secured 30 rooms on the opposite side of the street, "and still the cry is more room."[https://www.proquest.com/docview/161149997 "About Town"] {{subscription}} (Library card required). Los Angeles Times, April 5, 1882, page 3. The business center of the city began to move south and, by 1900, the condition of the building began to decline and it was operated as a lodging house until it was acquired by the El Pueblo de Los Ángeles Historical Monument. Parts of this building were renovated in 1981 and 1992. The ground floor is occasionally used for exhibits and other events.

Image:LA-plaza-1876.jpg|The Pico House dominates the Plaza in old downtown Los Angeles, 1876 (photo taken from old Fort Moore)

File:Pico House foyer, after renovation.jpg|Part of the renovated interior

File:Pico House dllu.jpg|Modern appearance

The Pico House is listed as a California Historical Landmark (No. 159) and a National Historic Landmark as a part of the Los Angeles Plaza Historic District (NPS-72000231).

• The rear of Pico House was used in the TV show The Mentalist. It is used as the headquarters of the fictional California Bureau of Investigation and is frequently seen during the show.
• On January 7, 2011, the building was featured on Travel Channel's Ghost Adventures, with special guests Kane Hodder, R.A. Mihailoff, and Rick McCullum.

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• [http://ohp.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=21427 California Historic Landmarks], California Office of Historic Preservation. Accessed October 26, 2006.
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20101125004815/http://college.usc.edu/geography/la_walking_tour/chinatown/pico_house.html Pico House], USC Dept. of Geography. Accessed November 11, 2010.

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Category:1870 establishments in California

Category:1870s architecture in the United States

Category:19th century in Los Angeles

Category:Buildings and structures in Downtown Los Angeles

Category:California Historical Landmarks

Category:Defunct hotels in Los Angeles

Category:El Pueblo de Los Ángeles Historical Monument

Category:Historic district contributing properties in California

Category:History of Los Angeles

Category:Hotel buildings completed in 1870

Category:Hotel buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in California

Category:Hotels in Los Angeles

Category:Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monuments

Category:Museums in Los Angeles

Category:National Register of Historic Places in Los Angeles

Category:Pueblo de Los Ángeles

Category:Reportedly haunted locations in Los Angeles