YMCA Building (San Diego)

Civic leader George Marston organized the first YMCA in San Diego in 1882. In 1921, the Army & Navy YMCA was established to serve soldiers but quickly ran out of space, so Marston again stepped in to lead the effort to construct a new building. Colonel Ed Fletcher secured the property on Broadway because it would be accessible to soldiers as it is within walking distance of both Navy Pier and Santa Fe Depot. Lincoln Rogers, a former Commander of the Naval Civil Engineer Corps, designed the building which opened in 1924.{{cite web |url=https://catalog.archives.gov/id/123860970 |title=National Register of Historic Places Registration Form: San Diego Armed Services YMCA |last1=Lia |first1=Marie Burke |last2=Crawford |first2=Kathleen A. |date=March 21, 2007 |publisher=National Register of Historic Places |access-date=June 15, 2024 |via=National Archives |archive-date=July 12, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240712150712/https://catalog.archives.gov/id/123860970 |url-status=live }}

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During World War II, San Diego became a focal point of the military effort, and the YMCA was often their first stop. Starting in 1941, cots were set up in hallways to accommodate the influx of men. During this period, the organization had a record press which they would use to record a soldier's voice and send a "talk-a-letter" home to their family. In 1948, the group renamed itself to "Armed Forces YMCA" to include the Air Force. The same year, the organization installed a revolving "YMCA" sign on the roof.

By 1972, the Y signed a contract with American Youth Hostel to lease some of their increasingly unused rooms. In 1974, female soldiers were able to rent rooms for the first time. Increasingly, the U.S. Military's Special Services provided for social needs of sailors that previously were provided by the YMCA. The Armed Forces YMCA initially moved their services to naval facilities in the 1970s and later moved again to the Murphy Canyon area in 2014. During that period, the building's upper floors were rented as the 500 West Hotel while the basement was rented by the downtown YMCA, a separate civilian branch of the organization. In 1999, Michael Galasso purchased the building, but it later fell into bankruptcy.{{cite web |url=https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/business/growth-development/sdut-ymca-armed-services-downtown-closing-2014sep06-story.html |title=Downtown YMCA Closing |last=Showley |first=Roger |date=September 6, 2014 |website=The San Diego Union-Tribune |access-date=June 15, 2024 |url-access=limited |archive-date=April 21, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240421004339/https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/business/growth-development/sdut-ymca-armed-services-downtown-closing-2014sep06-story.html |url-status=live }}

In 2014, Alvin Mansour bought the building for $14 million with Oram Hotels co-founder, Kevin Mansour, for a planned redevelopment.{{cite web |url=https://www.hotelmanagement.net/development/oram-hotels-azul-hospitality-group-to-open-san-diego-s-guild-2019 |title=Oram Hotels, Azul Hospitality Group to open San Diego's The Guild |last=Mest |first=Elliott |date=October 5, 2018 |website=Hotel Management |publisher=Questex |access-date=June 15, 2024}} After the $80 million renovation, the Guild Hotel opened in 2019 as part of the Marriott Tribute Portfolio.{{cite web |url=https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/business/tourism/story/2019-06-10/80m-luxury-hotel-opens-in-former-downtown-san-diego-ymca |title=$80M luxury hotel opens — in former downtown San Diego YMCA |last=Weisberg |first=Lori |date=June 11, 2019 |website=The San Diego Union-Tribune |access-date=June 15, 2024 |url-access=limited |archive-date=July 12, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240712150712/https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/2019/06/11/80m-luxury-hotel-opens-in-former-downtown-san-diego-ymca-2/ |url-status=live }} Whereas the low-cost hotel had 259 rooms which rented from $49–69 per night, the new hotel had 162 rooms that rented from $250 to more than $400.

In 2020, less than a year after the opening, the original restaurants closed as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic in California and never reopened. At the height of the pandemic, fewer than a dozen employees worked at the hotel.{{cite web |url=https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/top-workplaces/story/2021-11-21/the-guild-hotel-raises-catered-lunches-starbucks-gift-cards-lift-employee-morale |title=Top workplaces top ranked small company: The Guild Hotel with its raises, catered lunches, Starbucks gift cards |last=Weisberg |first=Lori |date=November 21, 2021 |website=The San Diego Union-Tribune |access-date=June 15, 2024 |url-access=limited}}

In 2023, the Be Saha Hospitality Group opened new restaurants as the business recovered. At the end of that year, the hotel hosted a Great Gatsby themed party to celebrate the building's centennial.{{cite web |url=https://sandiegomagazine.com/community-event/nye-2024-a-centennial-celebration-at-the-guild-hotel/ |title=NYE 2024: A Centennial Celebration at The Guild Hotel |last= |first= |date=December 31, 2023 |website=San Diego Magazine |access-date=June 15, 2024 |archive-date=April 20, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240420232232/https://sandiegomagazine.com/community-event/nye-2024-a-centennial-celebration-at-the-guild-hotel/ |url-status=live }}

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The Italian Renaissance Revival style building consists of six stories plus a basement all made of reinforced concrete. The first story has a rusticated surface. Sixth-story brackets support a flat roof with ceramic tiles. Above that is a penthouse with coved fascia and a standing seam copper roof. Finally, a YMCA sign is on top.

The facade is detailed with Classical balconies, pronounced belt courses, and a brown terra cotta banner below 5th floor reading "Army and Navy YMCA 1924". Quoins and twisted gutters also made of terra cotta demarcate both the corners and the entrance. This entrance sits within an elaborate central pavilion with flanking bays under a broken pediment supported by paired Ionic columns. Stairs enter through a recessed vestibule with barrel vaults. Above, a terra cotta frieze reads "Young Men's Christian Association".

The original interior was comparatively simple. The center of the building held a two-story gymnasium with a running track around the 2nd level, while an Olympic-size swimming pool was located in the basement.

During the conversion to the Guild Hotel, the main challenge was turning the dormitory-style room layouts into that of a traditional hotel.{{cite web |url=https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/business/story/2023-01-06/historic-downtown-san-diego-hotel-hopes-to-raise-its-profile-with-culinary-makeover |title=Historic downtown San Diego hotel hopes to raise its profile with culinary makeover |last=Weisberg |first=Lori |date=September 25, 2021 |website=The San Diego Union-Tribune |access-date=June 15, 2024 |url-access=limited}} Interior designer Sormeh Rienne, née Azad, of Incommon Design coordinated the transformation of the interior. The two-story basketball court became a ballroom, while the basement swimming pool became a multi-purpose room decorated with vintage photos.{{cite web |url=https://www.architecturaldigest.com/story/top-san-diego-hotels |title=Here Are the Must-See San Diego Hotels on Our Radar |last=Vora |first=Shivani |date=September 25, 2021 |website=Architectural Digest |access-date=June 15, 2024 |url-access=limited |archive-date=June 30, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240630062247/https://www.architecturaldigest.com/story/top-san-diego-hotels |url-status=live }}{{cite web |url=https://www.businessinsider.com/guides/travel/the-guild-hotel-review-san-diego#-11 |title=I spent a weekend at the Guild Hotel in downtown San Diego, part of the Marriott Bonvoy collection — here's why I plan to go back |last=Bennett |first=Andrea |date=April 16, 2020 |website=Business Insider |access-date=June 15, 2024 |archive-date=July 12, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240712150712/https://www.businessinsider.com/guides/travel/the-guild-hotel-review-san-diego#-11 |url-status=live }} A fluted hand-carved reception desk was added to the lobby and the building's original blueprints, which were discovered inside a wall during remodeling, were framed and hung in the entrance.{{cite web |url=https://interiordesign.net/projects/sormeh-rienne-blends-retro-european-and-american-touches-at-san-diego-s-the-guild-hotel/ |title=Sormeh Rienne Blends Retro European and American Touches at San Diego's The Guild Hotel |last=Dorris |first=Jesse |date=October 25, 2019 |website=Interior Design |access-date=June 15, 2024 |archive-date=July 12, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240712150714/https://interiordesign.net/projects/sormeh-rienne-blends-retro-european-and-american-touches-at-san-diego-s-the-guild-hotel/ |url-status=live }}{{cite web |url=https://localemagazine.com/the-guild-hotel-in-downtown-san-diego/ |title=10 Things We Love About The Guild Hotel in Downtown San Diego |last=Varner |first=Carmen |date=April 16, 2021 |website=Locale Magazine |access-date=June 15, 2024 |archive-date=April 20, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240420230240/https://localemagazine.com/the-guild-hotel-in-downtown-san-diego/ |url-status=live }}

In contrast, during the redevelopment, the exterior of the building was largely retained without significant alteration. While the courtyard became a restaurant with firepits, the YMCA sign atop the roof remained.{{cite web |url=https://www.nationalgeographic.com/travel/article/best-hotels-san-diego-every-traveler |title=The best San Diego hotels for every kind of traveler |last=Apeles |first=Teena |date=February 12, 2024 |website=National Geographic |access-date=June 15, 2024 |archive-date=June 15, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240615183801/https://www.nationalgeographic.com/travel/article/best-hotels-san-diego-every-traveler |url-status=live }}

• Army and Navy YMCA
• List of YMCA buildings
• U.S. Grant Hotel
• National Register of Historic Places listings in San Diego County, California

{{Reflist}}

• [https://www.theguildhotel.com/ The Guild Hotel]
• [https://sandiego.asymca.org/ San Diego Armed Services YMCA]

{{NRHP}}

Category:National Register of Historic Places in San Diego

San Diego

Category:Clubhouses on the National Register of Historic Places in California

Category:Hotels in San Diego

Category:Organizations established in 1882

Category:Buildings and structures completed in 1924

Category:Non-profit organizations based in San Diego

Category:1882 establishments in California

Category:1924 establishments in California

Category:2019 establishments in California

Category:Hotels established in 2019

Category:Italian Renaissance Revival architecture in the United States

Category:Tribute Portfolio hotels

Category:Renaissance Revival architecture in California