{"nrhp_refnum":"79000543","name":"Princeton Hotel","other_names":["Princeton Inn"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"Capistrano Rd. and Prospect Way","address_restricted":false,"city":"Princeton","county":"San Mateo County","state":"CA","lat":37.50497862200007,"lon":-122.48675767699996,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1979-01-31","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Commerce"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A two-story hotel with later one-story additions at the northwest corner of Capistrano Road and Prospect Way in Princeton (Princeton-by-the-Sea), San Mateo County, California. It was built in 1908 by subdivision promoter Frank P. Brophy and later renamed Princeton Inn.","why_significant":"The nomination argues that the hotel is the survivor among the resort hotels, dance halls and bath houses that appeared along the Ocean Shore Railroad route in 1907-1908, and that it is still recognizable as originally built. It is also presented as a representative turn-of-the-century coastal hotel that reflects the speculative, tourist-oriented growth of coastside towns, including the Prohibition-era rum-running period.","narrative":"Built in 1908 by Frank P. Brophy, promoter of the Princeton-by-the-Sea subdivision, this two-story hotel sits at the main intersection of the town on San Mateo County's coast. It opened as the Ocean Shore Railroad reached Princeton and was soon expanded with a dining room moved from nearby, a dance hall with a stage, and a long arched veranda. Later owners changed its look with decorative lathe trim, stucco and a new name, Princeton Inn, though the basic form and window arrangement remain. Restoration work in the late 1970s kept the dance hall windows, exposed redwood trusses and a fieldstone fireplace. Most of the resort buildings that appeared along the railroad route have been demolished, burned or remodeled beyond recognition, while this hotel survives. It was listed as a typical turn-of-the-century coastal hotel that also reflects the Prohibition-era history of the coast, when Princeton was known for rum running.","period_of_significance":"1900-","architect_builder":"Frank P. Brophy","architectural_style":"Vernacular, likely a craftsman's interpretation; loosely related to the Mission Style","criteria":[],"status_note":"Occupied and in use as a restaurant; the form describes restoration and upgrading of the building, with condition marked excellent and altered.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:55:32.328947-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_CA/79000543.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/79000543/fda0257698-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/79000543/fda0257698-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Sanfranman59","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Princeton_Hotel,_Capistrano_Rd._and_Prospect_Way,_Princeton,_CA_10-30-2011_11-22-57_AM.JPG\" rel=\"noopener\">Sanfranman59</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 3.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Princeton_Hotel,_Capistrano_Rd._and_Prospect_Way,_Princeton,_CA_10-30-2011_11-22-57_AM.JPG"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/123861550","wikipedia":null,"wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q133522148"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/california/san-mateo-county/princeton-hotel-79000543/"}