California Hotel
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Why it's listed
Rising five stories above San Pablo Avenue in west Oakland, this hotel was built in 1929-1930 with an L-shaped plan, red brick walls, off-white stucco trim and a pair of towers facing north. Clay N. Burrell designed it for the Sommarstrom Brothers, who also built it and were among Oakland's prominent apartment builders. The owners sited it to attract travelers arriving from the north and to serve the nearby Emeryville rail and highway hub, and it remains the only large building in the vicinity. Its original lobby survives with a beamed ceiling, a tiled fireplace and terrazzo stairs set with brass bear emblems. After World War II it became a leading East Bay lodging and social center for Black entertainers and audiences, a role the form says may become significant in time. The hotel was listed for its architecture, as an intact and conspicuous example of a large 1920s hotel building.
Significance in brief: The nomination argues the hotel is a fine, essentially intact example of the large hotel building type in a 1920s Period Revival style, designed by a locally important architect and built by prominent local builders. Its scale and twin towers have made it a landmark, and it was Oakland's only major architectural response to the nearby Emeryville transportation hub. It may later gain significance as a social center for East Bay Black entertainers in the 1950s and 1960s.
Machine-generated summary. This summary was generated by a language model from the official nomination document and has not been reviewed line by line by an editor. It may contain errors. Check the source document before relying on any detail. Source: nomination document (PDF) · National Archives catalog entry. NRHP reference 88000969, listed June 30, 1988. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence high).
Key facts
| Address | 3443--3501 San Pablo Ave., Oakland |
|---|---|
| County | Alameda County |
| Listed | June 30, 1988 |
| Reference number | 88000969 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Period of significance | 1929-1930 |
| Architect / builder | Burrell, Clay N., architect; Sommarstrom Brothers, builder |
| Architectural style | Mission/Spanish Colonial Revival |
| Criteria |
|
| Areas of significance | Architecture |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Run-down and slightly vandalized; hotel and residential floors vacant for about a dozen years, with ground-floor commercial uses continuing and rehabilitation as low-income housing planned. |
| Acreage | 0.9 |
| Coordinates | 37.82458, -122.27899 (NPS GIS) |
What listing means for this property
For an income-producing building, listing (individually or as a contributing building in a district) is the gateway to the 20% federal rehabilitation tax credit on qualified rehabilitation costs, often stackable with state credits. Work claiming the credit must follow the Secretary of the Interior's Standards and be approved in advance.
Listing does not restrict a private owner acting without federal money or permits; where federal funding or licensing is involved, Section 106 review applies.
General information, not legal or tax advice. Rules change; confirm with your State Historic Preservation Office or a qualified adviser.
Sources and further reading
- National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places database (snapshot May 2026), reference 88000969.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q21188155
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.