She’s the grande dame of Bakersfield. A landmark for close to a century, a derelict for decades, and now a success story for historic preservation and downtown revitalization. The story of the Padre Hotel, today on KVPR’s Central Valley Roots.
For decades, Judge Benjamin Brundage made his home at the corner of 18th and H Streets in downtown Bakersfield. He was one of Kern County’s most influential early leaders. In 1927, the old Brundage Estate was razed to make way for a first-rate hotel. It was eight stories, with 198 rooms. It was Bakersfield’s tallest and largest building at the time. The $600,000 hotel was built in the Spanish Colonial Revival style. It was designed by LA architect John M. Cooper, who also penned the Hollywood Knickerbocker Hotel and LA’s Roxie Theater.
The Padre was a hit when it opened in 1928, hosting celebrities like Clark Gable and Carole Lombard. It survived the earthquakes of 1952 virtually unscathed. In 1954 it was sold, winding up under the control of Milton “Spartacus” Miller. The eccentric owner frequently clashed with city hall. The feud began in 1960, when fire inspectors told Miller to install a fire sprinkler system, or else. Miller protested, but the city moved ahead, and condemned the upper six floors of the building. Ironically, the condemned property was also the site of a government-approved fallout shelter during the Cold War.
Over the years, Miller’s protests got more and more outlandish including wild signs on the building attacking city officials, and even a fake missile on the roof pointed at city hall. One sign read “Falsity rules our town.” Miller turned to politics, and was elected to the Kern County Board of Supervisors. Still, absent upgrades, the upper floors remained off limits, at least officially, while the Towne Casino occupied the ground floor. Miller died in 1999 and the building sat vacant. It was later restored and revitalized by a group from San Diego as a boutique hotel. The Padre reopened in 2010, and today is the most prominent anchor for the city’s downtown renaissance.
