It was a grand hotel from the roaring 20s, one of the finest between LA and San Francisco. But like so many landmarks of the past, it met the wrecking ball. The rise and fall of Bakersfield’s El Tejon Hotel, today on KVPR’s Central Valley Roots.
The year was 1926. The economy was booming. The automobile and new highways like the Grapevine made travel more accessible, but travelers need a place to stay. Enter the El Tejon Hotel. Five stories tall, with 175 rooms, it was a Spanish Colonial Revival landmark smack in the middle of downtown Bakersfield.
Occupying a lot bounded by 17th Street, Truxtun, Chester Avenue and K Street it boasted opulent features for the time, like air conditioning. Venues like the Oil Zone and Penthouse Bar were popular area watering holes for locals and weary travelers alike.
It suffered only minor damage in the big earthquakes that destroyed many buildings in 1952, perhaps owing to its reinforced concrete construction. But over the years the property declined.
The Bank of America purchased the site in 1967 and evicted the last guests and tenants. The El Tejon was finally reduced to rubble by the wrecking ball in 1970, replaced by the Bank of America tower. The El Tejon Hotel remains a piece of Kern County’s heritage, gone but not forgotten.
