From a newspaper article sometime in early March 2005

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Hotels were hot in social circles

By Emanuel Parker , Staff Writer

PASADENA -- The city was a popular resort town in the early 1900s and local hotels were full of distinguished guests. In 1910, the Pasadena Evening Star ran a column, "At the Hotels,' about well-to-do guests visiting Pasadena.

Large hotels, such as the Hotel Green, closed in the spring, but smaller ones, such as the Hotel Guirnada and La Casa Grande, stayed open all year.

In 1910, the Hotel Green closed April 10 when the owner, Col. G. G. Green , his family and his personal physician, left for Chicago on his private railway car.

Two private secretaries of Adolphus Busch had been staying at the Hotel Green. They joined the Busch family, which headed for St. Louis on the family's private railway car.

The Hotel Maryland, which had 234 guests, stayed open a little longer than the Green. The hotel column noted:

"Among the most distinguished guests at the Maryland this winter have been Mr. and Mrs. H. A. Everett of Cleveland, Oh., who have been occupying one of the most attractive Maryland bungalows for the season.

"They are accompanied by a large retinue of servants including a valet, two maids, a traveling companion and chauffeur. Mr. Everett is a very wealthy retired railroad president who just before coming to Pasadena made a gift of a million dollars apiece to each of his two daughters.'

The Maryland's dining room was a popular gathering spot. The local Elks lodge had an elaborate dinner there featuring the Elks' colors. The column read:

"The table will have quantities of purple gauze ribbons and baskets of white roses as its ornamentation and the electric table will be used, the lights shaded with purple shining through the plate glass table, covered with roses and purple tulle.'

The column noted that Mr. and Mrs. W. T. Lucas , said to be prominent residents of Honolulu, Territory of Hawaii, were staying at the Guirnada. The couple arrived aboard the steamship Manchuria, and Lucas shipped his new Cadillac touring car here so the family could tour Southern California.

Sid Gally, a Pasadena Museum of History volunteer, researched this story. Emanuel Parker can be reached at (626) 578-6300, Ext. 4475, or by e-mail at emanuel.parker@sgvn.com .