The Strange and Storied History of the Hotel del Coronado

When the Hotel del Coronado opened on February 19, 1888, it was the largest resort hotel in the world. Two railroad executives, Elisha Babcock and Hampton Story, had bought the entire scrubby Coronado peninsula for $110,000 in 1885 with a single idea: build something so spectacular that people would ride the train across the country to see it. They did.

Built by Chinese laborers in 11 months

The Del was designed by James and Watson Reid, two brothers from Indiana who had never built a hotel. Construction took just 11 months, largely thanks to several hundred Chinese laborers brought in from San Francisco. The wood — sugar pine and Douglas fir — was milled in California, shipped to Coronado by schooner, and cut on-site. There were no architectural plans in the modern sense; the Reids drew sketches and the foreman improvised.

Edison himself wired the lights

The Del was one of the first hotels in the world to have electricity throughout. Thomas Edison personally consulted on the wiring, and in December 1904 the hotel claimed to be the first to put electric lights on an outdoor Christmas tree. The original DC generators ran on coal, and old-timers swear the lights still flicker on the anniversary.

The ghost of Kate Morgan

On Thanksgiving 1892, a 24-year-old guest named Kate Morgan checked in alone. Five days later she was found dead on an exterior staircase with a gunshot wound. The official ruling was suicide; the rumors have never stopped. Room 3327 (originally 302) is the most-requested 'haunted' room in California. Guests report flickering TVs, cold drafts, and a woman in Victorian dress at the foot of the bed. The hotel has a gift shop section dedicated to her.

Presidents, royalty, and Marilyn

Sixteen US presidents have stayed at the Del, starting with Benjamin Harrison in 1891. Edward, Prince of Wales (later Edward VIII) met Wallis Simpson at a dinner here in 1920 — arguably the moment that altered the British monarchy. In 1958, Billy Wilder filmed Some Like It Hot on the beach with Marilyn Monroe, Tony Curtis, and Jack Lemmon. Monroe stayed in a beachfront suite; the production turned the Del into a movie set for two months.

L. Frank Baum and the Emerald City

Author L. Frank Baum spent winters at the Del between 1904 and 1911. He designed the original crown chandeliers in the Crown Room, and many historians believe the hotel's white turrets and red roofs were the visual inspiration for the Emerald City in The Wonderful Wizard of Oz.

The Tent City years (1900–1939)

For four decades, the beach just south of the Del was covered by Tent City — a seasonal resort of canvas-walled cottages that let working families vacation in Coronado for as little as $4.50 a week. At its peak it housed 4,000 people and had its own dance pavilion, bowling alley, saltwater plunge, library, and a merry-go-round. Tent City is why Coronado developed a middle-class beach culture alongside the millionaires at the hotel. It closed for good in 1939, and almost nothing of it survives except photographs in the Coronado Historical Association archive.

The wartime blackout

During World War II the Del turned military. Its windows were painted black or covered so the illuminated silhouette could not guide enemy aircraft toward North Island Naval Air Station, and hundreds of rooms were leased to Navy pilots and their families. The hotel's ballrooms hosted training classes; the beach was strung with barbed wire. Occupancy stayed near 100% for four years — not from tourism, but from the war.

Near-demolition and the Larry Lawrence rescue

By the 1950s the Del was decaying and repeatedly slated for demolition or conversion into apartments. In 1963, businessman M. Larry Lawrence bought it for about $6 million and spent the next three decades pouring an estimated $150 million into restoration — rebuilding the Crown Room ceiling, reopening the Victorian tower rooms, and adding the towers on the ocean side. Without that purchase, the red roofs almost certainly would not be standing.

How to visit the history today

You don't have to be a guest to walk the lobby, the Crown Room, or the beachfront porch. Free self-guided history tours start near the gift shop with a printed map. The Babcock & Story Bar still serves cocktails in the original 1888 saloon. For deeper context, book the Sunday history tour ($25, 90 minutes, led by the hotel historian).

Dates worth knowing

1885 — Babcock and Story buy the Coronado peninsula for $110,000.

1888 — The hotel opens on February 19 as the largest resort in the world.

1892 — Kate Morgan is found dead on the exterior staircase.

1900 — Tent City opens on the beach to the south.

1920 — Edward, Prince of Wales, dines here and later meets Wallis Simpson.

1942 — Windows blacked out; rooms leased to Navy aviators.

1958 — Some Like It Hot films on the beach.

1963 — Larry Lawrence buys and begins restoring the hotel.

1977 — Designated a National Historic Landmark.

For more on Coronado today, see our full neighborhood guide to Coronado and the best sunset spots within walking distance of the Del.