The Claremont Hotel

Before we moved we spent every morning looking at this venerable hotel as we sat at Peet's, four blocks from our house, drinking our coffee. We belonged to the Claremont Pool and Tennis Club there, hosted a rehearsal dinner for our son in the hotel , enjoyed the bistro style restraunt regularly and have stayed there several times since moving to Santa Rosa. Perched on a hill, it has a stunning view of San Francisco, the bay and the three bridges that cross it.

The Claremont opened its doors in 1915 and has had a number of owners over the years, some good, some not so good, but it has always maintained its 'grande dame'  presence at the foot of the East Bay hills overlooking the city as well as a significant presence in our life as well.

It was the place where firefighters made a last stand in 1991 when hot weather, Santa Ana winds and a vagrant's untended campfire unleashed an inferno. The firefighters faced wind blown flames head-on just behind the hotel to keep the fire from burning downhill into the heart of the city.
At the time the Claremont was built, there were several large, wooden hotels like it around town. Today, it is the only one that hasn't succumbed to flames.

The Claremont has recently been purchased by Fairmont Hotels & Resorts who have plans to build condos, redesign the gardens and put the tennis courts over underground parking lots.  We always felt that this little corner of Berkeley, where we could walk everywhere was a refuge. I have a feeling that that is about to change, so I took this picture this morning as I had a last cup of coffee at Peet's before heading home to Sonoma County.