Biographical / Historical Notes
The Albemarle Hotel was built in 1888, during a brief economic boom, on the corner of Front Street and Broadway in downtown San Diego. The hotel billed itself as a family hotel, but was popular with officers of the ships docked at the nearby bay, as well as traveling performance and comedy troupes. The hotel suffered financial hardship and eventually came under the ownership of Ben Hill, a rancher from El Cajon who later became sheriff.
There is a popular story connected to the hotel of “The Itata Affair.” A Chilean revolutionary, who was an officer on the docked ship Itata, took a room at the Albemarle. The hotel staff and guests heard muffled yells from his room, whereupon forcing the door open, they discovered the officer trapped in the folding bed. The bed had simply malfunctioned, but the officer was convinced it was part of a political plot.
From the guide to the Albemarle Hotel Register, 1888 October 18-1889 March 27, (San Diego History Center Document Collection)
