DOWNTOWN, November 1st, 1968 — Firefighters spent Thursday night putting out a four-alarm blaze that damaged much of the historic Palmer Hotel.
No casualties have been confirmed, although a representative for the fire department estimates that it will take crews weeks to comb through the wreckage. Officials have not yet made an announcement, but sources familiar with the situation have told The Chronicle that arson has not been ruled out.
Experts who have examined the smoldering structure from afar expect that much of the building’s exterior will survive, but that the interior will require extensive rehabilitation before the hotel resumes operations.
“I was woken up around midnight and told there was a bomb threat,” said Barry Kind, a guest at the hotel who was in town for a convention. “I gathered my things as quick as I could, and I’m sure glad I did!”
The Palmer Hotel dates to 1898, when, as local legend goes, local entrepreneur Jonathan Palmer won the building in a bet. Previously named The Winthrop, the four-story hotel became a destination for tourists and investors in the burgeoning city. In 1910, the location’s success led Palmer to add eight more floors, and, in 1929, a second ten-story tower was built on an adjacent plot of land.
The fire was largely confined to the older, southern wing of the hotel, but the newer, northern wing suffered some damage as well. While no one from The Chronicle has yet been allowed to inspect the devastation, sources have confirmed that the famed glass-enclosed dining hall in the hotel’s courtyard, a power lunch locale for many of the city’s political elite, has been completely destroyed.
“It hurts, it really does,” said Jacqueline Palmer, the hotel’s current owner. “But we’ll find a way to fix it and get back on our feet. Any city worth its salt needs a hotel like the Palmer.”
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