CoL49 (5) German Baroque

[Robin Landseadel]

	She purred along up the east side of the bay, presently climbed
	into the Berkeley hills and arrived close to midnight at a
	sprawling, many-leveled, German-baroque hotel, carpeted in
	deep green, going in for curved corridors and ornamental
	chandeliers. A sign in the lobby said WELCOME CALIFORNIA
	CHAPTER AMERICAN DEAF-MUTE ASSEMBLY.
	PC 80

The local landmark Pynchon cites [but does not name] is the Claremont  
Hotel. As one enters the town of Berkeley via 13 and drops off on  
Ashby, the Claremont is the most visible local landmark, looming over  
the town like Kane's Xanadu.

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/49/163457239_771127ab27.jpg?v=0

http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&safe=off&q=claremont%20hotel%20berkeley&um=1&ie=UTF-8&sa=N&tab=wl

Using the Claremont as Oedipa's base of operations during her stay in  
the Bay area underlines the history of that resort in the region. The  
presence of the California Chapter of the Deaf Mute Assembly serves to  
remind us once again of the muted horn.

The Claremont Hotel:

	A Castle on the Hill
	Born of a golden era, the history of The Claremont dates back to
	the early days of the Gold Rush, when a Kansas farmer by the
	name of Bill Thornburg "struck it rich." He came to California
	with his daughter and his wife who dreamed of living in an
	English Castle. Thornburg purchased 13,000 acres (part of the
	old Peralta and Vicente Spanish grants) to fulfill his wife’s
	dream and built the castle and several stables, which housed
	pedigreed hunters and jumpers. He hired Cockney grooms to
	care for them and raised English foxes for hunting parties.

	Harder Times
	Shortly after Thornburg's daughter married a British Lord and
	moved to England, Mrs. Thornburg died. Bill Thornburg
	subsequently sold the "castle" to a family by the name of
	Ballard. While the Ballard family was out on July 14, 1901, a dry
	and windy day, tragedy struck and the castle burned to the
	ground. As the municipal water supply was not well regulated,
	the volunteer fire department was helpless when the hot, dry
	summer winds blew flames across the Berkeley Hills, also
	destroying many other homes in the area. Only the Ballard
	livery stables, barn and some of the costly furnishings survived
	the fire.

	A Lucky Game of Checkers
	The destroyed property fell into the hands of Frank Havens and
	“Borax” Smith, a famous miner. They planned to erect a resort
	hotel on the property with trains running directly into the lobby.
	 However, these plans were abandoned. One night, Havens,
	Smith and John Spring, a Berkeley capitalist, played a game of
	checkers in the old Athenian Club of Oakland with the stakes
	being the property. As legend goes, Havens won.

	Born of Romanticism
	The grounds and natural settings give The Claremont a
	picturesque quality reminiscent of the Age of Romanticism. In
	the 1930’s, the entire second floor was flanked by a large porch
	where visitors would sit, take walks and admire the
	surroundings and spectacular sunsets. Some will remember
	The Claremont’s Garden Room “high atop the hill” where such
	famous bands as Count Basie, Louis Armstrong and Tommy
	Dorsey performed. During this period, lawn sports such as
	tennis, badminton and croquet were gaining popularity and the
	resort’s first tennis courts and pool were built. Around 1940, the
	porch was enclosed and transformed into office and dining
	space. At that time, The Claremont was painted entirely white,
	the roof was fire-proofed, and the shingles were turned a
	whitish-silver color.

	In 1954, Mr. Harold J. Schnitzer of Harsh Investment
	Corporation bought the property and leased it to Mr. Murray
	Lehr. It became a popular site for conventions held in the Bay
	Area. By 1959, The Claremont had more convention and exhibit
	space than any hotel west of Chicago and represented the
	largest convention resort in the Bay Area.

http://www.claremontresort.com/

Here are some vintage postcards of the Claremont:

http://www.alamedainfo.com/claremont_hotel_berkeley_ca.htm