Ranch & Coast Magazine

The Ups and Downs One of the Hotel del Coronado's most beloved features is its vintage "birdcage" elevator in the lobby. Guests love to ride the cab and watch the floors go by through the open bronze grillwork. When the hotel opened in 1888, it had only one passenger elevator and one freight elevator to serve 400 rooms. These elevators were manufactured by the Ellithorpe Air-Break Company of Chicago. A second passenger elevator was added in 1911 by the Otis Elevator Co. and later modernized. The lobby elevator was rebuilt by Otis in 1918 and the changes included a new ornamental iron car with black leather seat. The lobby elevator carried its first passengers on February 11, 1888. Guests at that time were wary of elevators, fearing they would get stuck — or worse. For this reason, the ground floor rooms were initially the most expensive. In 1890 it was reported that the lobby elevator "fell from the third to the first floor," but the three women inside were not injured because the automatic brakes worked. One of the charms of old birdcage elevators is that they often have an operator onboard. The Del employed Andrew Lounsbury, who ran the elevator for 41 years and sometimes serenaded guests before he retired in 2020. Today, the elevator has been upgraded to meet safety requirements while maintaining its historic look and feel. Gone are the finger-pinching scissor gates and the busy scrollwork grille at the lobby that was added in 1961. In the just completed restoration, the non-historic grille was replaced by a replica of the 1888 design, matching the open bronze elevator shaft on the other floors. The Hotel del Coronado's birdcage "time machine" is poised to serve guests for another 134 years. Crowning Achievement The largest and most ornate stained-glass window at the Hotel del Coronado is known as the Coronation Window and it was designed by The Del's architect James W. Reid. Coronado is the Spanish term for "crowned," so Reid wanted the window to represent the establishment of Coronado, also known as The Crown City. In an 1887 edition of the San Diego Union, Reid described the window's design as "an allegorical representation of Coronado. In the foreground is the figure of a young girl crowning herself with flowers and scattering them about. In the distant background there is a landscape, representing mountains, valleys, and a bay. The sun is just rising above a high elevation. This piece of stained- glass will alone cost $600. It will be one of the most prominent and artistic features of the hotel." As part of The Del's two-year restoration, the Coronation Window was carefully removed and restored by Bera Stained Glass Studios in San Marcos. The window's 700 colored and hand-painted glass pieces were meticulously dismantled, cleaned, and reassembled. One piece with multiple cracks and several poorly matched pre- vious repairs were replaced with new matching glass. The window is now reinstalled in its historic second floor location and can be viewed up close from the lobby's mezzanine. The beautifully restored Coronation Window continues to symbolize not only the history of the Hotel del Coronado, but the entire island of Coronado. DAVID MARSHALL, AIA WAS THE PRINCIPAL ARCHITECT FOR THIS RESTORATION PROJECT. ELEVATOR, LOBBY CEILING, CORONATION WINDOW: PHOTOS COURTESY OF HERITAGE ARCHITECTURE & PLANNING FRONT DESK PHOTO COURTESY OF HOTEL DEL CORONADO ALL OTHER PHOTOS COURTESY OF HERITAGE ARCHITECTURE & PLANNING The original "Coronation Window" has been restored, reassembled, and returned to its historic second floor location The restored "birdcage" elevator and grand stairs at the lobby ranchandcoast.com @ranchandcoast RANCH & COAST MAGAZINE MAY 2022 81

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