Padre Hotel

Written by Bakersfield Magazine

A skyline is a wonderful thing. Whether it’s made up of hotels and skyscrapers or a lush, rolling hillside, a skyline often comes to define a city (think Manhattan). In the early ‘30s, downtown Bakersfield’s skyline was monopolized by the eight-story Padre Hotel, which had been masterfully erected in 1928.

The extravagance of the Roaring ‘20s had come to an abrupt end with the crash of the stock market, and with that came a resurgence of simple necessities. Folks no longer sought extras...they sought basics. Still, the Padre stood tall. Businesses around the landmark offered coffee, tea, company, and Goodyear Tires. The streets were lined with Henry Ford’s mechanical marvels, which parked for free if they were patronizing a certain few businesses, one being the A & P and one being Padre Drug. Naturally, those businesses would change with the coming years. Markets would be replaced by boutiques; tire shops would be relocated to accommodate modern art galleries.

Of course, the Padre Hotel would go on to make headlines throughout the course of our city’s history, ever a part of Bakersfield city life. Everything from hosting wedding receptions for World War II soldiers and their sweethearts before deployment, and scandalous stories of girls on swings in the lobby, to the highly publicized and infamous legal battles between Milton “Spartacus” Miller and the city of Bakersfield.

Those headlines have done nothing to impact the presence of the Padre in the collective conscious of our city, which is why excitement is at an all-time high for its triumphant re-opening.

Though the skyline has changed, and taller buildings have come to rise in front of the horizon, there is something special about the Padre Hotel and the enormous shadow it casts.

Article appeared in our 26-6 Issue - February 2010

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