The Fairmont was nearly finished when the 1906 earthquake and fire struck. The granite shell survived, the interior burned, and the hotel opened exactly one year later, in April 1907, rebuilt under architect Julia Morgan. It became a social center of the rebuilt city.
The United Nations charter was negotiated in part at the Fairmont in 1945. The lobby is open to walk through, with its marble columns and gold detail. The tiki bar in the basement, the Tonga Room, has a working indoor rainstorm over a lagoon and has run since 1945.
Part of a self-guided walking tour
