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The Raymond required massive amounts of lumber and a small army of skilled craftsmen to complete the final construction phase.
Wood was a plentiful natural resource during the late 1800s. The mill operations of the Great Northwest supplied a steady flow of lumber to California port cities of San Francisco, Los Angeles, and San Diego.
The Raymond has a palace-like presence on its South Pasadena hilltop. It appears to rise from a mythical land where legends are born, and happy endings come true.
The above Sanborn Map of The Raymond is dated October 1894 – it was prepared and submitted as a public record to identify countermeasures in case of fire and assess insurance liability. The map shows the location of eleven fire hydrants with hoses that reach 50 feet in length, and three watchmen making regular rounds of the property (two stationed inside the hotel and one walking the grounds). Unfortunately, within a few months of making this map, it would be rendered useless.
Next week’s Throwback Thursday marks the 124th anniversary of the historic Raymond hotel fire occurring on Easter Sunday in 1895.
Throwback Thursday is written and produced by Rick Thomas
