Hotel Senator, Sacramento
historic place
The Hotel Senator, a historic place in Sacramento County, opened in August 1924. This nine-story, 400-room building was designed in the Italian Renaissance style, drawing inspiration from the Palazzo Farnese. Located at 1121 L Street, directly across from the California State Capitol, it was built to provide lodging and meeting spaces for state politicians and those conducting government business. For over 50 years, the Hotel Senator served as a central point for California's political and social activities. Notable figures stayed here, including silent film star Buster Keaton in 1927, and Charles Lindbergh was honored in its Florentine Room that same year. From the 1930s to the 1950s, the hotel's lobby became a place where legislators and lobbyists made political deals. Influential lobbyist Arthur Samish maintained a suite, and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. also stayed at the hotel. In 1975, President Gerald Ford spent a night at the hotel before an assassination attempt. The Hotel Senator was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in May 1979. Later that year, it closed. In 1983, the building reopened as an office building, known as the Senator Hotel Office Building, continuing its connection to the state's political landscape. This structure remains a significant example of early 20th-century Italian Renaissance architecture in Sacramento.