Flamingo Hotel Considered For Federal Historic Designation

SANTA ROSA, CA — A state commission is set to consider the Flamingo Hotel in Santa Rosa for federal historic designation, California State Parks officials announced Tuesday.

During its quarterly meeting July 30, the California State Historial Resources Commission will consider the hotel at 2777 Fourth Street along with eight other pending National Register of Historic Places-nominated properties.

Designed by Las Vegas architect Homer Rissman for developer Hugh Codding, the 1957 resort in the mid-century modern architectural style includes a conference center and four hotel wings attached by connecting hyphens arranged in a wheel-spoke pattern around a central courtyard and swimming pool.

The City of Santa Rosa designated the original sign — in the form of a tall, three-sided pylon topped by a stylized flamingo — a local landmark in 1997. Metal letters with neon backlighting spell out "Flamingo” along the pylon.

According to a statement of significance nominating the Flamingo Hotel for federal historic designation:

"The unusual wheel-spoke design is one of only three known to have been designed by Rissman, which originally included the Las Vegas Hacienda (1956), Santa Rosa Flamingo (1957), and Palm Springs Riviera (1959). Only the Flamingo and Riviera have survived following the demolition of the Hacienda, which served as the prototype for the design.

"The Flamingo’s rustic stone cladding, combined with its glazed curtain wall elevations, are characteristic of the new class of modern, glamorous mid-century resort hotels built in Las Vegas and California after World War II. At the time of its completion, the Flamingo stood apart from other hotels in the Santa Rosa area due to its modernist aesthetic, extensive use of glazing juxtaposed against its Utah sandstone cladding, functional indoor-outdoor spaces, use of curved surfaces, and its focus on accommodating the automobile.

"A Chicago native, Homer Rissman was an accomplished master architect, who studied under Mies van der Rohe at the Illinois Institute of Chicago. Rissman designed major hotel and casinoprojects in Las Vegas, and was active in California as well, designing hotels for national and regional chains throughout the state. Rissman was honored posthumously in 2001 with a lifetime achievement award from the Nevada chapter of the American Institute of Architects.

"After the war [World War II], economic growth continued, and Santa Rosa began to market itself as a destination for conventions and tourism. Soldiers stationed in Sonoma County returned after the war and settled in the region and purchased new houses in the subdivisions being developed on Santa Rosa’s east and south sides. Hugh Codding was one of the most active developers in Santa Rosa during the postwar period. Codding was born in Oakland in 1917. His grandfather, who settled in Petaluma, was the first family member to become involved in real estate; he formed the Real Estate Association of Petaluma. Both his grandfather and father were successful businessmen. After serving as a carpenter in World War II, Hugh Codding came home to Santa Rosa and used his savings of $400 to buy a lot and build a house, his first enterprise. In 1948, he completed the Town and Country shopping center, located at Franklin Avenue and Terrace Way.

"In 1950, he established Codding Enterprises, and began work on Montgomery Village, a 97-acre residential subdivision and shopping center. Montgomery Village, located just to the south of the Flamingo Hotel, was annexed to the city in 1955, increasing Santa Rosa’s population to 31,000. Prior to this annexation, the city limits had ended at Brookwood Avenue. In 1956, the state Division of Highways completed U.S. 101 north of San Francisco to Santa Rosa. Postwar public investments included a new city hall complex, county courthouse, jail, central library, and post office. These improvements communicated an image of the city as modern and progressive, and a sense of optimism radiated among local businessmen and the Chamber of Commerce.

"By 1957, when the Flamingo Hotel was developed, Santa Rosa had a population of 32,500, with 56,800 living in the greater metropolitan area. Tourism had grown to become one of the county’s major economic catalysts and was heavily promoted by organizations such as the nonprofit Redwood Empire Association, established during the 1920s to promote the counties of northwestern California and southwestern Oregon. In 1957 tourism generated approximately $25 million in revenues, and along with agriculture and manufacturing, was one of the principal sectors of the local economy. Tourists were drawn to the area’s mild climate, beautiful scenery, and attractions such as wineries. At the time, Santa Rosa only had two aging downtown hotels, both of which were constructed soon after the destruction caused by the 1906 earthquake. The Santa Rosa Hotel, originally constructed as the Overton, burned in 1937 and had been rebuilt. The other hotel, the Occidental, had not been upgraded since its opening soon after the earthquake. In addition, there was a 50-room motel, the El Rancho, on highway 101.

"Originally built in 1949, and expanded in 1955, the El Rancho (demolished) featured a restaurant, lounge, and banquet hall. With competition increasing to provide new, state-of the art facilities for tourists, unimproved areas on the periphery of the city, such as the former orchard property on which the Flamingo was built, were acquired by developers as the city grew and expanded economically, in part the result of increased postwar tourism in the Napa Valley region.

"The “motor hotel,” or motel, emerged from earlier precedents as an architectural and cultural phenomenon in America during the postwar period, reflecting new patterns of leisure and consumption made possible by economic prosperity, increased automobile ownership, and the expansion of the tourism industry. Prior to World War I, downtown hotels were typically oriented to streetcar lines and were accessible by taxi, and few made accommodations for motorists."

Another nomination being considered by the Commission is the Fairfax Theatre in Los Angeles, which became the center of the developing neighborhood’s social life, both as a venue for entertainment and as a center for fundraising for local Jewish synagogues, temples, clubs and charities.

The Institute of Geophysics and Planetary Physics Munk Laboratory in La Jolla is also being considered for its numerous, groundbreaking contributions made in physical oceanography and geophysics by noted Scripps faculty.

All nominations and photographs of properties under consideration are available online.

The July 30 Commission meeting can be viewed starting at 9 a.m. on cal-span.org. To provide public comment, the public is advised to register online via the Zoom link here.