In the 1890s, the three largest hotels in California were the Del Coronado in San Diego, Hotel Del Monte in Monterey and Hotel Rafael in San Rafael. All were multi-storied, wooden structures with more than 100 rooms and all the latest amenities. But only Hotel Rafael had a brief and tragic existence. Among its founders were James Donahue, son of millionaire Peter Donahue who owned the North Pacific Railroad, and Peter Donahue’s son-in-law, German aristocrat Baron von Schroeder. However, once the Rafael became profitable, James Donahue died unexpectedly and von Schroeder became its owner and right away expanded it from 102 to over 200 rooms. Around that same time von Schroeder, according to numerous accounts, also morphed from being a charming businessman into what one newspaper called a “sensuous satyr, bawdy brute and a danger to society.” And therein might lie much of Hotel Rafael’s downfall.
By the turn of the century, von Schroeder’s repute for drink and debauchery began to tarnish that of Hotel Rafael and business slowed. Then in 1914, when von Schroeder was called back to his homeland to fight in World War I, the Rafael wouldn’t sell for as low as $200,000, despite von Schroeder having invested $700,000 in it. And when the war ended, Hotel Rafael became a hospital for sufferers of the Spanish flu, a pandemic that killed more than did the war. Finally, after new management and a restoration that added elevators and private bathrooms, Hotel Rafael staged a business comeback in the 1920s. But on the night of July 29, 1928, a disgruntled employee lit a match to a bucket of gasoline on the third floor and in less than three hours Hotel Rafael burned to the ground. Fortunately, none of that night’s guests died or were seriously injured. A decade later, developers paid $40,000 for the land and built homes on it. Today, all that’s left of the Hotel Rafael are two entrance pillars at the corner of Rafael Drive and Belle Avenue in San Rafael’s Dominican neighborhood.
