Pío Pico, a successful businessman who was the last Mexican Governor of Alta California, ordered construction of a luxury hotel in the growing town.

It had a total of nearly 80 rooms, large windows, a small interior court, and a grand staircase.

In the days of the hotel's primacy the courtyard featured a fountain[7][full citation needed] and an aviary of exotic birds.

By 1876, the Southern Pacific Railroad had linked the city with the rest of the country and more residents and businessmen began pouring in.

Pio Pico himself started having financial troubles, and lost the hotel to the San Francisco Savings and Loan Company.