What’s that tall brick smokestack near the world-famous Hotel del Coronado?
It’s the most noticeable part of a historic industrial complex!
I walked around the Hotel Del’s old laundry building, ice house and power plant last month during the San Diego Architectural Foundation Open House event. I discovered several plaques that provide information about these three buildings, which, clustered south of the hotel lobby entrance, are called the industrial complex.
The brick building shown below once provided the Hotel del Coronado’s laundry service. It’s now home to The Laundry Pub!
Laundry, established 1919.
The original hotel laundry opened on the second floor of the Power Plant in January 1888. The Laundry occupied the majority of the second floor and employed 20 women. In 1919 this brick structure was built to house the laundry operation, which had expanded to serve all of Coronado Island with a fleet of five laundry trucks and a branch location on Orange Avenue. Laundry services were provided here for the hotel until 2018.
The next photo is through the window of The Laundry Pub, which features an 1880s-era bar and the laundry’s early conveyor system above restored wood floors.
North of the brick laundry building is the hotel’s old ice house.
The ice house is now home to the fascinating Ice House Museum of the Hotel del Coronado, where you can view historical displays and artifacts, plus photographs of the many celebrities, movie stars and United States Presidents who’ve visited the Victorian resort over the years. I blogged about the museum two years ago here.
In the rear of the ice house is this plaque…
Ice House, established 1889.
Ice was originally produced with a small machine inside the Power Plant until this masonry structure was built to house a new 10-ton De Coppet ice machine. Renowned for excellent tasting ice, the De Coppet system was cutting edge technology at the time and allowed The Del to manufacture and supply ice throughout Southern California. In 1909, the building was converted into a storeroom with later uses including an upholstery shop and offices.
Lastly, north of the ice house is the old power plant with its tall, striped smokestack.
Power Plant, established 1887.
Built in 1887 to house the incandescent electric light plant, laundry, and engine house, the Power Plant supplied electricity to all of Coronado Island until service was established with SDG&E in 1922. The Power Plant housed five Mather dynamos, two Hazelton boilers, and heavy pumping and heating machinery. To this day, a utility tunnel connects the Power Plant to the historic hotel.
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