Walking Tour: Civic Center, St. John's Cathedral & Warehouse Districts, Fresno, California

36. Santa Fe Hotel (1926)

935 Santa Fe Street
Telesfuro Jance, Builder
Period Revival

Built in 1926 by Telesfuro Jance, the Santa Fe Hotel is one of the oldest and most important ethnic institutions among the Basques of Fresno.

The hotel is a two-story structure with plain, but clean lodgings. The top floor consisted of a combination of private rooms and small dormitories sleeping several men, while the ground floor consisted of a bar and a large dining room where the boarders ate together at long tables.

The isolation inherent to his occupation prevented the Basque sheepherder from learning the English needed to understand American society; he was sorely unprepared to deal with the local banker, lawyer or doctor. In all of these areas, the hotelkeeper could be counted on to serve the herder as both interpreter and protector of his interests.

This building is in the National Register of Historic Places, and a more detailed description is available.

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