Grass Valley

Holbrooke Hotel

The Holbrooke Hotel had its beginnings in 1852. In that year a wooden structure known as the Golden Gate Saloon was built, behind which was added an annex called the Exchange Hotel that opened for business in January of 1853. The Golden Gate was consumed in the flames of the 1855 fire, but was hastily rebuilt out of local fieldstone and given a brick front. The Exchange Hotel suffered a similar fate in 1862, afterwhich the present structure was built. The entire complex was purchased by D. P. Holbrooke in 1879, who then transformed it into the Holbrooke Hotel. Among the names on the old ledgers can be found Mark Twain, actor Gilbert Barry, and presidents Grant, Garfield, Harrison and Cleveland. The hotel has been meticulously restored and offers an excellent opportunity to visit a first-class, Gold Rush hostelry.