Although this modest building known today as Las Flores Hotel is comparatively simple, its history is replete with well-known San Diego names. Initially, this double lot, 50 feet by 100 feet, was sold in October 1869 by Alonzo Horton to Henrietta Parsons for $300 in U.S. gold coins. In January of the following year, Henrietta and her husband, Henry, declared the lot a homestead with “a dwelling house thereon.” They apparently didn’t dwell there very long, because two months later, they sold the property to Theophile Verlaque for $1,175 in U.S. gold coin—triple what they paid for it.
Verlaque, a native of Mozambique of French descent and a winemaker, has been credited with the founding of the city of Nuevo, later Ramona, in East County. He married Elisabeth Cline in 1856 in New Madrid, Missouri before coming to California in 1870. They had five sons and four daughters. The home Verlaque built in Ramona in 1886 is said to be the first permanent residence in the newly formed town. It remains one of the oldest and best-preserved buildings in the backcountry. Verlaque also had a wine and spirits store at Fifth and G streets in San Diego.
The Verlaques seemed to believe in keeping everything in the family. In 1882, Verlaque deeded the Las Flores Hotel site property to Giovani Raffi for $1,500. Three days later, Raffi married Mary E. Verlaque. Raffi was a retail grocer in town, who also sold housewares, toys and fancy goods. By 1888, Raffi declared that his property, land and house (probably the original homestead) had an estimated cash value of $5,000. So, in July of the following year, he sold the property back to his father-in-law, Theophile Verlaque, for that amount.
In January of 1899, Verlaque sold the property at a loss of $2,000 to Louise T. Mertz. Mertz, however, did agree to pay the taxes on the property for the year. Mertz did absolutely nothing with the property until 1911 when she sold it to Roscoe Hazard and Rex Clark for only $10!
Hazard, a familiar San Diego name, was the owner and founder of R.E. Hazard Construction Company and also President of Hazard, Gould and Company, Inc., building suppliers and contracting engineers. Hazard and Clark deeded the property to Edward L. Campbell six months after their purchase for the original $10 and the assumption of a $25,000 mortgage payable to Mertz. It was at this time that the Las Flores Hotel was built.
This simple rectangular brick and stucco building is the only structure in the Gaslamp to be completely designed by famed architect Irving Gill. Gill is lauded as a pioneer in the modern movement of architecture. He designed numerous houses in Sherman Heights, Hillcrest, La Jolla and Coronado.
The structure stands four stories high and features frame constructs, several lightwells and a composition roof. A fire hydrant and a fire escape were located near the middle front of the building. The uniform rows of double-sash windows were accented with simple cornices and belt courses.
Like most Victorian and post-Victorian commercial buildings, the street level was utilized for commercial enterprises, and the upper stories were rented as furnished rooms. In San Diego, it seems there has always existed a pressing need for affordable housing! When it first opened, the building was known as the Las Flores lodging house, and then the Las Flores Hotel. Throughout the years, it has also been called the Hotel Cortland, the Cortland Hotel, and the Altrude Hotel. As of 1979, it has reverted to its original name. The structure itself has undergone little alteration and has continued as reasonably-priced housing with no significant interruptions since its inception.
The current business on the street level is the Reina Social Lounge, an after-hours venue offering hookah and drinks, plus breakfast, lunch and dinner options. This trendy establishment is the perfect place to watch sports, either inside or outside, and is open until 4 a.m.!
