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Mar 14 2014

Metropole

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Metropole Hotel

The Metropole Hotel Building on the southwest corner of Baker and Sumner. It catered mainly to railroaders and oilfield hands from 1910 into the fifties. The hotel was upstairs and it housed a number of businesses downstairs such as the French Cafe, the Bank of Italy (later the Bank of America), and Saba Brothers Clothing, which survived into the nineties further up Baker. The building is still there. The hotel is the Kern town and numerous businesses come and go downstairs.

The Metropole Hotel was built in 1895 by Jean Estribou. The turn of the century saw the start of many boarding houses. Located diagonally across the street from the train depot, the property included a market and later a slaughterhouse and delicatessen. The Metropole is located on the southwest corner of Sumner & Baker, although it no longer is in operation. Jean Estribou, was an immigrant from Ogeu, Basses-Pyrenées. By 1926, Estribou sold the hotel to Jacques and Grace Iriart who ran the hotel until 1941. The July 21, 1952 earthquake in Bakersfield destroyed the Metropole. I remember visiting the Metropole market or liquor store in the mid to late 1960s (the building might have been restored somewhat).

To add insult to injury, in more recent time the hotel sustained a fire on 4th of November 1999.

627 Sumner St
Bakersfield, CA, 93305
661‑324‑0633

Southwest Builder and Contractor
November 25, 1921
Currie & Dulger have been contracted at $20,450 for remodeling Metropole Hotel building at E. Bakersfield for Bank of Italy. Decorating and bank fixtures will be let separately. Orville L. Clark Brower Building, Bakersfield, architect.

Metropole Liquors
Metropole Hotel
Metropole Hotel 627 SUMNER ST. Bernard Street is named for James A. Bernard, co-owner of the Metropole Hotel.
Metropole Hotel
Source: 1908 Bakersfield Californian – This is the leading hotel of Kern City, was established in 1904 and is conducted by Messrs. Stevenson and Bernard. It is situated directly opposite the Southern Pacific railway depot and has always enjoyed a patronage what taxed the capacity of the house, which contains thirty-seven rooms. Connected with the house is a dining room and a lunch counter where meals are served at all hours, and also a first-class bar. It is the intention of the owners of the hotel property to add another story to the hotel, in order to accommodate the local and traveling public. Mr. J. H. Stevenson has conducted the hotel from its very inception with the exception of a few months, prior to which time he was the proprietor of the Client Hotel at Client, from 1902 to 1904. At one time he engaged in the industry of mining at Mojave. Mr. J.A. Bernard, who joined forces with Mr. Stevenson two years ago at Kern City, was an engineer on the Southern Pacific system and is an old resident of Kern City. Both of these gentlemen are quite popular and have made a success of their hotel venture.
The Metropole Hotel burns in the background as a man passes by
The Metropole Hotel burns in the background as a man passes by

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525 Sumner Street
Bakersfield, California 93305, USA
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