The original Hotel President, designed by noted Palo Alto architect Birge Clark, is being returned to a hospitality use after its prior conversion to rental housing in 1968. It is now a 100-key hotel under the Graduate Hotels brand.
Built in 1929 in Palo Alto’s downtown core, the building was originally named for President Herbert Hoover, an alumnus of nearby Stanford University. Through a careful integration of Graduate Hotels’ brand, ELS preserved the spirit of Clark’s original design while enhancing the building’s personality.
The building’s renovation involved numerous upgrades that included a seismic structural retrofit, restoration of the historic elevator and central stairway, reconfiguration of former apartments back to hotel rooms, addition of a building sign at the building’s prominent corner, and the introduction of public access to the roof, which now holds a bar with views of Palo Alto.
Awards
Merit Award, AIA Silicon Valley, 2023
Structures Award, Silicon Valley Business Journal, 2023
Historic Preservation Award, Palo Alto Stanford Heritage, 2023
Project Stats
- Client
AJ Capital Partners
- Size
56,000 sf