Sabrina Carey
Professor Miller
African American History
6 May 2019
Hotel Robinson has been a major establishment that amplifies black history since the 1800s. It stands as a monument that has changed the black community and the treatment of African Americans. It’s upcoming and reputation left a positive effect in San Diego which changed black life. Hotel Robinson broke down gender, race, and class barriers in this particular time period.
This hotel was one of the first businesses in San Diego ran by African Americans, one being a former slave from Missouri. Albert Robinson came to San Diego with an officer he met during the Civil War and settled down in Julian, San Diego. He then met and married Margaret Tull Robinson and they created a bakery on a piece of land that Margaret’s parents gave them as their wedding present, called the Robinson Restaurant and Bakery. With the increasing popularity of their restaurant, they decided to turn it into a hotel in 1897. Hotel Robinson was on the smaller side of the hotel industry, only had about 10 or so rooms, but attracted great popularity because of the fun atmosphere it fostered. In a picture from the hotel’s beginning, shows the small hotel with a horse and carriage in front, expressing the time period and what the Robinsons accomplished. Overall, the Robinsons established a flourishing popular hotel.
Hotel Robinson was known for being very welcoming and invigorating. It was always crowded and everybody would want to go there. The hotel was so popular because it acted as a meeting place for many people. Not only did people go there for hospitality and shelter, but many people went for the food at the restaurant in the hotel. In a newspaper published in the San Diego County local news section, it talks about how the Robinsons were known as, ‘“fine colored people”’ and that they were, “hard-working, thrifty and resourceful, traits which helped them prosper and break down barriers of discrimination”. Albert was known as an enterprising man who had many jobs in his time before he ran the Robinson Hotel. The Robinsons were admired, especially for their cooking and hospitality. In this newspaper, it states that Albert said, “I was raised in the South, sah. I knows white folks and how to treat ‘em”. In other words, the Robinsons knew that because of Jim Crow laws they had to treat white people with a certain amount of respect. Due to their correspondence with this, they were able to create an environment where African Americans were treated with the same amount of respect. Not only were they the first African American businesses in San Diego, but they set a standard of how African Americans should be treated, especially in the hotel industry. This patronized the Jim Crow laws that were present in the dominant white society in this time period. They used their knowledge of racism to make it prevalent that African Americans can and should be treated with the same amount of respect as white people.
People had many positive memories that were experienced at Hotel Robinson. One is an anecdote told by Julian local, Keith Ritchie. He talked about one particular memory about how wherever he and his family came to Julian to get supplies, they stopped at the Robinson Hotel for dinner and Albert Robinson would treat them greatly and put Ritchie on his shoulders and walk them in. Ritchie states that he always remembered that he would say, “I feel ten feet tall” whenever he was on Albert Robinson’s shoulders. The immense amount of hospitality shown by the Robinsons exemplifies the non-racial oppressions that were seen at this hotel. There were no racial codes regarding who gets in. Everyone was welcomed and was welcomed warmly. This creates a sense of community being built in Julian, especially because this hotel attracted a town of its own, gathering general stores and roads. Due to this, San Diego was becoming less racially segregated.
The Robinsons have established a sense of the African American community in San Diego because of this hotel. In the 1880s, many African Americans were not housed properly or were not let into certain hotels because of their race. This created a lack of safety and community that revolved around the country. By there not being any racially diverse hotels, it made it very difficult for African Americans to travel. Many ended up having to sleep on the street just so they could get enough energy to start traveling again. Hotel Robinson stopped this problem and promoted equality and community.
By Hotel Robinson being run by African Americans created a new sense of leadership and initiative in the San Diego community. This was further expressed after Albert’s death in 1915 when Margaret ran the hotel on her own. She did this for about 4 years until the hotel was bought by the Jacobs Family in 1919. Margaret was known to be, “very prim and energetic” but “soft-spoken”.This illustrates how racial and gender barriers are being broken down during this period. In the article, “Women leaders and activists”, the author states, “During this time period, it was not popular for women to be active in public… Women were seen as housekeepers, their role was to do all the domestic roles and to take care of their offspring, so it was very uncommon for women to have their books and other writings published” (Women Leaders and Activists). In other words, this illustrates how uncommon it was for women in this era to have a position of leadership. It was hard enough for an African American women to get her book published, let alone run a hotel. Margaret broke racial barriers by obtaining this position of leadership and not settling for the given “feminine” jobs that were provided for black women. Not only is a woman running a successful hotel on her own, but she is African American which made Margaret gain a lot of respect. This breaks a huge barrier that was present during this time period by setting a precedent for the years following in not only the United States but especially in San Diego.
Furthermore, this hotel has left such an impact on San Diego’s black history that the original Hotel Robinson is still around today, renamed The Julian Gold Rush hotel. I conducted an interview with the manager, who spoke about the artifacts that they have at their present-day hotel in order to save the historical past of the Hotel Robinson. The furniture is the same and the entire hotel still holds that same style as it did in the 1800s. The hotel is also surrounded by the same trees, cedar and locust, that Albert planted when he owned the hotel. Additionally, the present day hotel still has the check-in book that people used back when the Robinsons owned it. This book has been on display for many years, however, because of wear and tear, it has now been put in the back of the hotel for safekeeping and preservation. The preservation of these aspects of Hotel Robinson express the effects that it has had on San Diego’s black past and the peoples want to keep it around.
In total, Hotel Robinson stands as a model of breaking black oppression, especially in San Diego. The precedent that it set for generations following created a sense of community and equality across racial lines. This hotel broke many racial barriers that were present during this time era. Following this, African Americans were able to access an increasing amount of hotels and run small businesses by gaining the respect that they deserved during this era. Not only did this set a precedent that an African American can run a business, but that a female African American can as well. Hotel Robinson stands as a model today as a black monument that changed African American life and culture in San Diego.
Works Cited
-Cortes, David. “Hotel Robinson (1897-1921)”. BlackPast, July 15, 2017. April 10, 2019.
-“History.” Julian Gold Rush Hotel. April 10, 2019. www.julianhotel.com/history.
Hotel Robinson. https://aasdpioneers.weebly.com/julian-and-the-gold-rush.html.
-Interview. Julian Gold Rush Hotel, April 10, 2019.
-Jordan, Kathryn A. Life Beyond Gold: A New Look at the History of Julian, California.
http://www.spma-gold.org/pdf/history/julian_v54-2jordan.pdf
-Lind, Dara. “The segregation-era travel guide that saved black Americans from having to sleep
in their cars”. Vox. November 22, 2016.
https://www.vox.com/identities/2015/11/29/9813966/green-book-segregation-history
-Parker, Paula. “Heyday of Julian Hotel”. Los Angeles Times (San Diego County), February 3,
1980.
-“Women Leaders and Activists”. Women Activists.
https://www.cgc.edu/Library/communityHistory/Women%20 Activists/index-3.3.shtml.ht
ml.