HOTEL DEL PORTAL. EL PORTAL. YOSEMITE, CALIFORNIA. 1907-1917. YVRR.

Description

A beautiful postcard of the huge “Hotel Del Portal, El Portal, Cal. Terminus Yosemite Valley Railroad at the gateway to Yosemite.” (Sometimes called Del Portal Hotel or Hotel El Portal, this was built at the terminus of the Yosemite Valley Railroad (YVRR) at El Portal in the Merced River canyon.) Published for The Geo. C. Salch Company, San Francisco,by M. Rieder, Los Angeles (#5201). Made in Germany. Not mailed or written on. (See scans of front and back.)
BACKGROUND: The large Hotel Del Portal (aka Del Portal Hotel) was built in 1907 by the Yosemite Terminal Company, a subsidiary corporation of the Yosemite Valley Railroad Company (YVRR).  It seems to have opened for guests in May 1908. It was completely destroyed by fire on October 27, 1917. The hotel reportedly had 130 guest rooms (single or en suite) with a stationary wash bowl with hot and cold water in every room, steam heat, electric lights, a barber shop, club room, gentlemen’s smoking room, ladies sitting room and a large lobby. The Hotel Del Portal was replaced by the much small El Portal Inn which opened in April 1918. It was destroyed by fire in July 1932.
BACKGROUND: Michael Rieder (1868-1949) printed and published view-cards in Los Angeles of the West and of Native Americans. His cards were printed in Germany except those contracted out to Edward H. Mitchell in San Francisco and other publishers like George Salch. Michael Rieder (credited on cards as “M. Rieder”) was born in Pennsylvania on April 28, 1868 and died in Los Angeles County on June 4, 1949. He and his wife, Mattie, are buried at Forest Lawn Memorial Park, Glendale, California.
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