An interesting collection of photos showing the Hotel Del Monte in Monterey, California. Shot by the noted commercial photographer C. W. J. Johnson.

There are ten photos titled “Hotel Del Monte,” which are numbered 1-13 (missing are numbers 5,6, and 10). There are also three views of the ruins of the Hotel Del Monte after the devastating fire of April 1st, 1887. The other photographs, showing the property and surround coastline, have the following titles:

Foregrounds at Del Monte Hotel; Annex to Del Monte Hotel; Live Oak, Del Monte Hotel; Leaning Live Oak, Near the Lake; Live Oak Avenue, Beyond the Maze; View at Point Lobos; Sea View Looking South from Picnic Ground; Sea View Bet. Moss Beach and Pelican Rock; Rocky Sea Coast, Looking south from Picnic Ground; Grand Army Badge at the Hotel Del Monte, Monterey, Cal.

The Hotel Del Monte was built in 1880 by Charles Crocker, one of California’s “big four” railroad barons. Established through the Pacific Improvement Company, the property division of the Southern Pacific Railroad, the hotel was an immediate success. It is considered the first true resort complex in the United States, and a major factor in Monterey’s modern-day tourism industry. At its height, the property encompasses 20,000 acres spread across the Monterey Peninsula, including a botanical garden, golf course, and art gallery. The hotel burned down in 1887 and was quickly rebuilt. It stayed open until the second World War, when it was leased to the navy. Today, the property is now part of the Naval Postgraduate School.

Charles Wallace Jacob Johnson many things - a miner, musician, dance instructor and of course photographer. born in Maryland, He came to California at an early age and was on the North Fork of the Feather River by 1857. In 1863, he relocated to Nevada where he worked as a one man band and taught dance before returning to San Francisco in 1868. He went into the photography business with various partners, opening studios in Eureka, San Francisco and Watsonville before moving to Monterey, where he operated his own photo firm from 1881 - 1891.