Photography: “Defenestration / S.F. Hugo Hotel” by Mel Solomon
“Defenestration ” / San Francisco Hugo Hotel / Photos by Mel Solomon
Defenestration / San Francisco Hugo Hotel
Photographs by Mel Solomon
Background
This old former residential hotel was built in 1910 and named the HUGO HOTEL by its then owners. Most of its rooms were small (approximately 100 square feet) with tiny bathrooms. The interior wood throughout the building is redwood. It has been vacant for the past 21 years and will eventually be torn down to probably make room for low cost housing and limited retail stores at the street level. Very few walls remain on three floors of the building and its only occupants today are dozens of birds.
The building is known around the world for its “defenestration of furniture installation” that hang on the outside walls facing both 6th and Howard Streets in San Francisco.
The installation was created in 1997 by artist Brian Goggin with a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts. Mr. Goggin named his installation “Defenestration”.
My thanks to Brian for allowing me to help retain this part of San Francisco’s history through my photos. — Mel Solomon
