Most small towns have one central building that houses a large-scale business and also acts as a central meeting place for residents. In Idyllwild, that was the Idyllwild Inn for many years. The land upon which the Idyllwild Inn sat was used for a brief time around 1900 for a sanitarium. In 1899, a group of Los Angeles physicians purchased land and built the Idyllwild Sanitarium. The thought was that the cool, dry mountain air would cure lung problems in many patients. It didn’t really work, and in 1904 the sanitarium burned down. A smaller building replaced the burned sanitarium in just a couple years. Called “the bungalow,” it was arguably the first iteration of what would become the Idyllwild Inn. The Bungalow lasted a few years. The physicians eventually tired of maintaining the property and sold it to real estate investment firm Strong and Dickenson. The firm went on to expand the bungalow into the Idyllwild Inn that many people remember from pictures. It is this building that became the center of town, both literally and figuratively, for many years. Part of the reason the Idyllwild Inn became the center of town was through the efforts of one of Idyllwild’s chief citizens, C. L. Emerson. Emerson had come to the area for rest and relaxation. He liked it so much, he purchased a few thousand acres of land in 1917, plus other parcels including that of the Idyllwild Inn. Emerson, known as a family man and a generous donor of land to many organizations, promoted Idyllwild, its climate, its location, and of course, its hotel – the Idyllwild Inn. The Emerson years lasted through the 1920s and 1930s, and, despite the ups and downs of the Great Depression, he, his business, and the hotel managed to weather the hurdles of the time. By the early 1940s, though, Emerson was ready to move on, and so in 1944, he sold his remaining holdings, including the Idyllwild Inn, to a physician, Dr. Paul Foster. Unfortunately for Foster, on May 4, 1945, the Idyllwild Inn caught fire and the 40-year-old structure burned to the ground. Foster immediately set out to build a new hotel on the site, still to be called the Idyllwild Inn, but as a completely new building. He also added cabins to the site, and then turned around and sold all of his holdings in 1946 to another group of three men from throughout Southern California. Related Articles Local News | Wartime love triangle leads to death in Fontana Local News | How the city of Calimesa got its name Local News | Why did President Dwight Eisenhower disappear during a 1954 Palm Springs visit? Local News | Watchmaker designed and built sundial as a gift to Riverside Local News | Riverside pioneer Oscar Ford was a leader with years of public service The 1946 building lasted several years, but was removed. The Idyllwild Inn is still there today as a series of cabins, only without the main buildings that had been so much a part of early Idyllwild. If you have an idea for a future Back in the Day column about a local historic person, place or event, contact Steve Lech and Kim Jarrell Johnson at [email protected].