Photo credit: Cory Media Group.
- Photo credit: Cory Media Group.
The historic downtown Visalia building formerly served as the Tulare County Courthouse annex and was transformed into a boutique hotel, preserving the original 1930s Art Deco style. The four-story structure features 32 suites, four meeting spaces, a pool, and a rooftop bar and restaurant with panoramic views of the Sierra Nevada.
Silman provided structural engineering design services for an interior and exterior rehabilitation. Silman also performed a seismic evaluation of the historic structure to show compliance with current seismic codes. Exterior facades were carefully restored and included a seamlessly designed stair tower as the only required exterior addition. Throughout the interior, original details were meticulously preserved or replicated by reusing other original components and employing modern building techniques.
The hotel’s rooftop restaurant celebrates the existing building directly by showcasing the concrete negative of the Art Deco frieze on the primary facade as the dramatic backdrop to its bar.
