A bronze plaque was unveiled on the Court Street side of The Darling Hotel in Visalia, formerly the Courthouse Annex, on Oct. 26 to recognize the building as important in the city’s history.
“This is kind of a big deal for those of us that enjoy history in our town,” said local historian Terry Ommen, who served as emcee for the event.
In 2011, Ommen, Nancy Loliva, and Andy Chamberlain developed the Historic Recognition Program, which was created to identify and plaque historic buildings in Visalia.
“A group called the Kaweah Kollectors has been the funding source for all 14 plaques that are now in Visalia,” Ommen said. “They have invested many thousands of dollars into this project. Without their financial backing and passion for preserving historical structures, we wouldn’t have these programs here today.”
He thanked the Kaweah Kollectors, the local chapter of The Questers organization, for their efforts before announcing that the group has decided to disband.
Kaweah Kollectors:Darling Hotel’s new plaque to be the last for Kollectors
“I’m afraid without their financial support, this program might be in jeopardy, because we’ve got to find people interested in supporting that,” Ommen said, before introducing Walter Deissler, the president of Visalia Heritage, a non-profit organization that supports historical preservation in the city.
“I want to take this to our board and carry on this tradition for Kaweah Kollectors so that we could also sponsor these plaques, and make sure we don’t lose that piece of our culture in our community,” Deissler said.
“I just want to emphasize how important historic preservation is, and that it matters in our community,” said Tyler Davis, chair of Visalia’s Historic Preservation Advisory Committee. “As evidenced by The Darling project, it’s a mechanism of economic growth. It encourages investment in local business, it brings tourism, and it inspires investment in the neighborhood around.
“It’s not just about preserving buildings, it’s about preserving our community identity, and it’s about making sure that we keep places like The Darling Hotel around because they’re special, and that’s what makes Visalia special,” he added.
Robert Ainley, co-owner of The Darling Hotel, said he was glad that the community has enjoyed The Darling.
“That was the point, to take something that almost disappeared in plain sight and bring it back to life, and hopefully make it a place that could be a symbol for downtown,” he said.
Visalia Mayor Brian Poochigian said the hotel is a “real gem here in our downtown.
“It’s a testament to honoring the past while looking toward the future, and it’s made just a little more special with the placement of this plaque,” he added.
History of the Building
The building now known as The Darling Hotel was built in 1936 as part of the federal government’s public works projects during that Great Depression era. It was built as an extension of the 1876 Tulare County Courthouse.
The Courthouse Annex served as an important part of the courthouse, according to Ommen, but was vacated when Tulare County opened its current courthouse on Burrell Avenue in Visalia in the 1950s. The county-owned Courthouse Annex was then put to use for other purposes, including social services.
Although the 7.7 magnitude Tehachapi earthquake in 1952 damaged the original courthouse beyond repair, the building that is now the Darling Hotel survived the quake. After years of vacancy, the building opened as The Darling Hotel on July 1, 2020.
