Wednesday, September 17

Sanderson

Christian and I have a martini or two at his hotel, pictured. Al joins us from San Francisco - he is in London on business - and we spend some considerable time discussing the Cal Bears. The last time we were together in Los Angeles from the USC game, which Cal lost oh well. Here is what I learn about the Sanderson Hotel: the building constructed in 1958 as the headquarters and showroom for the Sanderson furnishing fabric company for its centennial birthday. It was designed by architect Jeff Holroyd, of the architectural firm of Slater and Uren. The original design plan allowed for dynamic room configurations. The building plan was constructed around an open-to-the-sky inner courtyard with a Japanese garden designed by Philip Hicks. In 1991, the Sanderson building was listed Grade II with a star by the government’s English Heritage Commission. It was reopened in April 2000 by Morgans Hotel Group after a refurbishment by Philippe Stark and Denton Corker Marshall. The long white bar an art deco classic and favorite for the media-celeb-young chic crowd. Which is far from me but I enjoy the view nonetheless.

"Our political differences, no matter how sharply they are debated, are really quite narrow in comparison to the remarkably durable national consensus on our founding convictions."
John McCain, January 28, 2008