Delta Explorer - Spring 2008 - (Page 40) The Sunday Spread at the Ryde’s ever popular Sunday Champagne Brunch. If walls could talk, I’d wander about all four floors of the Ryde Hotel and listen. I’d ask for stories from long ago when liquor was illegal and the easiest way to get from the Delta to San Francisco was by boat. Originally built in 1927 as a boarding house, the Ryde Hotel has experienced many makeovers throughout its 80-year history. The nostalgic inn first gained notoriety as a bordello and speakeasy during the height of Prohibition. From the basement bar a trap door allegedly led to a tunnel, allowing access to the stills in a detached building in the back. Steamers and paddle wheelers brought city folks to the Ryde, where they could sip illicit whiskey and visit the beauty salon or barber shop before cutting loose on the dance floor or at the slot machines. Politicians, mobsters, and Hollywood movie stars like Errol Flynn and Judy Garland were among the guest lists back when smoke filled the air and jazz stirred the Delta. Herbert Hoover announced his candidacy here in 1940. Former owners include family of Lon Chaney Jr. (who starred as Wolfman in Frankenstein Meets the Wolfman and as Dracula in House of Dracula along with dozens of other monster titles), the Giannetti family (Al the Wops), and Terrance and Sandras Black (Grand Island Mansion). During one era there was live rock music every summer weekend; during another, the hotel was renamed the “Grand Island Inn” and the music was modern jazz. In 1998 the hotel changed hands again and underwent major renovations. Present owners Cathy Hartrich and Jan LeRoy restored the original name and remodeled every surface from roof and stucco to custom carpeting and re-upholstered antique furniture. Keeping as close to the original Art Deco design as possible, they added or integrated modern amenities including Jacuzzi tubs and high speed internet. Since the delta explorer / 40 Lori Makabe Ryde On! by Lori Makabe 80 Years and Counting Lori Makabe
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