C R E AT I V E C O R R I D O R S The Padre Hotel Bakersfield, Calif. F irst opened during a local oil boom in 1928, the Padre Hotel once sported a rooftop cannon pointed at Bakersfield’s City Hall. That weaponry— placed there by its then-owner during a feud with town officials—is long gone, as are plans to convert the building to condos. Instead, the hotel has been fully renovated and reopened by new co-owners, architect Graham Downes and hotelier Brett Miller. In updating the property, Downes said he sought to create “a dizzying and stimulating experience” throughout its eight stories. That includes the hotel’s hallways, which feature large-scale, Western lifestyle images in the elevator lobbies; highly detailed wall coverings; carpets bearing bold motif patterns; and stylized images at each door, including this room sign for a themed penthouse suite. 54 Boutique Design | May+June 2012 Brevin Blach