Posted by Cathy Gowdy on Monday, April 14, 2014 at 07:13:50 :
San Rafael Independent
Friday, May 27, 1927
Page 1
Baron Von Schroeder Dies in Germany
SAN FRANCISCO, May 26 – Death has taken the man who built a hotel because he wanted a suitable retreat in which to entertain his friends in his own way.
The man was Baron John Henry von Schroeder, 82 years old.
The retreat he built is the Hotel Rafael in Marin county.
The baron died in Hamburg, Germany, on May 8, his San Francisco friends learned yesterday. He had been a resident of Hamburg since 1909.
He married Miss Mamie Donahue, daughter of Peter Donahue, founder of the Union Iron Works and builder of the old San Francisco & North Coast Railroad.
An active figure in the social life of the day, Baron von Schroeder wanted a place in which to entertain his many friends in a manner befitting his station and tastes. So, with money provided by his wife and his friends, the baron built the Hotel Rafael. Overnight the hostelry became the favorite playground for the smart set of San Francisco and the bay region.
Baron von Schroeder’s death was hastened, it is believed, by the death of his daughter, Mrs. Paul Freitag, in New York, on May 2. The baron’s wife passed away in Hamburg in December, 1925. Aside from his son, Baron von Schroeder is survived by a daughter, Miss Janet von Schroeder. Mrs. Eleanor Martin of San Francisco is a great aunt of the children.
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