Welcome

For many years, my family and I spent Fourth of July week in downtown San Diego, enjoying that city's revitalized urban center with its restaurants, theaters and other attractions. Downtown is also a 10-minute drive to the beach at Coronado, a must-stop for our then-young daughters.

Our favorite place to stay? The U.S. Grant, the grande dame hotel that anchors San Diego's city center, right across from Horton Plaza. The hotel, at the time, had under­gone a major restoration, and its graceful, early-1900s ambiance provided us with a welcome balance to sand and surf. As the hotel was never very busy during Fourth of July, the empty hallways provided great spots for our girls to practice cartwheels. The deep, old windowsills were perfect for play­ing Barbies, and the cavernous ballrooms, my husband decided, were the right backdrop for spinning The Shining–inspired ghost stories. Me? I liked being able to open the windows to peer down at San Diego's streetscape as well as imagine what lobby tea must have been like in the 1920s.

When the Grant's rates crept up past our limit for a reasonable family vacation, we moved on, staying closer to the beach in Coronado. But the U.S. Grant remained in our hearts, being "our" hotel. When we heard it had recently closed for yet another renovation, I must admit we were worried. Would the new owner and design team "get" the Grant?

I'm very happy to report that, yes, the new owners and the designer, Deniece Duscheone, totally got the Grant with their just-completed renovation, which we're featuring in this issue. Duscheone, a San Diego native, is passionate about the hotel and its history, and the results show.

Two other hotels featured in this issue also prove that the design teams "got" the hotel concept. Hotel Indigo in downtown Scottsdale, Arizona is a cool, organically modern and art-filled setting that appeals to the young urban business traveler, while The Arrabelle at Vail Square in Colorado offers posh mountainside luxury to the dis­cerning skier.

In this issue, we're also getting a glimpse of the winners from the most recent AIA Western Mountain Region design competition, projects that range from a hip gather­ing place in a small Arizona mining town and a Wyoming "wine silo" to the restoration of a lavish, 1920s-era theater in San Diego. You'll also learn how the new light rail system through Phoenix was designed to accommodate passengers of all abilities.

We'd also like to officially welcome Bruce Lynch to the pages of Sources+ Design. Bruce is the vice president of publishing at PSMJ Resources, Inc., a Newton, Massachusetts–based company specializing in training, publishing and consulting for A/E/C firms. Bruce will take over our "Business Strategies–Management" column, which for many years, as "Business Details," was authored by Frank Stasiowski, FAIA, PSMJ's president and CEO. Thank you Frank, and welcome, Bruce.

Finally, I'd like to share with you a new, "personal favorite" spot. If you ever find yourself in Cave Creek, Arizona, try a sunset ride with Spur Cross Stable as I did recently. It will serve to remind you that, yes indeed, we do work and play in the West.

Photograph by Slim, Spur Cross Stable