San Diego’s oldest building will soon become the city’s newest attraction as officials finalize a multi-million dollar construction project on the Cosmopolitan Hotel and Restaurant, located at 2660 Calhoun St. in Old Town. The building began as the home of San Diego pioneer Juan Bandini in 1827 and became the hub of high society in the mid-19th century. Bandini and his wife threw elaborate parties and balls at the site until Bandini sold the property to Albert Seeley in the 1860s. Seeley and his wife, Emily, expanded the footprint, added a second floor and turned the property into a thriving hotel, which was a popular destination for both locals and travelers through the mid-1870s. Fast-forward more than 125 years, and the hotel is now being restored to its former grandeur. Owner and concessionaire Chuck Ross, proprietor Joseph Melluso and a team of archaeologists and historians have worked over the last 2 1/2 years to revamp the establishment, which will include 10 guest rooms, indoor and outdoor bars and a restaurant menu masterminded by former Prado executive chef Jeff Thurston, according to Melluso. The restaurant is scheduled to open in late June, and rooms at the hotel will be available starting July 9. “My goal is for people to come here and experience staying on a precious property — something historic and modern day that allows them to experience the history and the vibe of the years that have gone by, the travelers that have come through, stories, knowledge about the time periods, and just feel the essence …” Melluso said. Perhaps most unique is the hotel staff’s commitment to preserving the history of its most thriving era. Melluso and historian Bruce Coons of the Save Our Heritage Organisation sourced all of the hotel’s furniture from antique stores and dealers across the country who specialized in the period from 1862 to 1874, when the hotel was most popular. They also worked with artisans and craftspeople to reproduce lighting fixtures, wallpaper and decorations from the era. At the wooden indoor bar, which was built in the 1850s, bartenders will serve only handcrafted cocktails authentic to the time period, using liquor that was typically consumed at that time, like muscal, bourbon and rye whiskey. In the restaurant, Thurston created a menu that incorporates foods that were widely available in California during that time period. “We were provided with a list by the historians at Old Town State Park of typical ingredients and items that would have been plentiful and abundant and used at the time that the Cosmopolitan Hotel was in its hey day, so what we’ve done with that is taken those items and then interpreted them in a modern-day kind of way to appeal to the modern-day diner,” Thurston said. When the restaurant opens, it will be headed by Amy DiBiase, who has held executive chef posts at Roseville, Laurel Restaurant and Baleen, Melluso said. As for the guest rooms, each has a unique layout, furniture and bathroom fixtures, and visitors will soon be able to choose which room they want to book based on images on the Cosmopolitan’s website. The historic details even extend to the silverware in the dining room. During an excavation at the site, archeologists found a piece of flatware originally used at the hotel, and the restoration team ultimately decided to use replicas of that silverware over a more intricate design. “We had found something more elaborate at one point that we all got excited about, but Bruce said, ‘This is what was found on the property, this is what we should use,’” Melluso said. The Cosmopolitan will celebrate its grand opening with a free public festival July 10 starting at 1 p.m. The event will feature stagecoach rides, strolling actors, horse saddling and tacking lessons and live music. At 4 p.m., local religious institutions will perform a multi-denominational blessing ceremony on the steps of the hotel, and at 8 p.m. the Zirc Ubu circus will take the stage to showcase 19th-century inspired acts. For more information, visit www.oldtowncosmopolitan.com.