The McKittrick Hotel and Penny Bar succeeded the old Headquarters Hotel and Saloon built by Armando Bandattini in 1898. After fire destroyed the business in 1903, Bandattini rebuilt it on its original site at the center of town. Jean Iribarne later bought the hotel and operated it into the 1920's. Hugh Gene Devine rebuilt it again in 1929 and ran it until his death in 1937, marking it with a "D" above the front door. Serving oilmen and ranchers of West Kern County with rooms, equipment, livery supplies, dry goods, food, and drink, the McKittrick became the area's social center. It remained in business through boom times and depression under a series of owners. In 1998, Mike and Annie Moore left their business in Eureka to buy the McKittrick Hotel and move there, creating The Penny Bar. With the hotel portion closed for forty years, they focused on the bar and café, decorating it with pennies across the bar, walls, front sign, and many other surfaces. After more than 1,000,000 pennies were added, The Penny Bar gained coast-to-coast fame through television and newspaper coverage and became an icon of a small Kern County town.