Built in 1917 on the southeast corner of 6th and Broad streets in Fremont, the stately six-story Hotel Pathfinder had 115 rooms and a guest capacity of 360, along with a barbershop, restaurant, and ballroom. It was popular with salesmen arriving by train to show their wares as well as railroad workers, and its distinguished guests included actress ZaSu Pitts, race car driver Barney Oldfield, evangelist Billy Sunday, and author Helen Keller. In 1976, a gas leak and explosion caused the total loss of the building, while seven nearby buildings were demolished or damaged and twenty people lost their lives in the blast.