The Padre Hotel is an eight-story building in the Spanish Colonial Revival architectural style, constructed on the former estate of Judge Benjamin Brundage (1834-1913). Los Angeles architect John M. Cooper (1883-1950) originally designed it in 1928 with 198 guest rooms, eight stories, a banquet hall, and a coffee shop. It began with an auspicious and flamboyant presence in the Central Valley's roaring 1920s. Milton "Spartacus" Miller (1914-1999) and his partners purchased the hotel in 1954, and for the next 45 years he was in spirited battle with Bakersfield's city leaders over a myriad of issues. After being closed for a number of years, the contemporary Padre Hotel reopened in 2010 following an unprecedented $18 million renovation by San Diego-based developer Eat.Drink.Sleep. and Graham Downes Architecture.