By Megan Janetsky | The Republic
The first time Greg Melikian laid eyes on the Hotel San Carlos, he knew it was going to be his.
The New York City businessman was strolling the streets of 1970s downtown Phoenix, headed to a meeting at a nearby hotel when he saw the Italian Renaissance Revival-style building nestled in the heart of the city.
He noticed the terra-cotta embellishments speckling the seven stories, the red and gold-rimmed awnings shading the lobby entrance and the blocky neon lettering that protrudes from the building’s front corner.
In the details he also saw something else: An opportunity to freeze a fragment of Phoenix history that would otherwise fade away.
