San Francisco’s Sir Francis Drake hotel changes name over slave trade links

The Sir Francis Drake hotel in San Francisco has changed its name over the British explorer’s historical links to the slave trade.

After shuttering during the Covid pandemic, the 426-room hotel will now reopen as The Beacon Grand following a huge renovation project.

The 94-year-old landmark in the city’s Union Square is the latest to bow to pressure following the rise of the Black Lives Matter Movement in June 2020 – which caused hundreds of historic statues to be toppled and names to be changed.

Built almost a century ago, the Sir Francis Drake has attracted Hollywood royalty through its doors, flanked by Beefeater doormen in tribute to the seafaring explorer who discovered nearby Drakes Bay over 400 years ago.