The Oroville Inn is a five-story building (including interior mezzanine) with two attached one-story retail shop wings, all located on a large corner lot in the downtown business district of Oroville, California. Its exterior design follows the late 19th and early 20th century Spanish Colonial Revival style popular in California during that period. The hotel was dedicated on June 1, 1930. Because of its impressive dimensions and modern conveniences, the Oroville Inn immediately became the entertainment and social center of the area. Still in use and recently restored with meticulous attention to detail, the Inn survives today as the tallest hotel in California north of Sacramento. There have been no alterations, additions, or other changes that have affected the historic integrity of the property.

Although the Great Depression descended across the nation just as the Inn was completed, Oroville continued to be a prosperous and busy place because the gold dredging industry here was at its height, and construction of the new Feather River Highway from Oroville to Reno was just getting underway and was not abated. Wealthy investors in the hotel like entrepreneur Walter Higgins and Wendell P. Hammon, developer of the first successful bucket-elevator gold dredger in the world, made sure the quality of service was never allowed to diminish. Considered the finest hotel along the highway between Marysville and Reno, with private bath in every room, the Inn was patronized by most visitors to the region, including famous movie stars, politicians, engineers, and even military personalities.