Good day, my friends!
Since I’m off at the RWA convention in San
Diego, CA, I thought I’d share a bit of my pre-convention fun—uh,
research. Today, I visited “The Del” --
Hotel del Coronado.
Built in 1888, it is one of the few surviving examples of an American Victorian
beach resort. When it opened, it was the largest resort hotel in the world. “In
November 1885, five investors-- E. S. Babcock, retired railroad executive, Hampton L. Story, of the Story & Clark
Piano Company of Chicago; Jacob Gruendike, president of the First National Bank
of San Diego; Heber Ingle and Joseph Collett--went together to buy all of
Coronado and North Island, approximately 4,000 acres, for $110,000.
The men hired architect James W. Reid,
a native of New Brunswick, Canada, to create a grand hotel: "It
would be built around a court...a garden of tropical trees, shrubs and
flowers,.... From the south end, the foyer should open to Glorietta Bay with
verandas for rest and promenade. On the ocean corner, there should be a pavilion
tower, and northward along the ocean, a colonnade, terraced in grass to the
beach. The dining wing should project at an angle from the southeast corner of
the court and be almost detached, to give full value to the view of the ocean,
bay and city.
The Crown Room was
Reid's masterpiece—and it is magnificent. The wooden ceiling was installed with
pegs and glue. Not a single nail was used.
I had a wonderful day enjoying the sites and amenities of The Del. If you’re in San Diego, I recommend you make time to see it, too.
Tracy, if you weren't such a nice person,I'd be jealous. What a place to set a story.
ReplyDeleteHave fun at RWA! Doris
I was with two writer friends and we thought the same thing!
DeleteI can't wait to see what stories the three of you come up with. I'm waiting. **Grin** Doris
DeleteI see you're enjoying some good times, Tracy. I'm thinking about that %110,000 for all that land. Sakes alive, you can barely buy a decent house for that now. Amazing. I know San Diego must be a very interesting place.
ReplyDeleteIn this area, you can't!
DeleteTracy, that is just fascinating. I can't even imagine putting something that massive together with not one nail! It must have taken forever, or else they must have worked round the clock to finish it. I imagine that resort had to be so beautiful, unusual, and fantastic that people flocked to it, and probably have all through the years for the same reasons!
ReplyDeleteY'all have a ton of fun!
The pictures of celebrities and presidents on the walls is awe inspiring.f
DeleteTracy,
ReplyDeleteIt's great to know the history of these old hotels. It sure comes in handy when we want to have our characters stay in a hotel we can actually name and pinpoint to the correct historical time.
Hope you're having a grand old time in San Diego. :-)
Thanks, Kaye!
Delete