The La Playa Hotel, also known as the "Grande Dame of Carmel," is a historic two-story hotel in

Carmel-by-the-Sea, California Carmel-by-the-Sea (), often simply called Carmel, is a city in Monterey County, California, United States, founded in 1902 and incorporated on October 31, 1916. Situated on the Monterey Peninsula, Carmel is known for its natural scenery and ric ...

, once owned by artist

Chris Jorgensen Christian August Jorgensen (October 7, 1860 - June 24, 1935) was a Norwegian-born American landscape painter. Jorgensen is best known for his paintings of Yosemite Valley and the California Missions. Early life and influences Chris Jorgensen was ...

. The building is an example of

Mediterranean Revival architecture Mediterranean Revival is an architectural style introduced in the United States, Canada, and certain other countries in the 19th century. It incorporated references from Spanish Renaissance, Spanish Colonial, Italian Renaissance, French Colonial ...

. The building qualified as an important commercial building and was registered with the

California Register of Historical Resources The California Register of Historical Resources is a California state government program for use by state and local agencies, private groups, and citizens to identify, evaluate, register and protect California's historical resources. The register i ...

on September 21, 2002.

History

The La Playa Hotel, dates to 1905 when artist

(1860-1935) built a two-story wood-framed, ell shaped stone mansion on the southwest corner of El Camino Real and 8th Avenue, in

. The home was a gift to his wife, Angela Ghirardelli (1859-1936), heiress to the Ghirardelli Chocolate fortune. The original part of the building was a stone tower with a

quatrefoil A quatrefoil (anciently caterfoil) is a decorative element consisting of a symmetrical shape which forms the overall outline of four partially overlapping circles of the same diameter. It is found in art, architecture, heraldry and traditional ...

window, on the north-east side, designed by Jorgensen and built by master

stonemason Stonemasonry or stonecraft is the creation of buildings, structures, and sculpture using stone as the primary material. It is one of the oldest activities and professions in human history. Many of the long-lasting, ancient shelters, temples, mo ...

Ben Turner. The upper floor had a wood railing between the stone columns that supported a low-pitched hipped roof. The property had the first swimming pool in Carmel. On August 17, 1909, Angela's niece, artist Alida Ghirardelli (1878-1909), drowned while swimming in the

Carmel Bay Carmel Bay is a bay of the Pacific Ocean, along the central coast of California in Monterey County. The bay is long and wide with its mouth about across, between Point Carmel to the south and Point Cypress to the north; Monterey Bay is about f ...

. Soon after her death, Jorgensen leased the house to hotelier Agnes "Alice" D. Signor. Jorgensen and his wife left Carmel to live with an

art colony An art colony, also known as an artists' colony, can be defined two ways. Its most liberal description refers to the organic congregation of artists in towns, villages and rural areas, often drawn by areas of natural beauty, the prior existence o ...

Yosemite National Park Yosemite National Park ( ) is an American national park in California, surrounded on the southeast by Sierra National Forest and on the northwest by Stanislaus National Forest. The park is managed by the National Park Service and covers an ar ...

. In 1913, Signor opened the Chris Jorgensen studio to the public under the name of Hotel La Playa (the word beach comes from the Spanish "playa”). Lathe hotel had four bedrooms, a bath, a sitting room, and a kitchen. Signor bought the property in 1916 and converted it into a boarding house called "The Strand." In October 1917, Ralph C. Harrison and his wife (Ella Spencer Reid) visited Carmel and stayed at the hotel for a few weeks. During this visit they bought the block between Camino Real and Casanova Street, south of Ninth Avenue. In 1922, Signor added twenty new rooms making it into a full-service hotel. Her nephew and assistant, Harrison Godwin helped to celebrate the ninth anniversary of La Play's opening. 125 people were at the celebration with music by Moffit's Orchestra. In 1923, Signor suffered a stroke, which left her paralyzed. Shortly before her death, she transferred ownership of La Playa to her nephews: Frederick "Fred" MacKaye Godwin and his brother Harrison Godwin. Fred Godwin had a brief film career in the late-1920s. He starred in the silent film '' Girl Overboard'' (1928), also known under the title "Port of Dreams". La Playa Hotel, ca

In December 1924, the La Playa Hotel was almost destroyed by a fire that started in one of the rooms on the second floor when a stovepipe collapsed. The loss was estimated from $25,000 () to $40,000 (). The Godwin's rebuilt the hotel with Michael J. Murphy as the contractor in 1925. They added an additional 30-rooms to the south wing, steam heat and private baths. The original entrance and lobby were reconstructed. Fred Godwin went on to mayor of Carmel from 1946 to 1950. On May 31, 1925, the reopening of the new La Playa was the social event of the week. A dinner dance was announced on June 6, 1925, with 200 friends of the Godwin's. Among the quests were ex-Mayor William T. Kibbler, S. F. B. Morse,

John Northern Hilliard John Northern Hilliard (August 18, 1872 – March 14, 1935) was an American newspaperman, poet, novelist, and playwright. Among his works is a best-selling book on magic, ''Greater Magic''. Biography John Northern Hilliard was born in Palmyra, N ...

, and writer James Hopper. Fred Godwin bought out his brother in 1940, and became the sole owner of the hotel. Harrison went into real estate and became sales manager for Del Monte Properties Company. With designer Jon Konigshofer, Godwin completed a major

Spanish Revival The Spanish Colonial Revival Style ( es, Arquitectura neocolonial española) is an architectural stylistic movement arising in the early 20th century based on the Spanish Colonial architecture of the Spanish colonization of the Americas. In the ...

style remodel. They expanded the hotel into 80-rooms with a terrace dining room overlooking Carmel Bay. In 1952, the hotel got a liquor license and Konigshofer built the Lanai Room cocktail lounge. The hotel underwent ownership changes in the 1960s, and a full renovation of the hotel occurred in 1983–84, when the Cope family, owners of San Francisco's Huntington Hotel, purchased the hotel and completed a $5 million renovation, which included an upgrade and expansion to the surrounding gardens and landscaping. In 1983,

Steve Jobs Steven Paul Jobs (February 24, 1955 – October 5, 2011) was an American entrepreneur, industrial designer, media proprietor, and investor. He was the co-founder, chairman, and CEO of Apple; the chairman and majority shareholder of Pixar; a ...

had a Apple development team retreat at the La Playa hotel and unveiled the

Macintosh The Mac (known as Macintosh until 1999) is a family of personal computers designed and marketed by Apple Inc., Apple Inc. Macs are known for their ease of use and minimalist designs, and are popular among students, creative professionals, and ...

computer prototype during the retreat. He christened the computer with a bottle of La Playa water. La Playa Hotel pool view

In 1992, the hotel became a member of the

Historic Hotels of America Historic Hotels of America is a program of the National Trust for Historic Preservation that was founded in 1989 with 32 charter members; the program accepts nominations and identifies hotels that have maintained their authenticity, sense of pla ...

and is currently one of nine hotels in California recognized by the

National Trust for Historic Preservation The National Trust for Historic Preservation is a privately funded, nonprofit organization based in Washington, D.C., that works in the field of historic preservation in the United States. The member-supported organization was founded in 1949 by ...

for its architectural quality, historic character, and sensitive rehabilitation. In July 2012, the Grossman Company Properties and Classic Hotels & Resorts reopened the hotel after a $3.5 million renovation. Classic Hotels & Resorts has a strong record of restoring properties. The hotel was registered with the

on September 21, 2002. It qualifies under the California Register criterion 1, in history as one of the earliest remaining artists’ studios in Carmel, and one of the most notable hotels in the history of Carmel. It is also significant under criterion 3, in the area of architecture as one of the few artist designed studio buildings remaining in Carmel, and an example of the early work of stonemason Ben Turner.

References

External links

Official website

Downtown Conservation District Historic Property Survey

Lanai Room - La Playa Hotel

Monterey Peninsula The Golden Age

California's Haunted Central Coast
{{DEFAULTSORT:La Playa Hotel 1905 establishments in California Carmel-by-the-Sea, California Buildings and structures in Monterey County, California

History

See also

References

External links