Casa Captivating
Casa Romantica Cultural Center and Gardens, San Clemente
Located midway between Los Angeles and San Diego, San Clemente is just six miles south of Mission San Juan Capistrano, located on the former Rancho Los Desechos. In the early 20th century, El Camino Real was the only way to get in or out of this beachside Spanish Colonial Revival resort town. Back then, it was considered the “middle of nowhere.” Although this “Spanish Village By the Sea” is now far more accessible by other routes, El Camino Real still runs right through the middle of town, past all the contributions made by San Clemente’s co-founder, Ole Hanson. Two hundred of those white stuccoed, red tile-roofed buildings – no taller than four stories, except their tower – remain today. Much of the original village, whose theme Hanson “borrowed” from Santa Barbara, has been lost.
Although Hanson and his family maintained permanent residence in Los Angeles, it’s here that he commissioned architect Carl Lindbom to build a vacation home – the 15-room “Hacienda San Clemente,” which has been preserved and is open to the public. It was completed in 1928 in the Spanish Colonial Revival style – with a tiled solarium room (with Italian ceramic fountain) and an octagonal reading room surrounding a central courtyard – but the Great Depression brought with it a bank foreclosure in 1934. After changing hands many times, the mansion was reborn in 2003 as Casa Romantica.
Step out onto the ocean porch and look out at the San Clemente Pier in the distance. The blufftop location provides cool ocean breezes and plenty of sunshine for the 2.5 acres of coastal gardens. The gardens include the yucca planted by Ole Hanson himself in 1927 and a prickly pear cactus that’s original to the home, as well as many newer and water-wise plantings. The home and gardens are both accessible with a small admission fee Tuesdays through Thursdays from 11:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. and Fridays through Sundays from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. (closed Mondays). Check the online calendar for a schedule of programs in arts, music, history, horticulture and literature.
Casa Romantica Cultural Center | Sandi Hemmerlein on KCET’s Avoiding Regret
