In its 100 years — first as a hotel, then as a church-related facility and now a retirement community — Casa de Mañana in La Jolla has provided a place for retired religious leaders, visiting dignitaries, thousands of other people and even a Dalmatian named Tug.
The community, at 849 Coast Blvd., is celebrating the site’s centennial this year.
Resort hotel
Casa de Mañana originally was opened in 1924 by Isabel Hopkins and was considered an upscale seaside resort for visitors to San Diego. The main building included several cocktail lounges (some of which were referred to as “private dining rooms” during Prohibition) and a restaurant.
During World War II in the 1940s, the hotel business struggled, so Hopkins opened Casa’s doors to Navy personnel coming home from combat and operated the hotel as a rest and recuperation center.
Ultimately unable to bounce back from the downturn, Hopkins sold the hotel for $5 million to Pacific Homes in 1953, which turned the resort into an upscale senior-living community. At the time, Pacific Homes was d with the Methodist Church.
Brigid O’Farrell, a Casa de Mañana resident, historian and member of the centennial celebration committee, said the facility at that time was mostly for ministers and others associated with the church.
“In 1954, they began to expand and built the Casa Loma and La Casita and made lots of renovations,” O’Farrell said. “They really kept the architecture and design of the exterior pretty well intact, which is really impressive. As more buildings were added over the years … they were built to be like cottages so it created a home-like setting.”
But “when the hotel was first sold, the town was not happy,” O’Farrell said. “They saw [the loss of] a hotel that was bringing wealthy visitors. But pretty quickly, the people who moved in engaged with … the larger La Jolla community. A lot of La Jolla residents moved here and maintained ties to their service organizations. They saw pretty quickly that it was a good thing.”
As ading properties became available, Pacific Homes acquired them to expand Casa de Mañana. In 1965, six “Loma” cottages were opened and quickly occupied. In late 1967, Casa de Mañana held a groundbreaking ceremony for what would be the Riviera Cottages.
After a series of delays, permits to build the Villa de Este were granted in 1972, and the two buildings that make up the Villa were constructed in 1973.
In late 1987, Casa de Mañana was added to San Diego’s list of designated historic landmarks.
In 1999, Pacific Homes merged with three other not-for-profit organizations to form what is now Front Porch Communities. No longer d with the Methodist Church, Front Porch Communities operates Casa de Mañana to this day.
The community now spans five acres and has accommodations for 200 residents. It offers independent and assisted living services.
Brushes with fame
Before he got behind the keys for the Athenaeum Music & Arts Library’s annual summer concert series, pianist Gustavo Romero performed for some of his earliest audiences at Casa de Mañana.
“The first time I played at the Athenaeum when I was 11 years old,” he said. “My teacher wanted me to play at Casa de Mañana as a tryout. So I played there and it was one of the first places I would play in public.
“Since that performance, I have played there every year. … From the beginning, it was an encouraging and comfortable place to play before I had to play somewhere else with a little more expectation. It was a great rehearsal space. I’ve always ed that, and that’s what it continues to be for me now.”
Romero, now 59, said he enjoys going back to perform on the same piano he played when he was young.
“It’s part of a long history that I have in La Jolla,” he said. “I’ve seen how [Casa de Mañana] has been renovated and developed and evolved … over the years. It’s nice to be connected to something with so much enduring history.”
Casa de Mañana has hosted other notables as well. A La Jolla Light article dated Sept. 30, 1937, reported that “J. Edgar Hoover, head of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, visited Casa de Mañana for a week with Clyde Tolson and Guy Hattee, all of Washington, D.C. They spent most of their time in seclusion at one of the hotel’s cottages and left … by plane to Washington. Mr. Hoover expressed himself as highly pleased with the scenic conditions here and the high moral tone of the community, promising to come again.”
Another article reported that British actor Arthur Treacher also visited the hotel. Treacher was best known for his role as Constable Jones in the 1964 film “Mary Poppins,” roles in several Shirley Temple movies, as the announcer and sidekick on “The Merv Griffin Show” and for giving his name to the Arthur Treacher’s Fish & Chips restaurant chain.
At least two movies were filmed in or in front of Casa de Mañana. One of them, 1980’s “The Stunt Man,” starring Peter O’Toole, paid residents $25 a day to be extras.
‘Fun facts’
In preparation for the centennial celebration, six-year resident Sue McLeod took it on herself to research the history of Casa de Mañana and find more “fun facts” about her home.
Every week for the past year, one of her facts was printed on the back of the Friday dinner menu and posted around the facility in places like the laundry room.
“At one point in Casa’s history, somewhere around 1930, there was a dog that took the hotel’s daily deposit to the bank,” according to McLeod. “The dog in question was a Dalmatian named Tug, owned by the hotel’s assistant manager, A.W. Brown. Each day, as soon as the bank opened, Brown would open the Casa vault and give the impatient dog the pouch containing cash and checks from the day before. Tug (followed closely by his owner) would make his way to the bank and give it to a teller.”
Additionally, McLeod said, “in the 1930s, one of Casa’s hotel guests was Jane Addams of Hull House fame. Addams was a leader in the history of social work, women’s suffrage and the rights of minorities and the poor. Among her many honors, she was the first American woman to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.”
Famed La Jolla philanthropist Ellen Browning Scripps gave a dinner party for Addams at Casa de Mañana and, according to the Light of March 31, 1931, invited “those who are actively engaged in local education and social service work.”
Hopkins attended the party, along with Helen and Mary Marston, daughters of San Diego department store owner and philanthropist George Marston.
‘Culture of caring’
McLeod said she wanted to get other residents excited about the centennial as part of the “culture of caring” that drew her to the community initially.
“There are wonderful residents here,” she said. “Newcomers are treated like rock stars; everyone wants to get to know them.”
O’Farrell noted things like the Trading Post shop, where residents can donate household items they no longer need for other residents to buy at a discount.
There also are committees and other groups that raise money for scholarships, the staff and their children, and provide entertainment and holiday events for Casa residents.
“It’s a very welcoming and friendly community, and the staff is wonderful,” O’Farrell said.
Celebrating the centennial
Casa de Mañana will commemorate the site’s 100th anniversary Monday and Tuesday, July 1-2.
The festivities will begin with a full day of programming, including a social hour with local leaders, a history talk, remarks from representatives of Front Porch Communities, performances and more.
The following day will feature a concert and reception with a 1920s and ’30s theme, followed by a dinner with plates meant to look like those used in the original hotel.
For more information about the celebration, email [email protected].
For more about the community, visit frontporch.net/community/casa-de-manana. ◆
