Christine Donovan and the Hotel del Coronado


Profile: Pam Crooks L


egends about the Hotel del Coronado abound. Most Coronado residents can recite at least one. But, only one person has the pleasure of being able to look into these leads from the archives of the Hotel Del. Christine Donovan is Director of Heritage Programs at the Hotel del Coronado, and in that position is responsible for doing research and organizing archival material about the historic property. She turns that research into written form as press releases, research papers and history books and is the hotel’s official spokesperson on its history to the media.


The ghost of Kate Morgan for example? Well, Christine wrote a book about her called Beautiful Stranger. That’s one of just three she’s written about the hotel. Wallis Simpson and the Duke of Windsor? She doesn’t believe they met at The Del, but as she puts it, “If they didn’t meet there, they should have!” According to Christine, romance has been associated with the hotel since it opened in 1888. In fact, that’s the subject of the book she’s currently researching. And she has no shortage of material to work from. The Del has been the site of early courtship, countless honeymoons, romantic rendezvous, and weddings throughout its history and was recently voted the #1 wedding destination in the U.S. by The Travel Channel.


You could also say her job is a match made in heaven. She came here in 1976 as a newlywed with a degree in English, fell in love with Coronado and worked at the Hotel Del as a convention manager before raising two children here. Later she returned to the hotel’s marketing department, writing and producing all of the resort’s printed materials, while pursuing a master’s degree in city planning at SDSU. Her thesis was on historic preservation and tourism. So when the hotel decided to create a the Heritage Department in 1998, she was the right person, in the right place, at the right time. She credits the owners of the hotel for their insight. “Many resorts don’t have a historian on staff. But, The Del’s leadership is visionary; they understand the importance of preserving the hotel’s history for the future.”


Her task can seem daunting. “There’s so much history at The Del but my time can be limited, so I have to think about what my audience is looking for and concentrate on that. I try to meet the interests of our guests.”


This approach has led to her popular books. Besides the one on Kate Morgan, she compiled a collection of letters from a girl who lived at the hotel with her family in 1892, entitled The Loveliest Hotel You Can Imagine, and wrote another about construction of the famous property called Building the Dream.*


Not only is Christine Donovan a booster of the hotel’s past, she also speaks passionately about its historic importance to the community of Coronado and vice versa. “I like to say that the best thing about staying at The Del is that it is surrounded by Coronado; and the best thing about living in Coronado is that we have The Del as our centerpiece. Our guests love our snug seaside village. They love how safe the community is and often bemoan the fact that other historic hotels can end up being surrounded by areas in decay. Meanwhile, as a resident for the past 34 years, I understand that the reason we have quaint cafes, the award-winning Lamb’s Players Theatre, Bay Books and other sophisticated amenities is because of the draw of the Hotel Del. “And, of course, all of this was by design. Our founders created a resort town to showcase the hotel, and then they built the hotel as an anchor for a residential community. One young boy I met from Strand School described Coronado as a ‘decided place,’ and it is! We all owe a debt of gratitude to Mr. Babcock and Mr. Story for our charming town. They are the ones who decided that there would be no development on the beach, that our commercial area would be confined to Orange Avenue and that our streets would be wide and tree-lined.”


“And of course,” Christine continues, “all these years later, the Hotel Del is still the best place in town to have a drink and watch the sun go down!” And, there’s more romantic history still to be written…


*The books about the Hotel del Coronado are available in the hotel’s gift shops or on-line at com. hotel-del-coronado.aspx .


4 www.coronadohistory.org


CHA or HRC: THAT IS THE QUESTION


By Doug St. Denis and Nancye Splinter


CHA plaque for historic recognition What’s the difference between “CHA” and


“HRC”? Aren’t they that bunch of Coronado “historic people” who go around putting plaques on old buildings? Well…kind of. CHA used to give out plaques, but that was before HRC came along. Confused? You’re not alone.


Both entities share a common goal to preserve and protect Coronado’s rich history. But their similar sounding acronyms notwithstanding, they’re quite different.


The Coronado Historical Association (CHA) is a Nonprofit Public Benefit 501(c)(3) Corporation founded in 1969 by Katherine Eitzen Carlin and Bunny McKenzie, two local ladies who loved this town and its history with a passion. CHA’s primary purpose is to promote Coronado’s unique cultural heritage and public resources to the public through exhibitions, education programs and information services. Any individual, family or corporation may pay annual dues to join the Association. Currently there are approximately 500 members. Located at 1100 Orange Avenue in the historic 1910 Harter Building (site of Coronado’s first bank), Coronado Historical Association has a salaried staff who work with a volunteer board of directors to maintain and operate the Coronado Museum of History and Art, the museum store, the Coronado Visitor Center, and the research library and archives. CHA is non-political and like several other nonprofit organizations valued by our community, the City provides financial support to help provide these services.


In the 1970s, CHA began researching and identifying those historically significant structures which contributed so richly to Coronado’s ambience, presenting homeowners with a bronze plaque to hang by the front door. In 1986 Coronado adopted a historic preservation ordinance, and in 1999 the City officially incorporated Coronado’s Preservation Element as part of its general plan.


The Coronado Historic Resource Commission


(HRC) was formed in 2000 when Coronado adopted the Mills Act Preservation Agreement Ordinance, a statewide program that provides residential property tax relief in exchange for preserving the home. City Council appointed a five- member commission to oversee the preservation program and Coronado’s historic inventory. HRC commissioners serve staggered three-year terms and, ideally, three are professionals in the field of art, architecture, history of architecture or city planning. The commission includes one


(Continued on page 5)


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8