NEWSLETTER OF THE SAN CLEMENTE HISTORICAL SOCIETY


Ole’s Vision: San Clemente, the Spanish Village T


By Raad Ghantous


he unique character of San Clemente is directly attributable to the demanding tenacity of a single individual, a real es-


tate developer, of Norwegian decent originally from Wisconsin by way of Washington State, where he had served as State legislator and later even as Mayor of Seattle. This man was named Ole Hanson. When Ole Hanson set his sights on bring-


ing to life his vision of a Spanish Village in America he was no novice to the world of real estate development. Ole’s involvement in such ventures stretched back to the early 1900’s with his successful development of Lake Forest Park on the north shore of Lake Washington. Ole, a seasoned business man by 1925,


witnessed the devastating impact of the Santa Barbara earthquake and became inspired by that town’s deliberate embrace of Spanish style architecture as it set out to rebuild. This style, complementary to California’s Spanish cultural history, had been introduced at the Panama Pa- cific Exposition in San Diego in 1915. Around this time Hanson was contacted by his long- time business associate, millionaire financier and oil man Hamilton Cotton to head up a syndicate to purchase the land that would be- come San Clemente. Ole articulated his vision for a Spanish-


style planned city in these words: “I vision a place where people can live to-


gether more pleasantly than any other place in America. I am going to build a beautiful city on the ocean where the whole city will be a park; the architecture will be of one


type…. The whole picture is very clear before me. I can see hundreds of white walled homes bonneted with red tile…I can see gay walks of red Spanish tile and streets curving pic- turesquely over the land. I want plazas, play- grounds, schools, clubs, swimming pools, a golf course, a fishing pier and a beach en- livened with people getting a healthy joy out of life.” On November 8, 1925, the Los Angeles


Examiner announced the founding of the new city of San Clemente, the Spanish Village. Confident in his vision Hanson, a man


who hated speechmaking and crowds was con- vinced to speak daily en masse by his son Ole Jr., director of sales in San Clemente. His en- ergetic full of vitality sales pitch was to take place from a large tent near the intersection of El Camino Real and Avenida Del Mar, the town’s future heart.


22 SAN CLEMENTE JOURNAL Ole Hanson (circa 1919)


He found him, though briefly, in J. Wilmer Hershey, then consultant in designing the post earthquake torn Santa Barbara. Hershey was an artist as well as a trained


architect. Born in 1894 in Lancaster, PA. Her- shey earned his architectural degree from the prestigious Carnegie Institute of Technology


Photo courtesy of The San Clemente Historical Society. On December 6th, the first lots in San


Clemente went up for sale. Lot prices started at $300, with the prime lots costing up to $1,500. To build his dream Ole kept looking for a


young artist who could truly bring to life the multi faceted vision so clear in his mind’s eye.


(today’s Carnegie Mellon University), and his practical experience leading him to San Clemente was gained at the side of such archi- tectural powerhouses as E. Wallace Neff and George Washington Smith, the master of Span- ish Colonial style. His vision was the inspiration behind the


iconic architecture of the Santa Barbara Court- house, designed in a single night! reflecting the informal character of Andalusian Spain. Planned around a central court to evoke the ro- mantic atmosphere of Spain it helped establish the brand and experience promise of a reborn Santa Barbara. When Hershey was called on to create the


picture of San Clemente on paper, he was al- ready stricken with bacterial endocarditis from which he finally succumbed on August 29th, 1926 at the age of 32. In desperation to carry out his work and


commitment to Ole Hanson and San Clemente, Hershey called on his devoted friends in Santa Barbara, Richard Sears and W.E. Hill forming a partnership that would dissolve with his death but not before the main buildings at Avenida Del Mar and El Camino Real were well on the way. Sears later would call upon yet another Santa Barbara alumni, Virgil Westbrook to aid him in carrying on the work so well begun. One of the still standing today examples of


J. Wilmer Hershey’s proverbial brush strokes for San Clemente is the Nationally Registered and recognized Hotel San Clemente which in- terestingly was located very close to the site of that first sales tent used by Ole Hanson. Originally built in 1927, this welcoming


MAY, JUNE, JULY 2014


oasis with its own observation tower and bells, perhaps mimicking some of the stylings of the courthouse in Santa Barbara was constructed to house property owners overseeing building of their homes in San Clemente, and potential buyers staying in town awaiting a chance to hear master showman Ole Hanson share his vi- sion of the Spanish Village. Recognized as one of the finest buildings


of its kind when constructed on Avenida Del Mar, the hotel has since been converted into studio and 1 bedroom apartments and is very sought after by many and valued by the few lucky to reside there in the midst of the every pulsating and vibrant heart of the historic downtown Spanish Village district. The buildings importance and role as a


gathering place in the fabric of San Clemente society has never wavered and if anything con- tinues to grow with the now established pres- ence of the ever friendly gem the Café Calypso. Opened in 2002 on the ground floor and sunny outdoor courtyard/patio with fountain by sisters Chen and Pan born in Cambodia, and who at the ages of 8 and 6 escaped with their parents and other family members from the slave labor camps of the Khmer Rouge. It is often heard around town that if indi-


viduals or groups are seeking a meeting or ren- dezvous in town and can’t remember where it is taking place the first place to check is the street side patio at the historic Hotel San Clemente; And 9 out of 10 times that’s where it turns out to be! It is rumored that in the early days of San


Clemente it was often said that “Twenty years from now they’ll be coming to San Clemente to get ideas.” Today 80 years later they still are.❂


Read full story at: sanclementejournal.com. BECOME A MEMBER


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San Clemente, CA 92674 porarily


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Society’s Museum Store line of historical photos, visit our exclusive distributor, the San Clemente Art Supply at 1531 N. El Camino Real, San Clemente.


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