Flo, Aimee & Chris, LEE Visits

Casa Romantica was registered as a historic landmark in 1991, and transformed into a cultural arts center as well as an architectural and botanical destination. In 1999, a generous woman anonymously made a forever impact on Casa Romantica Cultural Center and Gardens by pledging million of dollars and establishing a $250,000 endowment to preserve Casa Romantica and transform it into a vibrant cultural hub for the community. It suffered a major landslide on April 27, 2023, with half an acre of gardens lost, including the Ocean Terrace and Native Bowl gardens. After 18 months of construction to stabilize the cliffside, the Main Salon and interior rooms of the property were reopened as of October 4, 2024.

The home was registered as a historic landmark, restored to its original beauty through a major capital campaign, and transformed into a cultural arts center and an architectural and botanical destination. Our vibrant institution has continued to program over one hundred multicultural events every year, hosts a variety of educational programs, maintains 2.5 acres of diversified, water-wise coastal flora from all over the world, and welcomes over forty thousand visitors annually.

The founder of San Clemente, Ole Hanson, envisioned a house with red-tiled roofs, white stucco walls, and ocean views. His vision of building his home as the "Spanish Villa by the Sea" became the standard for most homes in San Clemente. The Spanish Colonial Revival Style also has: open courtyards, rare ceramic tiles and patterns with different colors of clay (not glaze), arched doorways, elaborately carved doors, black wrought iron fixtures, rotunda, keyhole doors, tropical plants from around the world, sliding doors and a ship ceiling.

Ole Hanson a brilliant businessman (who received a law degree at 18) believed in the importance of the community's social and recreational life, building plazas, pier, baseball fields, playgrounds, a school, a swimming pool, a clubhouse, and a fishing pier. Hanson later deeded these amenities to the city's residents, each property buyer a partial owner.

Grown up in Wisconsin, he took a covered wagon to Seattle with his wife, entered Washington politics, and was elected mayor of Seattle in 1918 and then relocated to Los Angeles and developed a successful housing tract there and later founded San Clemente after first living in Casa Pacifica, The Western White House and then building Casa Romantica in 1927.

Ole Hanson established a close relationship with William Randolph Hearst, one of the most influential media moguls of his era. Hearst liked Hanson's writing style and personally asked him to conduct detailed interviews for his newspapers. The list of individuals interviewed includes prominent figures such as Theodore Roosevelt and FDR, whom he often entertained at his San Clemente seaside mansion. The insight gained from those interviews played a crucial role in shaping Hanson's character and the vision he had for the city he intended to build. Nellie Mae Rose Hanson was Ole Hanson's wife. Together they raised 12 children, tragically losing another daughter in a train accident. She was a stylish woman, and loved Chinoiserie, the mid-1920s Chinese trend in interior decoration. Her bed had once belonged to a mandarin official, and the chandelier in her bedroom was made of blue peacock feathers and influenced the house decorations.

One of the interesting parts of the house is Ole Hanson's Octagonal Office where he conducted business, managed city affairs, and planned for San Clemente's growth. The octagonal design with expansive windows, offered Hanson a panoramic view of the ocean and the bustling pier below—a constant reminder of the natural beauty that inspired his vision for the city. The room's octagonal shape and abundance of windows were a deliberate choice by Hanson, allowing natural light to flood the space while offering unparalleled views of San Clemente's coast.

The “famous” pier was constructed at the center of the 3,000 foot public beach was a 1,200 foot-long in 1928, which extended into waters that boasted some of the best fishing on the Pacific Coast. With a fleet of fishing boats anchored in the harbor, nearly one million fish were caught by sportsmen off the San Clemente coast each year. The pier remains a vibrant gathering place for people to meet, stroll, dine, and enjoy.

Interestingly, the San Clemente Pier was once a hub for illegal smuggling during Prohibition, opened when the 18th Amendment made alcohol illegal in the U.S., a ban that lasted until 1933. Despite the newly implemented amendment, liquor continued to flow into the country through covert operations. "Rum runners," used boats to transport alcohol along the coast, with the San Clemente pier serving as a discreet landing point. The pier had a hidden hatch beneath the snack bar, where alcohol was unloaded in the middle of the night. From there, it was secretly delivered to nearby "speakeasies" (illegal bars that served alcohol in defiance of the law). The pier's role in this underground trade highlights its unique place in San Clemente's history during a time when alcohol was illegal, but still in demand. The pier, rebuilt many times, has remained a symbol of resilience, recreation, and community.

Before this historic home was built, the land was inhabited by the Acjachamen, also known as the Juaneño. These indigenous people thrived in Southern California, which provided everything they needed for daily life. They followed the natural cycles of the seasons, gathering acorns, nuts, berries, and seeds, and ventured to the coast to catch fish and collect shellfish. Central to their diet was the acorn (18 species). The Acjachemen people continue to live in the region, actively preserving and revitalizing their cultural heritage. They engage in numerous community projects aimed at protecting their ancestral lands and traditions.

The life and community of the indigenous people of California changed dramatically when the Spanish entered Alta California and began constructing the mission system. On July 14, 1769 Gaspar de Portolá, Governor of Baja California, set out from San Diego with the task of scouting and identifying potential mission sites. The baptism, on the site later known as "El Cañon de Los Cristianitos" near San Clemente, was the first by the Franciscan missionaries in Alta California. This event would symbolize a historic change in the lives of the indigenous people as the Franciscans, through the construction of the missions, sought to bring Christianity to California.Read more