by Christine Lampert, Architect, AIA, NCARB

This is a year of celebration for both the town of San Clemente and the San Clemente Journal. The town was founded in 1925 when visionary, Ole Hanson and his partners bought 2000 acres from the Goldschmidt family and began master planning the town of San Clemente. It’s been 100 years since that time. For the San Clemente Journal, this is their 30th year since they began publishing in San Clemente. It’s a year of celebrating for both the town and the magazine.

The San Clemente Historical Society will celebrate our first century by hosting a tour on Saturday, September 20, of some of the historic buildings in town. Most of them are almost 100 years old and just over 200 of these buildings are designated historic, with most of them being built in the 1920s when the town was founded.

San Clemente is unique in that it was master-planned in the 1920s as a ‘Spanish Village by the Sea.’  Originally, every building had to be Spanish Colonial Revival Style, but today there only 203 buildings that are designated historic; most of them actually built in the 1920s. Fortunately, today these buildings are preserved by the city and any modifications must be approved. 

Spanish Colonial Revival Style Architecture drew its inspiration from both Spanish Colonial Architecture in the Americas and Spanish Architecture built around the world. The style became popular in the early 20th century, especially after the Panama-California Exposition in San Diego in 1915 which today can be seen in Balboa Park.

This year’s tour, hosted by the Historical Society on 9/20/2025, features some of these homes and commercial buildings mostly built in those early years. Most of the private homes to be featured are never open to the public. Some of the buildings to be highlighted are still being used for the same purposes they were built for in the ‘20s. One example is the restaurant, photo bottom right, built in 1927 as Riley’s Waffle House, it has been a restaurant for most of its years. Also, Lesneski Mortuary on South El Camino Real was originally the Divel Funeral Chapel. It was the sixth building built in San Clemente and the founders insisted that it be built on the edge of town. It has remained a mortuary for all of these years, but is currently for sale and its next use will be very interesting to see.

Other buildings have changed uses since they were originally built. There are shops in town that were once homes. The Coastal Abode on Avenida Del Mar and Casa Verde on Avenida Granada are two of these. Another is the historic Cabrillo Theater on the corner of Ola Vista and Cabrillo, which was once the home of the first City Clerk and was built in 1928. There will be some private historic homes on display and open to the public on this tour. Several of the most outstanding homes are private residences near downtown San Clemente. These homes are never open to the public and this is a great opportunity to see the interiors.

The most famous of the historical homes in town is the 7,200 square foot Casa Romantica which was built by town founder Ole Hanson. It is now a cultural center owned by the City and is open to the public for a small fee. Casa Romantica has many traditional features that can be seen during this tour. One feature is a ‘Courting Wall’ which was a common Spanish Colonial detail involving a front wall within the enclosed courtyard. This wall has small holes carved in it that allow two people to see each other. It was considered the best way to allow a daughter to visit with a young man. It also allowed air flow into the courtyard. Another feature of this house are the Arched French doors to the back terrace that disappear into the wall. Other houses to be seen on the tour are less well-known, so this tour will give participants an opportunity to see historic homes that they might have never been aware of.

Probably the most important home to ‘drive by’ to see is the historic Goldschmidt House at 243 Avenida La Cuesta. The Goldschmidt house was built in 1928 by the family that sold the future San Clemente land to Ole Hanson and his partners. This home was built as a summer retreat by this wealthy Los Angeles family who were German Jewish wine makers and liquor wholesalers. It was designed by Paul Williams who was considered the ‘architect to the stars’ and who designed homes for many of the Hollywood elite. He was the first African American to join the American Institute of Architects. This home is now on the National Historic Register.

The one modern home on the tour was built in 2007 but was designed in the original Spanish Colonial Revival Style to honor the San Clemente tradition. It was designed by local architect Michael Luna who has designed many Spanish Colonial Revival Style buildings. This house features details that would have been found in original buildings including a round tower and a Moroccan style window that was very typical in ‘20s Spanish Colonial Revival buildings. It also features exposed wood beam ceilings inside the house; another common detail.

Visitors can choose to walk or drive to each building.

 The tickets are available at sanclementehistoricalsociety.org