Casa de Bandini Memories

In the 1950s, this structure in the Old Town district of San Diego was known as the Casa de Bandini, an upscale tourist motel.



Going back to its origins, Casa de Bandini was built between 1827 and 1829 as a one floor Spanish colonial style home for cattle rancher Don Juan Bandini. In the 1850s Bandini sold his home to Albert Seeley, who added a second floor to the property, converting it into a stagecoach stop and hotel with 20 rooms. The hotel prospered as a stagecoach stop for layovers between Los Angeles and San Diego. By 1888, Seeley sold the hotel due to an increase in railroad use and the popular Gaslamp Quarter in downtown San Diego. In 1928, Don Juan Bandini’s grandson, Cave J. Couts Jr., bought the property and restored it as a memorial to his mother, Ysidora Bandini de Couts, renaming  it “The Miramar,” a hotel and restaurant. In 1945, James H. and Nora Cardwell purchased the Bandini property, with their son Frank renovating the building into the motel you see in these vintage images. The Cardwells eventually sold the property to the state of California in 1968, when Old Town became a state historic park. Okay, now that we’ve got that out of the way, let’s proceed to modern times!



I became aware of it when it was Casa de Bandini, a lively Mexican Restaurant which was a popular spot for both tourists and locals.



Mariachi bands, festive decor, tasty Mexican dishes, and an outdoor patio made it my go-to choice for both food and margaritas when my friends and family came to town.



And then there’s that one time I got frosted tips, but that’s another tale entirely…



Margaritas of every flavor and color were served at Bandini in glasses as big as you desired!





Then in typical fashion when the government steps in to “help,” things go down the toilet. Diane Powers was the masterful businesswoman behind the successful Casa de Bandini restaurant, making it thrive for over thirty years. In 2005, the state park agency decided not to renew her contract and instead gave it to Delaware North, an unimaginative company who dutifully went along with the state park’s desire to make Old Town a more authentic and historically correct place to visit. 



Revenue plunged under the new management, dropping from $18 million to barely $8 million. From a  San Diego Union Tribune article:

Dave McGuire, co-owner of Bailey & McGuire Pottery, a retail shop within the state park, said the era the park is trying to recreate was not an especially romantic time. "If you read all the history books, it was not that appealing," he said. "It was dusty and dirty."...It is unclear whether people want a history lesson or just a tasty margarita when they visit Old Town.

In spring 2009, Delaware North withdrew from its contract with the state and management changed hands to the Old Town Family Hospitality Corporation, headed by local restaurateur Chuck Ross. Recently, I decided it was time to revisit my old haunt and see how it was holding up. Hoping to see if the menu had improved since I first ate there after the “historic renovation,” I learned that they only serve a limited menu on Fridays and Saturdays during happy hour. That’s it. Not surprisingly, on the Friday afternoon that I visited the once vibrant patio looked like this:



Empty. Completely. The Casa de Bandini restaurant I used to frequent was so popular they didn’t have to take reservations. Patrons dutifully waited in line for an hour or more to get a coveted table by the courtyard fountain. Today, you could walk in and be seated immediately.



This is the type of fare you can expect.



A beat-up fake leather menu and a piña colada served in a basic bar glass. Stupendous!



While I applaud the restoration efforts to the interior of the hotel…



it looks more like a museum than a spot that encourages people to visit and enjoy.



If you want to visit what once was, you need to trek up north to a strip mall in Carlsbad. Diane Powers took her successful business and relocated it about 20 minutes away from where it started. And yes, it’s doing well.

See more Casa de Bandini/Cosmopolitan Hotel photos at my main website.

Shag at Disneyland, 2005

The 50th anniversary of Disneyland in 2005 began a short-burst of appreciation for all things vintage as the leadership actually celebrated the history of the Park. In the June 2005 image above, I was wearing my golden 50th anniversary Mickey Mouse ears. Yes, I still have them.





One of the many events that occurred during this momentous year was the Disneyland Cocktail Hideway Event held on June 24, 2005 at the Paradise Pier Hotel’s Crystal Room.



Titled “Shag’s Cocktail Hideaway,” I would call it more of a merchandise opportunity than a true event. I recall being disappointed at how little was done to make this worth the entry fee. Retro-artist Josh Agle (aka “Shag”) produced a range of images to be used for the merch that guests were able to purchase. Disney legend Martha Blanding was on hand to oversee the event (seen below second from left).



If you aren’t familiar with Martha, here’s an edited bio from the D23 website:

Martha was studying at California State University Fullerton to become a grade-school teacher when a friend in her dorm persuaded her to take a chance on working at Disneyland. There had been only three part-time Black Tour Guides before “Martha B.” but she was the first to become a full-time employee in May 1971. Within a year, Martha ascended also to become a VIP Tour Hostess. Martha hosted Diana Ross , Cher, Cary Grant, Rock Hudson, Bob Hope, and Sir Elton John. Martha also served as a designated hostess for U.S. government officials and international delegates. “We had VIPs from all over the world, especially American, Japanese, and Russian dignitaries, and I quickly learned all the protocols,” Martha recalled. “Although communication is important, as is how you treat people and respect them as individuals, they all shared a sense of fun and wonder when visiting the park.” By 1975, Martha became the first-ever Black woman in management at Disneyland. She started as an associate buyer and oversaw various merchandise categories for nearly a decade. Soon after, a promotion made Martha the first Black female merchandise buyer at Disneyland Resort and across all Disney Parks at the time. Her extensive merchandise background and signature hospitality skills led her to the position of Senior Manager of Disneyland Resort Merchandise and Special Events. There, she worked with Julie Andrews, James Earl Jones, Kurt Russell, Annette Funicello, and legendary Disney Imagineers and animators Marty Sklar, Marc and Alice Davis, Harriet Burns, Frank Thomas, Ollie Johnston, and Floyd Norman. Upon her retirement in 2022, Martha had spent 50 years with Disneyland Resort.



I wore my Roger & Jessica Rabbit Hawaiian shirt for the occasion:



I doubt that The Swingin’ Shagateers went on to greater things after this evening:



Shag had done art for each of the five original lands, beginning with Main Street, U.S.A.:



Adventureland:



Frontierland:



Fantasyland:



and Tomorrowland:



Of course I posed with Josh Agle, which was the most exciting thing for me about the entire evening. I was able to ask him a question I always wondered; is your art hand-done or computer generated. He told me it was hand-done.



I didn’t stay very long, as this event was a snoozer. I went back to the Park to see the fireworks instead which were much more exciting! I do still have some Disneyland Shag items in my collection, like this TV Tray which I use all the time:
 


See more Paradise Pier Hotel photos at my main website.

Wasn’t I a dish?

In the 1997 blockbuster, “Titanic,” Gloria Stuart portrayed Rose, a centenarian who survived the sinking disaster of the luxury liner in the title of the film. Stuart was 86 when she filmed the role. As her character looks at a sketch that was drawn of her aboard the ship, she exclaims, “Wasn’t I a dish?”



Why yes, Gloria; you really were! In the 1936 film “Poor Little Rich Girl,” Stuart was given the thankless task of playing the romantic lead in this Shirley Temple musical. She wasn’t given much to do except look pretty in the few scenes that she had.



Above she is shown with Michael Whalen, who portrayed Shirley’s father in the film. Below, with Claude Gillingwater and Shirley.



In a 1996 interview Gloria had this to say about working with Shirley:

“My agent called me one day and said, ‘You’re going to make a Shirley Temple film!’ I said, ‘Oh no!’ He said, ‘Gloria, it’s wonderful!’ I said ‘What’s wonderful about it?’ W.C. Fields said never be in a movie or on the stage with dogs or children. It’s a losing battle. So I asked to see Darryl Zanuck and I said, ‘Mr. Zanuck, I’m a dramatic actress. It’s not for me.’ He said, ‘Gloria, you could be in film for the next ten years or on the stage and nobody would ever see you or hear about you, but if you’re in a Shirley Temple film, millions of people will see you.’ She was really a get-away girl. You watched her and she was so completely composed and happy and talented and up up up. She was a real tonic. She was a miracle. Indescribable. It’s impossible that one child was all those wonderful things but she was.”



Stuart reconnected with Shirley sixty years later at the 1998 Academy Awards ceremony. “I was sitting at the banquet afterwards and she came up and put her arms around me,” Stuart recalled. “I was the only one left that she worked with.”



Perhaps in a nod to her less-than-enthusiastic response to playing alongside Temple, studio head Darryl Zanuck had the publicity machine crank out some fashion shots of Stuart. This caption accompanied the below image:

Three high fashion notes of the spring season, a strictly tailored suit, men’s wear fabric, and the newly favored shade of grey striped in chalk white, are incorporated in this costume worn by Gloria Stuart playing in “The Poor Little Rich Girl” for 20th Century-Fox. Horizontal bands of the material finish the seams of the skirt and the slot pockets, evidence of the meticulous tailoring of this suit. The blouse of white pique has a pleated frill for collar and closing. A grey felt hat and grey suede accessories complete the outfit.



Neither one of these outfits were visible in the final film.



Stuart co-starred with Temple again in 1938’s “Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm” alongside Randolph Scott. At least she was given more to do in this film and a number of comic zingers which she delivered perfectly.



Yes Gloria - you were a dish!

See more photos at my main website.