The Del Monte Hotel

This morning's walk took us as far as the Naval Postgraduate School on Del Monte Avenue.  Prior to World War II, this was the site of the Del Monte Hotel, one of the finest luxury hotels in the world.

First opened in 1880, it burn to the ground in 1887.  Rebuilt bigger and better, it survived the 1906 San Francisco earthquake only to have the main structure burn again in 1924.  Rebuilt yet again, it was turned it into what some considered the most elegant seaside resort in the world, a place where guests could enjoy golf, polo, tennis, swimming, yachting, and deep-sea fishing.

In 1942, the Navy took it over to use as a preflight school for new pilots.  In 1947, it purchased the hotel and 627 acres of surrounding land for the Postgraduate School which had outgrown its space on the grounds of the U.S. Naval Academy in Maryland.  The NPS finally made the cross-country move to Monterey in 1951.

This afternoon, we walked through a nearby neighborhood of modest homes where most yards where well maintained, but almost none had any grass.  Some had oriental themes and were mostly gravel, others were full of native plants or cacti.  The variety of plants here is astonishing with a surprising number still in full bloom.

My photo of the day

Day 92
Monterey, CA

Daily Mileage:  0