Cosmopolitan Hotel and Restaurant

The Cosmopolitan Hotel and Restaurant in the Old Town San Diego State Historic Park is a registered national historic landmark, built in the early 19th century by Juan Bandini and later purchased by Albert Seeley to serve as a stagecoach hotel. In 2010, restorations and added fine dining restaurant revived the hotel to its 1870s charm, making it again a focal point of the original downtown area.

Cosmopolitan Hotel and Restaurant
La Casa de Juan Bandini
(2019)
Cosmopolitan Hotel and Restaurant is located in California
Cosmopolitan Hotel and Restaurant
Cosmopolitan Hotel and Restaurant is located in the United States
Cosmopolitan Hotel and Restaurant
Location2660 Calhoun St. Old Town, San Diego
Coordinates32°45′27″N 117°11′59″W
Built1829
Architectural styleSpanish Colonial
Part ofOld Town San Diego Historic District (ID71000182[1])
Designated CPSeptember 3, 1971

History

The Cosmopolitan Hotel and Restaurant was originally built between 1827 and 1829[2] as a one floor Spanish colonial style home for cattle rancher Don Juan Bandini. In the 1850s Bandini sold his home, and by 1869 it was restored and extended with a second floor into a stagecoach stop and hotel under the direction of Albert Seeley.

Seeley a stage master, converted the old adobe into an L-shaped Greek Revival hotel. He renovated the original first story, and added a wood framed second story and balconies. The hotel prospered as a stagecoach stop offering 20 rooms for a layover between Los Angeles and San Diego. By 1888, Seeley sold the hotel due to a major shift in railroad use and a rising downtown Gaslamp Quarter. In the following years it was used as an olive factory.

"The Miramar"

In 1928 Don Juan Bandini's grandson, Cave J. Couts Jr., son of Lieutenant Cave J. Couts, bought the property in order to restore it as a memorial to his mother Ysidora Bandini de Couts. Couts remodeled the residence in Steamboat Revival architecture style. By 1930 the building was wired for electricity, and gas. Cave J. Couts Jr. renames the building as, "The Miramar," hotel and restaurant.

The Miramar is sold to the State of California

In 1945 James H. and Nora Cardwell purchased the Bandini property. During the 1950s their son Frank renovated the building into an upscale tourist motel. The Cardwells eventually sold the property to the state of California in 1968, the same year Old Town became a state historic park. The State of California and concessionaire Chef and restaurant owner Joseph Melluso came to an operating agreement. Under agreement the Hotel would receive necessary historical excavation, and restoration to the time period of the Cosmopolitan Hotel.[3]

Reopening

The Cosmopolitan reopened for business as a Hotel and Restaurant July 21, 2010 after massive restorations to revitalize it to its 1870s grandeur. By August 2011 Owner Joseph Melluso had sold a majority of ownership over to Catherine Miller. In July 2013, the Cosmo was taken over by Old Town Family Hospitality Corp. Owner and President Chuck Ross, who also operates two restaurants in Old Town San Diego State Historic Park – Casa de Reyes and Barra Barra Saloon.[4][5][6][7]

Original features

Don Juan Bandini built his single story, thatched roof adobe between 1827 and 1829 on Old Town, San Diego plaza's southeast corner. The original structure had seven rooms, an entrance-way, and enclosed courtyard, a corral, and several sheds. The Casa de Juan Bandini had features of Spanish Colonial architecture usually found only in California missions. During the 1840s, he added several enhancements such as pane-glass windows, a brick-lined patio with well, and a small, bathhouse to entice his daughters to visit his wife Refugio and him more frequently.[8][9][10]

Hauntings

The Cosmopolitan Hotel was featured on Episode 56 of Ghost Adventures which aired October 7, 2011.[11]

Further reading
  • Herzog, Lawrence A. (2001). From Aztec to High Tech: Architecture and Landscape Across the Mexico-United States Border. JHU Press. pp. 115–116. ISBN 978-0-8018-6643-2.

See also

References
  1. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
  2. "A Cosmopolitan, Ghosts and Old San Diego". Tanama Tales. Archived from the original on May 3, 2018. Retrieved May 2, 2018.
  3. union tribune "Casa de Bandini still under fire repair"Jim Okerblom Staff Writer Publish Date: April 22, 1989
  4. "San Diego's frontier past recaptured". Archived from the original on October 20, 2012. Retrieved August 23, 2019.
  5. "Old Town San Diego's Cosmopolitan – San Diego's Earliest Hotel — Cosmopolitan Hotel and Restaurant". www.oldtowncosmopolitan.com. Archived from the original on December 30, 2018. Retrieved August 23, 2019.
  6. "Family Business: Cosmopolitan Hotel & Fiesta del Reyes". Kusi.com. January 18, 2018. Archived from the original on July 14, 2021. Retrieved May 2, 2018.
  7. "The Cosmopolitan Hotel and Restaurant — Fiesta de Reyes". Archived from the original on May 2, 2019. Retrieved August 23, 2019.
  8. "Casa de Bandini". Archived from the original on May 3, 2018. Retrieved May 2, 2018.
  9. "Casa de Bandini" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on February 3, 2017. Retrieved May 2, 2018.
  10. The Casa and The Don: Juan Bandini’s Quest for Homeland in Early San Diego
  11. "'Ghost Adventures' Crew Goes On Ghost Hunt Of San Diego". HuffPost. July 21, 2011. Archived from the original on September 27, 2017. Retrieved May 2, 2018.
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