By Christine Lampert, Architect, AIA, NCARB
Photo courtesy of the San Clemente Historical Society

There once was a beautiful Spanish Colonial Revival mansion on the hill just south of the San Clemente Pier, right above the Beachcomber Motel. It was built in 1928 by I.M. and Augusta Bartow. This mansion had 12 rooms and was considered grander than any of the other mansions in town.

I.M. Bartow was a wealthy New Yorker who was friends with other wealthy investors in the small San Clemente village in the 1920s. He retired to San Clemente at the age of 44, encouraged by his New York friends, the Weirk sisters, who had built their home at 402 Pasadena Court. The Weirk home, which can be seen if you drive south up the hill from the pier, is currently being reviewed by the city for major renovations and additions. This home is distinctive for its beautiful garden with a tile waterfall that cascades down the side of the hill to a fountain at the bottom.

The Bartow mansion was located on Pasadena Court. It was demolished in 1972 and a 15-unit condominium complex was built in its place. The demolition of the Bartow mansion set off a movement by local concerned residents. They created the San Clemente Historical Society, which remains very active to this day. The group then lobbied the city to encourage preservation of the historic buildings of San Clemente. As a result, the city now has a review process for any changes to historic structures.

San Clemente in 1928 was home to some very wealthy families who were friends with each other. A newspaper article from 1933 mentions the San Clemente elite getting together for their bridge club at the Bartow mansion.

Mr. Bartow was known locally for spotting illegal alcohol being smuggled at night at the San Clemente Pier. He reported seeing odd lights at sea and called the police, which most likely deterred the smuggling on those nights. The pier, built by Ole Hanson as a gift to the town, had a hidden hatch in the floor of the restaurant at the end of the pier where alcohol was brought up by boats and delivered to secret bars known as speakeasies during the Prohibition Era, when alcohol was illegal in the U.S. from 1920 to 1933.

Mr. Bartow died at the age of 48, just four years after retiring to San Clemente. He and his wife were married only a few years before buying the San Clemente lot and building their mansion. He was extremely active and known for his charitable generosity to struggling local families, although he shunned publicity.

The architect for the Bartow Mansion, which was also known as “Nuestra Casa,” was most likely Virgil Westbrook, who designed many of the well-known buildings in town.

The house was sold in 1946 and was described as a 12-room Italian villa with unobstructed ocean views and a 20-foot-by-35-foot living room, five bedrooms, five bathrooms, and maid’s quarters.