Preserving 402 Pasadena Ct

Vista de Las Olas is the Spanish Colonial Revival mansion located in the Pier Bowl next to the Beachcomber Motel. Built in 1927, it is a 3200 square foot home designed by Virgil Westbrook, who was responsible for many of San Clemente’s most beautiful buildings. It has four stories, with a three-car garage and three habitable floors above. One of its many striking features is the fountain on the exterior of the living room wall. Water from that fountain cascaded down to a beautiful pool in the patio below. There are still unobstructed views to the south and west. It was once a grand villa. 

Vista de Las Olas has been threatened with destruction or significant adverse alteration by developers several times in the past. Fortunately, those attempts failed. But now comes a new owner with yet another grandiose proposal to convert the residential property into a nine-unit hotel, with a 48-seat restaurant, and parking structure. This would obliterate the historic garden with its unique waterway and seriously compromise the historic integrity of the building. Half of the required parking would be on the surrounding public streets. 

Most of the homes built in San Clemente during the Ole Hanson period, 1925 to 1936, were small, with two-bedrooms and one bath. They were called bungalows. But a few were large and grand, designed by the top architects, replete with towers, tiled arches, fountains, verandas, wrought iron and more. They were showplaces. They were called villas or mansions. 

There were nine such mansions along the bluff from the Moulton House on Buena Vista to La Casa Pacifica on Calle Isabella. One of the nine, the Murphine Mansion, was destroyed by an earthquake in 1933. Three others were demolished in the early 1970’s for development. Of the five remaining, two are in the Pier Bowl, Casa Romantica to the north and Vista de Las Olas to the south.

Vista de Las Olas goes by several names. The Wierk House from the owners between 1927 and 1945. The Wierk sisters named the house, Vista de Las Olas, “view of the waves.” The Robison House from the owners between 1950 and 2000. The Robison’s named the house Sea Cliff Villas.

What is the history of Vista de Las Olas?

Bertha and Emma Wierk, born in 1872 and 1878, respectively, were heirs to a dairy fortune. Their father, an immigrant from Germany founded Empire State Dairy Company in Brooklyn, New York. The sisters were raised in Brooklyn to a life of luxury. In 1921 they moved to Monrovia, California, built a house and quickly became part of the local social scene. In 1926, they had their chauffeur drive them to investigate the new town everyone was talking about. They were so impressed with Ole Hanson and his Spanish Village that they bought several lots. Plans were drawn, a builder was hired, and they took off on a world tour! When they returned, their house was ready for them. 

According to the September 9, 1927, El Heraldo (San Clemente’s first newspaper), “Vista de Las Olas, one of the prettiest homes on the shores of the Pacific in California and owned by two of San Clemente’s most charming ladies-the Misses Wierk-is becoming the rendezvous for many noted visitors.” The Wierk sisters were “leaders in the early San Clemente social scene,” according to local historian Dorothy Fuller. Vista de Las Olas was a real showplace. Ole Hanson used photographs of it in his advertising.

Bertha Wierk died in 1936, in her memory, Emma dedicated one of the three magnificent stained-glass windows at Community Presbyterian Church. Emma was able to hold on to her home through the depression, but it was just too much house for one person. She sold it in 1945 and moved to an apartment at 326 Avenida Madrid where she lived until her death in 1963. Emma is also the one who commissioned the portrait of Ole Hanson that hung over the fireplace in the Ole Hanson Fireside Room at the Community Center until recently.

From 1945 to 1950, Paul and Mattie Gilliland owned the property.

In 1950, Gregory and Melanie Essayan bought the property. Greg owned the Del Mar Café at 920 N. El Camino Real, where La Siesta is today. They divorced in 1953, and Melanie got the house. She remarried and became a Robison. She and her daughter Francine Deskin became co-owners.

In 1992, Beachcomber Motel owner, Robert Laidlaw, offered to buy the Robison/Deskin property so he could demolish them both and erect a 123-room luxury resort. City Council, on a 3-2 vote, gave preliminary approval. Public opposition and other factors resulted in that project dying.

Melanie Robison died in 1998 and Francine Deskin became sole owner. In 2000, she sold the property to Alkapuri Associates, a group of seven physicians who wanted to build eight condominiums there. Again, City Council was amenable, but the Coastal Commission shot the project down.

The doctors sold the property in 2015 to Seacliff Pier Villas, LLC for $3 million. They ran a drug rehabilitation business in it.

In 2020 the current owner bought Vista de las Olas for $4,250,000. Preservations were initially happy to hear that the new owner was going to rehabilitate the property and live in it. But that turned out to be wrong. Instead, there have been numerous unpermitted alterations to the historic building and gardens. The proposed project shows a callous disregard for preserving the historic integrity of the property.

Vista de Las Olas is an important part of what makes the Pier Bowl such a charming and special place. Please join with the Historical Society and let City officials know that encasing this classic beauty in a hotel, restaurant, and parking structure is bad for historic preservation and would do irreparable harm to the Pier Bowl.