Casa del Rey Hotel (House of the King) was a resort hotel in Santa Cruz, California. During World War II the hotel was converted to the Naval Convalescent Hospital, Santa Cruz. The hotel was built in 1911 by Fred Swanton on Beach Street as a Santa Cruz Boardwalk development plan. The Resort Hotel had: a pool; gardens; and a grand pedestrian bridge to cross the street to visit the beach. The hotel was at about 500 Beach Street and Cliff Street. In addition to the hotel, there were built Cottage apartments. Later after the war the hotel became a senior citizen housing. In the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake there was serious damage to the hotel and was taken down. The site now is the parking lot across the street from the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk amusement park.
History
Casino
The Santa Cruz Railroad opened in 1874, but Santa Cruz did not become a resort destination. The Santa Cruz Railroad became part of the Southern Pacific Railroad in 1881. Santa Cruz became a resort in 1887, when the railroad shorted the line to Santa Cruz. Fred W. Swanton first built a casino, Neptune's Casino, and a beach tent city in 1904. The Casino offered 500 beach dressing rooms, a theater, a cafe, seaside grill, ballroom and roof gardens. The Casino was designed by architect Edward L. Van Cleeck The Casino was a bar with entertainment and gambling was never legal there. But it was widely known visitors could find boats at the pleasure pier, now called the Santa Cruz Wharf, to take them out in ships into the harbor to gamble in the 1910 and 1920s. Swanton built an amusement park near the pier, some calling it the Coney Island of the West. In 1911 Charles I. D. Looff family built a Merry-go-round carousel and in 1924 the Giant Dipper roller coaster.. Both the Santa Cruz Looff Carousel and Roller Coaster are National Historic Landmarks. The Casino changed its name to Cocoanut Grove from 1920 to 1933 during prohibition. On June 22, 1906, a fire started in the kitchen, destroyed the complete casino. Swanton hired William Henry Weeks and a new Casino was built and the Plunge Natatorium pools. At the same time, a new Cottage City was built for guests. The new Casino, Plunge and Cottage brought many new guests to the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk by the end of 1907. The Cottage City, was designed as a residential hotel for long summer stays. But, there was a great need for a regular hotel. The hotel was served by a Horsecars offered tram service that started in 1876. The Santa Cruz, Garfield Park, and Capitola Electric Railroad service in 1881. The Union Traction Company consolidated the three electric tram service routes in 1904. One service line ran from DeLaveaga Park along Water Street and Pacific Avenue to the beach. Another from Ocean Cliffs to the hotel along what would become CA Route 1. The third line through Seabright to Capitola was completed in 1906. With more and more automobiles in use, the streetcar service ended in 1926. The Southern Pacific Railroad ran a summer excursion train, called Suntan Special, between San Francisco and the hotel from 1927 to 1959. The ballroom in the Casino has hosted nightly bands and dance since it opened. In 1924 Isham Jones's band played jazz, in the 1930s and into the 1950 Big Bands-Jazz play like: Artie Shaw, Ted Fio Rito, Lawrence Welk, Benny Goodman, Skinnay Ennis, Paul Whiteman, Billy May, Tex Beneke, Les Elgart, Hal McIntyre and Si Zentner. In the 1960s the ballroom had artists Nat King Cole Sonny and Cher, the New Christy Minstrels and The Four Freshmen. From 1924 to 1965 the Miss California Pageant took place at the Casino's Boardwalk. Many movies and TV shows have been shot on the Casino's Boardwalk: Sudden Impact, Mr. Peabody and the Mermaid, America Screams, and The Lost Boys.