Casa Romantica marks a new recovery milestone after crushing landslide

The shimmering chandelier, whitewashed arches and Spanish-tiled floor of Casa Romantica’s main salon that have remained locked away for the past year and a half are ready to be enjoyed by the public again.

A landslide left parts of San Clemente’s beloved cultural center and gardens in tatters in April 2023. An ocean terrace and garden path that offered stunning panoramic views of the ocean broke off and crumbled down with the bluff.

But with $8.5 million budgeted in repairs to stabilize the damaged slope, the historic estate’s resplendent salon is ready for its comeback.

“It’s such a huge milestone to have it reopen,” said Kylie Travis, co-executive director of Casa Romantica’s nonprofit. “Things can only get better from here. Our team is prepared and ready for that.”

A ribbon-cutting ceremony on Friday marked the main salon’s official, long-awaited return.

For several months, it remained yellow-tagged amid worries that the shifting earth below could damage the estate beyond the still red-tagged ocean terrace that abuts it.

The city-owned Casa Romantica partially reopened over Memorial Day weekend last year, when another landslide hit its already hammered hillsides.

With rows of tiebacks completed by construction crews, city officials considered the slope stabilized and removed the yellow tag.

That allowed the Toast to the Casa, an annual fundraiser, to return to the center last month. The Renaissance theme seemed as timely as ever as guests at the Sept. 21 event got a sneak preview of the main salon.

The nonprofit raised about $205,000 at the event.

With a key area of the property reopened again, staff is hopeful that Casa Romantica’s financial recovery will receive a much-needed boost.

“It was challenging financially for us to operate for a whole year and a half with only an outdoor space, especially as last year had so many rainstorms,” Travis said. “We still are experiencing financial challenges with our budget because we had no interior space to move events or shelter guests during public hours if it was raining.”

Last April, as staff marked a year since the landslide, Travis estimated the nonprofit lost $500,000 in revenue due to canceled cultural events and weddings.

The off-limits main salon was a key reason why.

It turned into a makeshift storage facility for tables, chairs and event equipment during its period of dormancy.

As staff and volunteers readied the space to reopen, the main salon became reimagined as more of a museum. A permanent art collection that was previously housed in the nonprofit’s staff offices now finds a new home in the salon.

California Impressionism and plein-air artworks join historical photos of early surf culture and Casa Romantica’s past residents, like San Clemente founder Olé Hanson, in giving guests more to peruse.

“Now the Casa Romantica experience is filled with all these wonderful learning opportunities, exhibitions and displays,” Travis said. “Our hope is that we will continue to rotate these out throughout the year, so that every time someone visits there’s something new to see.”

With the main salon reopened to the public, Casa Romantica’s full recovery from the landslides it has suffered through is that much closer to reality.

The nonprofit’s staffers recently met with city officials about next steps. Regrading the stabilized slope could take up to a month. Plans to restore the ocean terrace and other damaged areas would have to go before the California Coastal Commission for approval.

“Everyone wants the quickest approval possible to keep working,” Travis said, “but it’s really hard to predict when that will happen.”

Until then, Casa Romantica’s event calendar is busy, a good problem that staff is happy to have. Film screenings, concerts and weekly classes are all set to take place inside the main salon’s splendid quarters in the weeks and months to come.

“We’re just so excited,” Travis said. “We’re ready to hit the ground running and use the space.”