{"nrhp_refnum":"81000164","name":"San Clemente Beach Club","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"Avenida Boca De La Playa","address_restricted":false,"city":"San Clemente","county":"Orange County","state":"CA","lat":33.43197889900006,"lon":-117.63179342399997,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1981-04-09","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Community Planning and Development","Architecture","Social History"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A Spanish-style beach club and swimming pool complex on Avenida Boca De La Playa in San Clemente, California, built in 1927 by city founder Ole Hanson to a design by architect Virgil Westbrook.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the building is a fine example of San Clemente's Spanish-style architectural heritage and its founding city-planning philosophy. It also records the club's role as a social and recreational center for about 50 years, including its selection in 1927 for U.S. Olympic swimming team tryouts.","narrative":"Built in 1927, the San Clemente Beach Club is a Spanish-style recreational building with white stucco walls, handmade red Mexican tile roofs, open pergolas, tiled staircases and a circular turret with a conical tile roof. Two swimming pools sit on its north side, enclosed by a white stucco wall. The club occupies a triangle of land at the northern gateway to San Clemente, with palm-lined walkways and park-like open space. Founder Ole Hanson built it and dedicated it to the city, and it was regarded as one of the best swimming facilities in America. That year it was chosen for United States Olympic swimming team tryouts. The nomination presents it as significant for architecture and community planning, since Hanson required Spanish-style buildings throughout the city, the theme later summed up as the \"Spanish Village by the Sea.\" By the late 1970s the pool had become antiquated and leaky, and renovation aimed to return the structure to its original design.","period_of_significance":"1900-","architect_builder":"Architect: Virgil Westbrook; Builder: Ole Hanson","architectural_style":"Spanish style","criteria":[],"status_note":"Owned by the City of San Clemente; the pool was closed in summer 1977 due to leakage and a renovation to restore the original design, including pergolas, was under way or planned.","vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:55:31.822978-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_CA/81000164.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/81000164/de6b31b699-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/81000164/de6b31b699-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 4.0","author":"CashewCraver","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:San_Clemente_Beach_Club_2020.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">CashewCraver</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 4.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:San_Clemente_Beach_Club_2020.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/123860326","wikipedia":null,"wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q133331002"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/california/orange-county/san-clemente-beach-club-81000164/"}