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Two decades later, the improvements continued. The beachfront
cottages were replaced by motel-style buildings, and in the early
1970s, a railroad-car-turned-snack-bar was brought on the property;
longtime residents recall sitting at the counter sipping sodas and
eating hotdogs. At one time or another during the Gawzner years,
the Miramar’s amenities included tennis courts, shuffleboard,
horseshoes, croquet, a private beach, two swimming pools, volleyball,
ping pong, a children’s beach playground, card room, putting greens,
snack bar, TV lounge, a raft, restaurant, nightclub and a convention
center.
Perhaps for many who visited the Miramar back then, their vision
may have included
Grover Barnes
, Miramar’s bell captain from 1946
through 1981. Mr. Barnes was so popular that guests would return just
to see him and bring their children and grandchildren to meet him. In
an interview in 2000, Barnes (who is now over 100 years old) recalled
that beginning in the 1950s, food and drink was delivered to Miramar
cottages by bellmen on bicycles balancing trays in one hand or on their
heads. According to Barnes, the Miramar appealed to show business
royalty such as Bob Hope, Bing Crosby, Duke Ellington, BB King,
and Red Foxx. National politicians like Bobby Kennedy and others,
in addition to the honeymooners who overtook the place each spring
and summer, were also attracted to the Miramar’s sunny sandy appeal.
Gawzner’s Miramar embodied a vintage California beach bungalow
resort where locals and tourists spent lazy summer days and hot
summer nights.
The Schrager Plan
By the mid-1990s the Miramar, although still a summer playground for
many Montecito residents and tourists, had fallen into a state of less-than-
dignified dotage. Worn carpeting, unkempt landscaping, faulty plumbing
and wiring, and deferred maintenance on the cottages and the main
structures had taken their toll.
In 1998,
Ian Schrager
of Studio 54 notoriety, purchased the hotel
for $31.7 million. He planned to revive the Miramar as a fully restored
family beachside resort, but this time with an edgy, modern appeal. He
closed down the hotel in 2000 and began to demolish several structures.
His renovation plans won swift approval, and called for retaining many
of the bungalows and returning the restaurant to its original position. A
boardwalk promenade opened up to an “outdoor living room,” complete
with a world-class swimming pool. The serene open-air promenade
would open to the beach, beckoning surfers and beachgoers towards the
ocean. Renderings of the project show lush gardens, rustic cottages and
meandering pathways. “A place where barefoot elegance gently slopes into
the Pacific with effortless style,” he swooned in a promotional brochure.
Schrager planned to build up the landscaping, bringing in citrus groves,
flowering trees and vines and grassy nooks. The air would be fragrant
with indigenous botanicals, adding to the ambiance of the property.
He planned to give the restored cottages private landscaped
terraces, and to nestle the “casually elegant cottages”
amongst flowering hedgerows. The lines of new
buildings would be cleaner, more modern,
and the property would offer