Photo Essay: A Pink Stucco Palace Overlooking the Pacific (Updated for 2026)

[Last updated 9/14/26 9:15 PM PT—Photos of The Whaling Bar added.]

I'd never noticed "The Pink Lady" before, with her Spanish-inspired architecture by Pasadena-based architect Reginald D. Johnson. Then again, whenever I'd been in La Jolla, it was usually down by the Cove.



La Valencia Hotel was opened opened by La Jollans MacArthur Gorton and Roy B. Wiltsie just before Christmas in 1926 as an apartment hotel,  "Los Apartmentos de Sevilla."



The San Diego-La Jolla Railway line used to run right in front of it—but back then, La Jolla wasn't much more than a suburb of San Diego. Tourists didn't stop there. They headed all the way down to the Hotel Del Coronado.



Two years later, an eight-story second unit—designed by Herbert Mann and Tom Shepherd—added hotel-style rooms. And with the addition of the tower that same year, the hotel's name changed to La Valencia. The Great Depression that followed ended up being too much for La Valencia's proprietors—but the tower proved useful as a lookout during WWII. The hotel became a temporary home for soldiers on leave or on their way overseas during the war.



New ownership of La Valencia acquired the neighboring Hotel Cabrillo (opened in 1909 as the Wilson-Acton Hotel) in 1956. (It was around that same time that the whole thing got painted pink.)



Designed by architect Irving Gill (and a landmark in its own right), it now serves as La Valencia's west wing.

We didn't know what we were looking for—or what we would see—when we arrived to La Valencia during San Diego's Open House weekend.



Fortunately, they let us go wherever we wanted.



We ended up in Cafe La Rue, on the Prospect Street level, with its 1940s murals by Wing Howard—an "artist in residence" at La Valencia in the most literal sense.



The Philadelphia artist provided his watercolors of French scenes (including that of the Bois de Boulogne) in exchange for room and board (and reportedly to pay off his bar tab). He repainted them in the 1970s after the originals had deteriorated.



The Whaling Bar, which replaced the street-level shops in 1953, was gone from that space as of 2013—despite being one of Raymond Chandler's favorite watering holes and home to the favorite booth of local resident Dr. Seuss (a.k.a. Theodor Seuss Geisel). 

 

[Update 2026] But in 2024, The Whaling Bar reopened after a major renovation—under the new management of SDCM Restaurant Group. (No sign of that groovy terrazzo floor though.)

Its iconic namesake mural, “The Whale’s Last Stand” by Wing Howard, had been chopped up into four pieces and relocated to a hotel conference room...

...but now it's back up on the walls of the storied drinking hole, reinstalled above booths now dedicated to Dr. Seuss, philanthropist Joan Kroc, and other local figures.

The mural—once a 20-foot expanse—suffered lots of damage during its removal and relocation. And the bar itself is no longer a nautical-themed pub, but rather a modern cocktail den with a Moroccan flair, catering more to a boozy brunch and bougie dinner crowd than to alcoholic artists.

The Sky Room (circa 1960s) on the 10th floor has been gone since 2015. And the elevator to get to it is no longer manual.



The interior design has changed, too...



...though thankfully the lighting fixtures are old, if not original...



...and the Spanish tile remains, too.



But as much as what's stayed the time, La Valencia is constantly evolving—with private villas having been added in 2000, after a dozen years' worth of planning.



Even the pool—which overlooks La Jolla Cove—wasn't built until 1950, when the lower three floors (4, 5, and 6) were constructed into the cliffside. (Floors 1, 2, and 3 don't exist.)



Out there, by the terraced gardens, with the Pacific Ocean in the background, is really the pièce de résistance of La Valencia.



That's where you'll find a tile mural of the Pink Lady's own mascot in traditional Spanish costume, wearing her mantilla over her peineta and waving her fan over her pink dress.



According to The San Diego Union-Tribune, the 1928 tile portrait was contributed by tilemaker Ernest Batchelder, who also supposedly contributed a tile scene depicting Poseidon elsewhere in the hotel.

I have my doubts, but I've been unable to verify one way or another.

It should be easy enough to figure out, now that La Jolla isn't so hard to reach and attracts the attention of vacationers from Hollywood and all across the country.

Some might even say they started coming because of La Valencia.

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Photo Essay: The Former 29 Palms Air Academy Readies Future Iraqi War Heroes

I hadn't noticed it much when I first visited Joshua Tree back in February 2009. But when I lived in Joshua Tree during the summer later that year, it was inescapable.



All those young boys were stationed at the 29 Palms base while the rest of us were hiking, basking, getting coffee, taking a dip in the pool.



They'd get one night out on the town, maybe, and I'd see them drinking margaritas at Kokopelli's Kantina on karaoke night, ready to kiss up on any lady willing to pucker her lips.



I'd wonder what life was like for them on that base—and I knew there were others, the married ones with wives and kids in tow, probably having already bounced from one place to another, maybe feeling punished with having been stationed in the California desert in summertime.



The Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center (MCAGCC) isn't generally open to the public, though community groups can request a tour to walk through Heritage Park...



...and catch a glimpse of daily life.



Officially commissioned as a Marine base in 1957, this huge swath of land had been used before that by the Army, with its beginnings as a glider school (a.k.a. 29 Palms Air Academy).

The Navy took it over in 1943—but two years later, after World War II ended, they removed it from its active duty support role.



During the Korean War of the early 1950s, our U.S. military needed a space big enough for long-range field artillery (missiles, rockets) as well as giant tanks so troops could perform complete and realistic combat simulations.



Those simulations didn't end with the Korean War—because in Summer 1966, conditions in Vietnam were simulated as part of "Operation Sidewinder." And it wasn't just the heat, but also ground troops being attacked by fighter jets and learning to avoid booby traps and civil insurrection.



Through the end of the Cold War, 29 Palms was also where you could find training for Fleet Marine Forces (an amphibious brigade) and the Combined Arms Training program, which took an integrative approach to warfare and trained its battalions in fighting in the air, on the ground (a.k.a. infantry), and with long-range weapons (a.k.a. artillery).



In 2003, soldiers who had been trained at 29 Palms were deployed to Iraq as part of "Operation Enduring Freedom," a.k.a. the "War on Terrorism" in the wake of 9/11.



The operation against Al-Qaeda and the Taliban may have technically ended in 2014, but the conflict is ongoing.



The entrance to the base is situated just north of the town of Twentynine Palms, which is civilized enough despite its proximity to a national park.



But the extent of the base stretches for miles and miles and miles, practically meeting up with Ft. Irwin outside of Barstow.



In fact, its exact borders are classified. But what can't be seen by neighbors or passers-by can probably be heard.



In 2010, the base opened its Combat Center at Range 800 to train units on counter-IED (improvised explosive devices) warfare—teaching them the "5 Cs" (confirm, clear, cordon, check, control).



A resourceful insurgent can make a bomb out of nearly anything, without it even looking like a bomb. That's what accounted for 85% of deaths of U.S. troops and our allies during Operation Enduring Freedom.



Marines learn marksmanship here, too—in the indoor simulator, which provides a safe way for inexperienced shooters to achieve proficiency in small arms (pistols, rifles, machine guns, grenade launchers)...



... and proficient shooters to hone their skills.



Another technological advancement that allows for training without the waste of resources (or the risk of, you know, death) is the Combat Convoy Simulator...



...an immersive training environment for drivers, gunners, and passengers in tactical scenarios related to convoy operations in combat.



It's "virtual reality"-type simulations like this that allow civilians to really understand the training that our troops go through, too.



You can even get behind the wheel of the Operator Driver Simulator—and it really feels like you're driving (on a rough road, making sharp turns, etc.).



Fortunately, our simulator shooters weren't using real bullets.



Another part of the 29 Palms base training ground at Camp Wilson is the Egress Trainer.



It's basically a simulation of a scenario in which your vehicle rolls over and you have to get out (or get your fellow troops out)—and it's mandated for all Marines to complete before they enter any "real-world" combat scenarios. (Only a few bases have them, so some Marines have to travel to train.)



It's not exactly that simulated—because they literally flip the thing over.



But it's a controlled environment, even though it doesn't feel that way when you're inside during what they call an "inverted event."

If there's anything that can convince you to wear a seatbelt, it's that.

The 29 Palms Combat Center also houses natural resources—not the least of which are the desert tortoise, a prehistoric spring fed by "underground fossil water" (a.k.a. Surprise Spring), and many prehistoric art panels (petroglyphs and pictographs) created by the indigenous peoples who once occupied the land (Serrano, Mohave, Chemehuevi, Cahuilla tribes, etc.).

The Foxtrot Petroglyph Preserve—a national historic landmark located in the Lava Training Area—is probably the best known, though few ever get to see it. It's federally protected, so the Marines have to preserve it as part of their duty in 29 Palms. The site has been off-limits to live-fire maneuvers since 1973.

Their biggest challenge with the ancient cultural site? Beating back intentional vandalism.

They've got their work cut out for them.

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