Post #637069 by TikiTomD on Fri, May 18, 2012 1:06 PM

Very fine field work, TikiVato! Regrettably, the news on the Beachcomber Bar is sad, but at least we know. Bosko’s napkin may be our only taste of the glory that was once there… And best regards to Alfredo Derek for his help and interest.

I was about to post this when I saw your latest, so some of it covers the same ground, like the original name of the hotel...

Sven, as you observed, the The Journal of San Diego History article previously cited states that the Centro Social, Cívico y Cultural Riviera is the site of the former Hotel Riviera del Pacífico. When originally constructed, the hotel and casino was known as the Hotel Playa de Ensenada, according to this web site that has historic photos of the hotel under construction and of the bar with the mural, known at that time as the Bar Andaluz, one of the sites claimed for the origin of the Margarita cocktail...

Bar Andaluz

Hotel Playa de Ensenada viewed from the sea

Dolores del Río and friends at Hotel Playa

Here’s another web site that goes into the Margarita story a bit and has some historic photos as well. After using the Google translator, here’s an excerpt...

-Tom

[ Edited by: TikiTomD 2012-05-18 16:18 ]