The Casa Romantica Cultural Center and Gardens has continued to show signs of life and vigor since the grounds were first rocked by a landslide on April 27, 2023.
On Saturday, April 27, its spirit was further evidenced as hundreds of visitors strolled through the gates to see what’s new with Casa Romantica one calendar year after the initial landslide.
With free admission, guests had access to roam the property, participate in art and gardening activities, view the new South American Colors art exhibition and more. Casa Romantica’s Butterfly Statue was also recently brought back on display, another instance of the property’s resilience after the landslides forced the overseeing organization to store it away.
Co-Executive Director Kylie Travis told San Clemente Times that the sculpture carries tremendous significance to her organization, tracing back to its creation to reflect Casa Romantica’s butterfly waystation status and its connection to dedicated volunteers “Butterfly Bill” and Eunice Schafer.
“Originally, the butterfly sculpture was at the focal point of our Native Bowl, which was that lower part of our property right next to the ocean,” Travis said. “When the land was starting to sink and the city was watching it, we pulled it because this sculpture means a lot to us.”
Now, the status is back up for visitors to appreciate it, in the new location of the Butterfly Garden.
Travis reflected on her organization’s mindset in the immediate aftermath of the first slide, saying staff relied on their experience working together during the COVID pandemic that also drastically impacted Casa Romantica’s operations.
Prior to COVID-19, Casa Romantica hadn’t ever canceled an event or a season of programming. Yet, through that experience, staff learned what their organization’s capacities were and what programming would be feasible in those situations.
The staff members are also excellent collaborators, Travis added, saying they do well to devise multiple plans, execute them, and look back to see how to improve.
“We’re very much (of the opinion) that we’re never quite done,” she said. “We always want to see if there’s a way to tweak something or evolve or add more.”
In the aftermath of the landslide at Casa Romantica Cultural Center and Gardens on Thursday, April 27, the hillside behind the historic property continues to sustain significant movement. Photo: Courtesy of Cameron Cosgrove
When another wave of slides hit in early June, Travis said the staff were mostly shocked, because they had been preparing to open various areas on the property. The organization returned to its “collaborative mindset” and relied on the knowledge that the City of San Clemente and Casa Romantica supporters wouldn’t idly watch the property close for good.
“I think that we know, inherently, how much this place means to people, and we know that this city cares about this place,” Travis said. “It’s the home of the founder of the town; I don’t think that this place would go down without a big fight.”
Visitors Jackie and Teresa, from Dana Point, were two of many who came to the grounds last Saturday and were devastated upon hearing of the slides in 2023. Jackie, a history lover, expressed her pleasure that the landmark was able to remain and eventually reopen.
“Look at this, when (Ole Hanson) lived here, none of this was here,” she said while gesturing to the Pier Bowl beyond the fence. “Not to say we want to go back to that, but I’m so grateful that they kept the history and people really care about it.”
Saturday’s event also featured beer from Lost Winds Beer Company for people to enjoy while listening to live music and walking around.
The event was impactful for Lost Winds, according to founder Tim Thralls. Following the previous seven years in which the two parties collaborated for events that donated money to support Casa Romantica, the beer company was on the other side of the equation, a new circumstance for Thralls.
“We’ve been struggling lately, and they realized it, so they offered for us to come and actually charge for beer,” he said. “This is the first time we’ve ever charged for beer, (so) I feel kind of funny doing it, but it’s helping us out in a hard time.”
More toward the theme of rebuilding, the construction crews rehabilitating the rear Casa Romantica slope are roughly 75% of the way through installing four rows of tiebacks, according to Travis.
After the tiebacks are installed, more work will need to be done to allow for the Main Salon to be open to the public, but the timeline is somewhat dependent on inclement weather. Travis said the significant amount of rain that has hit the area already in 2024 has affected the schedule.
“Every time it rains, we have a prep day where they protect the slope, and then after the rain, we usually have a dry-out day before they can work again,” she said. “If it rains every four days, we actually lose that whole week, because they’re doing the protection.”
Casa Romantica continues to seek financial support from the community as it recovers from roughly a $500,000 loss of revenue due to the cancellation of events. Revenue losses will continue as events are moved outside or certain artists are postponed, Travis added.
Bringing in visitors to see exhibits such as Carlos Grasso’s South American Colors will help the property raise the money to match what they lost, and Travis expressed excitement about the Argentinian-American mixed media artist’s exhibit.
“I like to make sure we have a lot of diverse programming in our visual arts, and I found him, and he seemed like the perfect match for our programming, especially because we did a tango performance last week to go with it,” Travis said of the opening reception on April 18.
Grasso’s work features canvas deconstruction and mandala pieces best viewed through three-dimensional glasses, providing a visual experience unique to what’s recently been displayed at Casa Romantica.
Watching more than 100 people interact with the art at the opening was amusing, Travis continued, adding that she’s glad to see the community enjoy the exhibit.
South American Colors will be on display through June 9. Other upcoming events include Mary Colby Tea on May 11, Casa Jazz on May 23, and Duran DurANTONY and Cleopatra on May 30 and May 31.