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History
 LA QUINTA's Rich History
The ancient Salton Sea, the Cahuillas, the ranches, the Bradshaw
Trail, the La Quinta Hotel, celebrities, the Desert Club, PGA West…are
all part of La Quinta's rich history. We invite you explore La Quinta
and discover why it's such a special place.
La Quinta Museum
The La Quinta Museum is located near La Quinta's Old Town and
features artifacts and specimens from La Quinta's history. The museum
is undergoing a major expansion and will reopen in Spring 2008. The
new museum will offer school tours, family programming, special events
and much more!
If you have questions or would like to make a donation, please contact:
La Quinta Museum
Kimberly Mack, Museum Manager
77-885 Avenida Montezuma
La Quinta, CA 92253
kmack@la-quinta.org">kmack@la-quinta.org
(760) 777-7189
"La Quinta: A Legend in the Making"
 As tribute to the city of La Quinta's 25th
Anniversary, the city commissioned the production of a book especially
dedicated to documenting the history of La Quinta. The book titled, "La Quinta A Legend in the Making"
by Victoria J. Bailey and Gayl Biondi, is a beautiful hardbound
collection of stories and photos that together commemorate 25 years of
success. The book retails for $30 and will be available at book stores
including Barnes & Noble and Peppertree along with several
locations in La Quinta such as City Hall, La Quinta Library, La Quinta
Museum, La Quinta Resort & Club, and La Quinta Mail Box. The cover
and table of contents are provided below.
 Forms:
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History
The Queen of the Desert
With
grace and charm, the legendary La Quinta Resort & Club has reigned
over the Coachella Valley as a sought after refuge from the hustle and
bustle of the world in the quiet of the Santa Rosa Mountains. Since its
opening, La Quinta Resort & Club has been the favorite retreat of
Hollywood legends like Garbo, Gable and Capra, and financial
powerhouses such as Vanderbilt and Crocker.
Today, guests
include the new generation of celebrities, athletes and CEOs whose
first names alone are enough to identify them. The resort has been
recognized by top travel, lifestyle, golf and tennis publications as
one of the top destination resorts in the world. Through time and
several changes in ownership, La Quinta Resort & Club has grown
from its original 20 casitas (guest rooms), a lobby and a dining room
to 796 casitas, suites and villas, vacation home rentals, nine
championship golf courses, an award-winning spa, 23 tennis courts, 41
sparkling pools and 53 hot tubs, a children's program and more.
Though
the resort has grown in size, it still maintains its commitment to the
privacy and comfort of its guests; a legacy of graciousness given to
the resort by its original owner Mr.Walter H. Morgan.
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About Walter H. Morgan
Born
in San Francisco in 1874, Morgan was the youngest son of John S.
Morgan,the wealthy owner of the Morgan Oyster Company. The
distinguished looking Morgan came to the desert in 1921 for health
reasons and purchased 1,400 acres of "Happy Hollow," named by the
Cahuilla people, the original inhabitants of the area. Morgan
envisioned creating a small self-contained, secluded retreat where
guests could enjoy being pampered in the privacy of their own guest
rooms. Many believe that Morgan chose the name La Quinta after hearing
a local rancher in Mexico tell the tale of a big country house
surrounded by cottages.
In 1925, to help him turn his dream into
a reality, Morgan hired budding Pasadena architect, Gordon Kaufman.
Although Kaufman later became famous for his architectural designs,
including the Los Angeles Times Building, the Athenaeum at the
California Institute of Technology and the Santa Anita Raceway, he was
still unknown when hired by Morgan. La Quinta Hotel, as it was first
named, was Kaufman's first major success.
In 1931, a few years
after the stock market crashed, the local newspaper announced the death
of Walter H. Morgan due to carbon monoxide poison. Words of his last
note to his wife were never disclosed; however, it was speculated that
the decline of his family's finances due to the Depression and word
from his doctor that he should leave his beloved "country home" to move
to a sanitarium for his tubercular condition were too overwhelming. The
great flag located at the hotel's entrance flew at half mast on its 125
foot poll. Afterthe cremation ceremonies, Morgan's ashes were spread
over his precious date groves and flower gardens and La Quinta Hotel
closed its fifth season in financial turmoil.
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Morgan's Dream Becomes a Reality
Together,
Morgan and Kaufman concocted the ultimate getaway. Kaufman planned main
buildings, the lobby areas, the open air glassed in dining room, the
guest casitas and the grounds. He also designed the furniture and
lights while supervising all the construction, including the firing of
the bricks done on the premises. The original kiln was located on the
site that is currently La Quinta Resort's Mountain Course. The Mexican laborers crafted more than 100,000 adobe bricks, 60,000 roof tiles and 5,000 floor tiles.
The
total construction cost was estimated at $150,000, when a Ford touring
car cost $250 and a pound of coffee was 50 cents. Morgan also brought
the golf industry to the Coachella Valley, as the hotel's grounds
included a nine-hole course contructed for $50,000 and designed by
golfer Norman Beth. It was the first golf course built in tyhe valley
and was open to the public for a green free of one dollar.
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La Quinta Hotel Opens
La
Quinta Hotel was first opened to an elite group of Morgan's friends
during the Christmas holiday in 1926 and held its grand opening to the
public in late January 1927. The resort entertained such guests as
Charles Taft, son of President William Howard Taft, and the William
Crockers from San Francisco. After a successful first season, Morgan
announced the building of another 14 casitas and then went to Los
Angeles to pass the word of his retreat to the Hollywood community.
Morgan was a well-educated, sophisticated man with charm and charisma.
Through his family's connections, he knew the right people in the
business and social worlds. Though Morgan was opposed to advertising,
he had a special talent for publicity and public relations. He made La
Quinta Hotel a social "must" by carefully inviting Hollywood finest.
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Hollywood Legends
La
Quinta Hotel definitely had a commodity the Hollywood stars wanted –
privacy. The stars came to La Quinta Hotel, riding the extra 20 miles
past Palm Springs in none air conditioned "town cars" to escape the
studios, the deadlines, the pressures and the fans. In the "touring"
days, the most sought after and highly paid were the hotel's discrete
chauffeurs and footmen (relief drivers), who skillfully wheeled across
the poor desert roads stopping often to change a "blow out" while the
passengers shared a picnic basket. Mari Dressler, Greta Garbo, Ginger
Rogers,Bette Davis, Clark Gable, Robert Montgomery, Erroll Flynn, Joan
Crawford are but a few of the many stars who routinely made the trek
over the mountains and through the desert to the La Quinta Hotel.
It
is said that star Bette Davis told newspaper reporters "I'm off to La
Quinta," between scenes on the set of "Jezebel" and that late movie
Director Frank Capra stated "It was the kind of place everyone was
looking for; it is a wonderful green oasis in the middle of the desert,
and it is absolutely private." Legend has it that Capra first came to
the desert in the late 1920s to turn the short story "Night Bus," which
he read in a Palm Springs barber shop into the script for "It Happened
One Night." When the film swept the Academy Awards that year, Capra
became superstitious about the desert and returned year after year to
La Quinta Hotel, his "Shangri-La for script writing," to create film
classics including "Mr. Deeds Goes to Town," "Lost Horizon," "You Can't
Take It With You," "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington," and "Meet John Joe."
For most stars, however, the hotel was more a place of isolation than a
source of inspiration. This was especially true for Greta Garbo.
Garbo's visits brought international fame to La Quinta Hotel.
It
is said that Garbo's first visit to La Quinta Hotel was at the
suggestion of her agent, Harry Edington. With the help of his
chauffeur, Edington rescued the world's most admired actress from a
phone booth that was surrounded by a mob of adoring fans. He suggested
that the perfect getaway was La Quinta Hotel, which after her first
visit became Garbo's favorite place when she "wanted to be alone."
Garbo and her companion John Gilbert were frequent guests at La Quinta
Hotel and also leased La Casa, a private home built in the late 1920s
on the southwest corner of the La Quinta Hotel property. La Casa was
also located next to the home of Hollywood's first female director,
Dorothy Arzner.
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La Quinta Resort During World War II
The
Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor brought an end to those fun-filled
days. Gasoline and automobile tire rationings prevented the Hollywood
stars from traveling to their favorite desert retreat. The hotel closed
in the spring of 1942 for the duration of the war. The cottages were
locked; the pool, built in 1937, was drained and the flowers died. Only
a skeleton crew remained to protect the cottages and grounds.
During
the war, the United States Army requisitioned the property. Although
troops never were officially stationed at the hotel, government signs
were posted at the hotel's entrance forbidding unauthorized entry. It
is reported that both Army Tank and Army Air Corps Divisions used the
hotel grounds and surrounding areas. Members of General George Patton's
staff reportedly used some of the La Quinta Hotel facilities.
As
the war in both Europe and the Pacific was winding down, interest in
the La Quinta property was renewed. In April 1945, Chicago hotelier
Arnold S. Kirkeby purchased the hotel, then sold it three months later
to another Chicagoan, John Balaban.
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La Quinta's First Airport
Guests
from further away also began to frequent the hotel. With the
development of the airplane during the war, air travel became more
common during the 1950s. Balaban's friends and relatives began to
vacation in the warmth of La Quinta, escaping the freezing northern
winters. A private airstrip, installed at the hotel shortly after the
war made their trips even easier. By word-of-mouth, others became
interested in spending their winters in the warm sunshine at La Quinta.
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La Quinta Country Club
In
the lat 1950s, Chicago attorney Leonard Ettleson, who purchawsed the
hotel from a fellow Chigaoan, John Balaban, brought golf back to La
Quinta. Mr. Ettleson and a group of business men purchased property
across the street to the east of the hotel and developed the La Quinta
Country Club. The country club, which was later sold to the club
members, became tremendously popular with golfers, celebrities and
President Dwight D. Eisenhower.
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President Dwight D. Eisenhower
President
Eisenhower began comming to La Quitna while still in office to visit
his friends Mr. and Mrs. George Aleln, whose home adjoined the hotel
property and his brother who maintained a residence in La Quinta.
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The Western Home of Golf in America
Acclaimed
as "The Western Home of Golf in America," guest come from all around th
e world to test their skills on 90-championship holes, including the
resort' sPete Dye desinged Dunes and Mountain courses and the PGA West
Stadium, Jack Nicklaus Tournament and Greg Norman courses
The
resort has also continued its tradition of hosting major golf
tournaments. Through out the years, the Bob Hope Chrysler Classic,
Skins Game, PGA Grand Slam of Golf and The PGA Tour's Q-School, amoung
others have enjoed the stunning venue of the resort and PGA West
courses.
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A Moment That Belongs to You
The
historical narrative that fills this web page gives a glimpse of the
many changes that have happend over the year; however one thing has
never changed. The same magical ambiance, privacy and recollection of
special moments that attracted stars from Hollywood's Golden Era has
never waned, as year after year guest return and new guests discover
the timeless charm that has always been La Quinta.
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49-499 Eisenhower Drive
P.O. Box 69
La Quinta, CA 92253
Phone: 760.564.4111
Phone: 800.598.3828
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