'What is that?' I wondered out loud. An art deco building, literally in the middle of nowhere - okay, more on the edge of almost nowhere - well, a reasonable distance from any sea side town that you'd expect to see such a place.'Hotel,' my companion suggested. 'Or a block of flats.'
'Nah, who'd build a hotel out here? Maybe an old sanatorium?'
But there were no boards to tell of its history and with definite signs of life (plastic child's swing out the front), I was curious. It was in a state of disrepair - windows missing, some boarded up - it looked right off the pages of an Agatha Christie novel.
So off to the internet for some answers...
The Art Deco building is attributed to James Austin Laird and the original owner is believed to have been Captain James Taylor. The hotel was requisitioned almost immediately after it opened in 1939 by the Navy and used as a hospital.
After the war the hotel reopened, by two sisters so it seems, and had some success. It changed hands numerous times over the years before closing in 1990. Apparently the proprietors
ripped out plumbing and electrics, leaving gaping
holes in the walls and ceilings. Okay - not a dark desert highway - nor California - but definitely made me think of this song...
