Architecture

1. The Civic Center
In her plan for Rancho Santa Fe, Lilian Rice designated several blocks on both sides of Paseo Delicias as the Civic Center. The architect envisioned this compact area as a multiple use, commercial/residential district that would provide community necessities such as a store, school, garage, post office and so forth, contained within quaint, artistically grouped structures. Her carefully planned arrangement of houses and commercial and public buildings would help create the illusion of a picturesque Spanish Village.

The buildings in the first and second blocks on the right hand side of Paseo Delicias, as seen from The Inn, are known as the Commercial Group and the Garage Quadrangle respectively. The third block on that side is mainly residential in character, with a commercial complex, originally known as the Christiancy Apartments, on the corner of La Granada.

The first block on the left side as viewed from the Inn was originally set aside for a school playground, and civic auditorium. In the second block, also primarily residential, Lilian Rice created an interesting group of four townhouses. These unique dwellings also helped create the illusion of visiting a community in another time and place.

2. The First School
In the years before Rancho Santa Fe had a school, children in the area attended classes at the one room Aliso School, built at the turn of the century and located northeast of the Ranch.

By the 1920s, it became apparent more and more families were living in Rancho Santa Fe and a new school building in the Village - a first for Rancho Santa Fe - was soon under construction on the corner of La Granada and Paseo Delicias.

Designed by Lilian Rice, the new school was ready for classes by 1924. The L-shaped building with a red tile roof and adobe walls featured roofed corridors with a large playground in the rear and contained two classrooms, offices, restrooms and a basement.

Rancho Santa Fe's first graduation followed the close of that school year. The graduating class totaled one student. The lone graduate was Ivy Fidero and in later years, Mrs. Laughter recalled Miss Rice presented her with a lovely framed mountain scene as a graduation gift.

In those early years, the Santa Fe Land Improvement Company desired to establish a school district within the boundaries of their development. The country ultimately granted their request, and the Rancho Santa Fe School District became official in 1927.

After the school outgrew the site, the building became the post office, a book store, library, travel agency, liquor store and pantry. It now accommodates a commercial store.

3. Four Townhouses
In 1926, Lilian Rice designed four townhouses on Paseo Delicias in a traditional Spanish manner with the exterior facades extended to the sidewalk, thus avoiding the use of either porches or yard. As in Spain, the homes featured inner courtyards with gardens and patios secluded at the rear or in the heart of the structures.

To avoid repetition of design, architect Rice varied the roof lines, the entrances and the ways in which the homes met the street. Wooden or wrought iron grills added a decorative and protective touch for windows which directly faced the street. Strategically placed shrubs, light fixtures and textured walls added visual interest and variety.

In this grouping, Lilian Rice based her plans on the Spanish method of enclosing family activity behind protective walls, a necessity in the crowded cities and villages of Spain. Her imaginative interpretation of traditional Spanish design offered a modern solution to the problem of how to include residential construction in an urban setting and still maintain the privacy of a home in the midst of commercial activity.

4. Christiancy Apartments - 1928
This two story apartment and office complex, designed by Lilian Rice and completed around 1928 for George A.C. Christiancy, originally contained three shops, a general drafting room and offices for Lilian Rice and staff, and a vault on the ground floor. The second story featured three apartments with access by a curved exterior stairway which led from a colorful Spanish patio. A cantilevered wooden balcony graced the second level.

Known as the Christiancy Apartments when first constructed and later as the La Valenciana Apartments, the building served as temporary housing for a time and some years later became the offices of a realty company. The structure received an A.1.A. design award in 1933. Henry Wright, a noted architectural critic, called the building an "example of fine design and modern use of limited space." The previously open corner has now been developed with an additional office building.

5. Commercial Group and Ashley's - 1922 - 1923
In 1922 Lilian Rice planned the administration building and commercial group in the Civic Center. The buildings in this first block along Paseo Delicias still retain much of their original design. Special features include decorative ironwork around the windows and roof line accents which enhance the Spanish design yet retain the simplicity so characteristic of Lilian Rice's architecture.

On the corner, the first building with its embedded towers and flattened domes on top resembles in some ways elements found in San Diego's Spanish Village, designed by Richard Requa. This section housed the Santa Fe Land Improvement Company offices form about 1932 to 1945. The next building features a lovely arcade with the arches supported by round pillars. The arcade, which once sheltered a covered walkway, now forms the entrance to a restaurant. This building has contained commercial shops since about 1923.

The administration building on the corner of Paseo Delicias and Via de Santa Fe served as the home of the Santa Fe Land Improvement Company from about 1923 to 1932. In 1939, Robert Francisco bought this building with his partner, Fred Ashley, for a grocery store. Known as "Ashleys," the store was a popular gathering place for locals as well as the only market in the Ranch. It is now leased to a commercial enterprise.

6. Garage Quadrangle - 1922
In 1922, Lilian Rice designed the Garage Quadrangle, also known as the Badger Block. The quadrangle contained Badger's Service station on the corner of Via de Santa Fe and Paseo Delicias, Louise Badger's Fountain Lunch, Badger's home, and around the corner on La Granada, R.E. Badger's Orchard Development Company.

The service station soon became a well-known Rancho Santa Fe landmark. Two sturdy adobe columns connected by a gabled Spanish tile roof sheltered a single red gasoline pump. Large built-in planters with cascading vines and flowers helped create the illusion of a quaint old village well. In order to hide the automobile repair service yard from the street, architect Rice placed it in the interior of this quadrangle.

The fountain Lunch, located where an antique store is now, featured a fountain imported from New York. The lunchroom became a gathering place for the villagers, and Mrs. Badger kept a case of books, a small library for early Ranch Residents.

In 1927, Rice planned additions to the garage quadrangle. The original owners of this property held it until 1980. Louise Badger owned the front half and R.E. Badger the rear portion.

7. The Inn - 1922
Lilian Rice designed the Inn in 1922 as a twelve-room guest house for Santa Fe officials, business visitors, and prospective buyers. This simple, one unit, brown adobe building was the first structure erected at The Ranch, and it featured broad terraces, open fireplaces, and a charming Spanish and Mediterranean style. Glenn Moore, a landscape designer, planned the grounds with colorful shrubs and trees. From this strategically placed building, guests could enjoy the view of the mountains to the northeast and also what would soon become the Civic Center, an exquisitely planned village.

By 1923, many visitors created the ned for facilities usually offered by a hotel. The Guest House was renamed "La Morada" (house of many rooms) and opened to the public. In 1924, workmen constructed a residence for Lilian Rice behind La Morada.

Mr. Roslington bought La Morada in the 1930s, but before long sold it again. Then George Richardson, an executor of the Marshall Field estate, purchased the building in 1941 renaming it The Inn at Rancho Santa Fe. He hired a Pasadena architect to create a master plan for the property and built two guest cottages on the lawns facing the village.

The Inn became an important social gathering place, with movie stars such as Errol Flynn, Bette Davis and Jimmy Stewart visiting from time to time. After 1946 the owners added another new guest cottage almost every year and in 1954 built the Meeting House. The Inn became known throughout the country due to listings in "Distinguished Hotels of America" and "Country Inns of America." The Royce family has owned The Inn since about 1958.