The primary time Jon Blanchard visited Santa Monica’s The Georgian Lodge, some 13 years in the past, he was immediately struck. “I’ll always remember it,” he says of that second. “It hit me like a bolt of lightning and I simply knew. I believed, ‘someday, I need to personal this place.’”

It’s straightforward to see why. With its vivid turquoise exterior, striped awnings, and quirky Artwork Deco structure, the constructing appears to be like like one thing straight out of a Wes Anderson movie. Positioned only a few blocks north of the long-lasting Santa Monica Pier, it presides over the bustling waterfront like a pastel beacon, begging to be admired. However up till very lately, there wasn’t a lot cause to really enterprise inside. After a collection of homeowners and a stint as a retirement house, the inside had misplaced a lot of its unique appeal.

Which was a disgrace. As a result of when The Georgian first opened in 1933, it was thought-about Southern California’s crown jewel. Locals known as it the “First Girl”: nodding to its towering eight-story peak, elegant aesthetic, and its popularity for internet hosting notable (and sometimes infamous) visitors. Clark Gable, Charlie Chaplin, and Marilyn Monroe had been regulars, as had been Bugsy Siegel and Al Capone. Very similar to the Chateau Marmont on the Sundown Strip, it was the place to see and be seen, besides outdoors the entrance door, there have been rolling waves, golden sand, and mountain views.