The Villa Del Sol from “Rosewood”

The Baader-Meinhof Phenomenon is a term used to describe the experience of coming across an obscure word, thing, or piece of information for the first time and then subsequently happening upon references to that same word, thing, or piece of information on a regular basis.  I had never heard of it until fellow stalker/guest poster extraordinaire Michael (you can read the many articles he has written for IAMNOTASTALKER here) mentioned it to me while discussing Haskell’s Ice Cream Hut from The Brady Bunch, a locale he tracked down back in 2014 that he has since seen pop up in several other productions.  We have encountered so many instances of Baader-Meinhof lately that Michael recently suggested we rename the phenomenon after the two of us in regard to filming locations.  Case in point – while watching the Season 2 episode of Rosewood titled “Half-Life and Havana Nights” in early December, I became a bit fixated with the supposed “Cuba” courtyard where Dr. Beaumont Rosewood, Jr. (Morris Chestnut) and Detective Annalise Villa (Jaina Lee Ortiz) interrogated a suspect.  After a bit of research, I discovered that the courtyard was part of a historic building known as The Villa Del Sol in Fullerton.  I had never heard of the place, but quickly added it to my To-Stalk List.  Well, not 48 hours later, I was poring over the December issue of Westways magazine and was shocked to see The Villa Del Sol featured in a Local Outings blurb.   The article made me even more obsessed with seeing the site in person, so when I found out that my dad had a doctor’s appointment in Orange County last week, I informed the Grim Cheaper that we would be tagging along in order to do some Rosewood stalking.

The Villa Del Sol was originally built as a luxury lodging known as the California Hotel.  Construction on the three-story property took place from January 1922 to January 1923.

The Spanish Colonial-style hotel was designed by architects Frank Benchley and Morien Eugene Durfee.

At its inception, California Hotel consisted of ground-level shops, 22 suites, 55 single rooms, and a courtyard that opened to what was then Spadra Road (today it’s Harbor Boulevard).  You can see some photographs of what the picturesque site looked like during its early days here and here.

In 1964, the hotel underwent a renovation, was expanded, transformed into a commercial building, and re-named The Villa Del Sol.  During the remodel much of the structure’s Spanish Revival detailing was removed.  The building’s courtyard was also closed off from the street, creating a peaceful little oasis shaded by tall palm trees.

In 1992, the property was remodeled once again after being purchased by Dunlap Real Estate Investments.  The group revitalized the site, bringing back much of its original design.

Today, the marketplace houses restaurants, boutiques, and office space.  One of the eateries, The Cellar, is not only reportedly haunted, but was designed by the same people who were responsible for The Pirates of the Caribbean ride at Disneyland!  Sadly, it was closed when we were there, but it’s on my list for a re-stalk.

The Villa Del Sol is absolutely idyllic.  It comes as no surprise that the quaint site is one of the O.C.’s most popular wedding venues.  What is rather surprising is that, outside of Rosewood, I could find no other instance of filming on the premises.

In “Half-Life and Havana Nights,” Rosewood and Villa head to Cuba to get information from a fake I.D. maker named Lorenzo ‘Lo Down’ Veras (Roberto Sanchez).

They wind up encountering him in The Villa Del Sol’s courtyard, which masked as a busy Cuban marketplace.

In the scene, Lo Down was holding court in the southern section of the courtyard, near the entrance to Green Bliss cafe.

The Villa Del Sol’s second floor also appeared in the episode, portraying the Cuban apartment building where Michelle Kelly (Joy Brunson)  lived.

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Until next time, Happy Stalking!

Stalk It: The Villa Del Sol, from the “Half-Life and Havana Nights” episode of Rosewood, is located at 305 North Harbor Boulevard in Fullerton.

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