The Agua Caliente Casino and Hotel was a resort that operated from 1928 to 1935. Although the casino and hotel were closed, the racetrack continued to operate for many years. The original grandstand structure was destroyed by fire in 1971, but was rebuilt and continues to operate today as the Agua Caliente Racetrack and Casino, a branch of the Casino Caliente chain.
History
The vast and spectacular resort opened on June 22, 1928, outside the Mexican city of Tijuana in Baja California, in what is now the Agua Caliente neighborhood. It was designed by the prominent North American architect Wayne McAllister, who was just 19 years old at the time.[1] Stylistically, it was a blend of Mexican colonial and California mission styles, with significant neo-Moorish elements.
Gambling and horse racing were illegal in neighboring California. And alcohol was illegal throughout the US, due to Prohibition. So, many wealthy Americans and Hollywood celebrities flocked to Agua Caliente, which was just 18 miles south of San Diego International Airport.[2] Clark Gable, Jean Harlow, Louis B. Mayer, the Marx Brothers, Marlene Dietrich, Bing Crosby, Charlie Chaplin, Gloria Swanson, and the boxer Jack Dempsey were among the regular visitors.