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OKay, VT people...who can tell me what used to be on the land where Charles is now located (is Charles still there?)? Also, is there a way to search this Yahoo group?? I made myself crazy trying to find a way to see if this question had already been addressed???? Help me, Please? Valerie
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It used to be the Ponds mansion.
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The entire site with Cypress Drive, was the POND Family estate. ?Pond's cream ?. Sent from
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From "The Mountain Oyster Club" website:
The
El Dorado Guest Lodge promoted its self as a place ¡°...where breathless
scenery, age-old traditions and the pleasures of today combine...¡±?????? It later became the Palm Court Restaurant? before being purchased by Charles Kerr, former maitre d¡¯ of the Tack Room Restaurant and opening as Charles Restaurant in 1979.? Charles
attempted to return the mansion to its original English manor style
with slate floors, wonderful fireplaces and a beautiful beamed ceiling.? He was also responsible for the addition of a first class kitchen.? What had once been elegant guest rooms were now offices for various Tucson businesses.? In
1984, an additional 2 story office building was added to the northeast
side of the existing buildings, which copied the style and materials of
the original structures. ? ? Most
recently, for a period of about 2 years the original mansion housed a
French restaurant that went by the name of the original home, Stone
Ashley.
Hope this helps!
Catherine
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February 23, 1950 Tucson Citizen page 9, Stone Ashley Grounds Now House Luxurious El Dorado Lodge.? Nice photos too!
It was originally the home of Florence Pond, the daughter of a prominent Detroit lawyer with railroad connections.? It was designed by New York architect, Grosvenor Atterbury and built in 1934.? In 1947, Miss Pond sold it to El Dorado Lodge, which then became Charles Restaurant and so on.
Hope this is of interest!? There is also a book, The Architecture of Grosvenor Atterbury, that shows the original plan of the home if you're interested (you can see it on google books.)
I was lucky enough to eat in the members only area that belongs to the Mountain Oyster Club as I have an old friend who is a member.? The food and service was divine and the tour after was very cool.? If you get the chance, go.? I think most of the areas at least on the first floor are open.? The grounds have changed quite a bit over the years, but still a beautiful place.
Oh, and the movie A Kiss Before Dying, which shows a lot of great old Tucson places, had several scenes filmed both inside and outside.? Rent it or download, but expect it to take a long time to get through because you'll be stopping to pick out all the landmarks!? Good movie too, a little scary :)
Catherine
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There is a pretty complete history of the building on the Mountain Oyster Club's website:
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It was originally built around 1936?as a home for Miss Florence L. Pond, daughter of a distinguished lawyer in Detroit.? The building, called Stone Ashley, was planned by Grosvernor Atterbury, a well-known New York architect.? It was constructed of block and native fieldstone by the M. M. Sundt Construction Company for a price of $67,000.? The estate consisted of 318 acres that extended approximately one mile on Speedway and a half mile along Wilmot Rd.? Approximately 20 acres of beautifully landscaped grounds surrounded the 17 room residence, the rest was natural desert.? Miss Pond made Stone Ashley and the grounds available to servicemen and other groups in the area during WWII for concerts, other programs and swimming.???? In 1947, Miss Pond put the property up for sale with an asking price of $300,000 unfurnished, and eventually sold it for $200,000 including furnishings.? After approximately $400,000 in renovations by architect Bernard J. Friedman and the M. I. Poze Construction Company, which included the addition of a third floor to the main building and other building improvements, which would house up to 80 guests, it opened in 1949 as the El Dorado Lodge.?? Also added at that time, were tennis courts, a heater for the pool, putting greens, badminton courts, shuffleboard courts, horseshoe pitching facilities, an 18 hole golf course, horse stables, corrals and a residential community.
The El Dorado Guest Lodge promoted its self as a place ¡°...where breathless scenery, age-old traditions and the pleasures of today combine...¡±?????
It later became the Palm Court Restaurant? before being purchased by Charles Kerr, former maitre d¡¯ of the Tack Room Restaurant and opening as Charles Restaurant in 1979.? Charles attempted to return the mansion to its original English manor style with slate floors, wonderful fireplaces and a beautiful beamed ceiling.? He was also responsible for the addition of a first class kitchen.? What had once been elegant guest rooms were now offices for various Tucson businesses.? In 1984, an additional 2 story office building was added to the northeast side of the existing buildings, which copied the style and materials of the original structures.?
?
Most recently, for a period of about 2 years the original mansion housed a French restaurant that went by the name of the original home, Stone Ashley.
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Here is the history I found, it is now the Mountain Oyster Club. It has a cool history all its own.
CLUB HISTORY????? There are many colorful stories of how the Mountain Oyster Club came to be.? There is probably a thread of truth in most of them.? The
most common versions say that it was begun by a group of cowboys,
playboys, ranchers, polo players, race-horse types, and others whose
unacceptable behavior had gotten them thrown out of all of the
respectable establishments in Tucson.? Whether
the real reason for its¡¯ creation was to give ranchers and their wives a
place in town where they could feel at home in their boots and Levi¡¯s
and shoot out the lights without offending the rest of the membership or
some other less interesting purpose, we know it began in 1948.?????? A group of six men have been given the blame or credit as the case may be for creating a list of original invitees.? The club opened for business November 1, 1948, in the basement of the Santa Rita Hotel in downtown Tucson, a location deemed ¡°The Passion Pit.¡±? The club was relocated to the neighboring Pioneer Hotel in 1965.? The Mountain Oyster Club was forced to find a new location ten years later when the Pioneer Hotel ceased operations.? After
extensive renovations, in November of 1975, the club reopened in the
historical Jacome home, then owned by well know accountant and member,
C.T.R. Bates.? This mansion at the corner of Stone Ave. and Franklin became the home of the M. O. Club for the next 30 years.? In
2003, with another lease renewal looming, the club sought a place to
purchase, the investment of a permanent home for the Club.? Unable
to negotiate the purchase of the current facilities, the search began
for a new home; a historical building and ample parking were the top
priorities.? In January 2004, the Mountain Oyster Club moved out of downtown to its current location near Speedway and Wilmot on Tucson¡¯s East side.? The new facilities house the club and several commercial rental spaces.????? The new home of the Mountain Oyster Club has a long rich history of its own.? It was originally built as a home for Miss Florence L. Pond, daughter of a distinguished lawyer in Detroit.? The building, called Stone Ashley, was planned by Grosvernor Atterbury, a well-know New York Architect.? It was constructed of block and native fieldstone by the M. M. Sundt Construction Company for a price of $67,000.? The estate consisted of 318 acres that extended approximately one mile on Speedwayand a half mile along Wilmot.? Approximately 20 acres of beautifully landscaped grounds surrounded the 17 room residence, the rest was natural desert.? Miss
Pond made Stone Ashley and the grounds available to servicemen and
other groups in the area during WWII for concerts, other programs and
swimming.????? In
1947, Miss Pond put the property up for sale with an asking price of
$300,000 unfurnished, and eventually sold it for $200,000 including
furnishings.? After approximately $400,000 in renovations
by architect Bernard J. Friedman and the M. I. Poze Construction
Company, which included the addition of a third floor to the main
building and other building improvements, which would house up to 80
guests, it opened in 1949 as the El Dorado Lodge.?? Also
added at that time, were tennis courts, a heater for the pool, putting
greens, badminton courts, shuffleboard courts, horseshoe pitching
facilities, an 18 hole golf course, horse stables, corrals and a
residential community. The
El Dorado Guest Lodge promoted its self as a place ¡°...where breathless
scenery, age-old traditions and the pleasures of today combine...¡±?????? It later became the Palm Court Restaurant? before being purchased by Charles Kerr, former maitre d¡¯ of the Tack Room Restaurant and opening as Charles Restaurant in 1979.? Charles
attempted to return the mansion to its original English manor style
with slate floors, wonderful fireplaces and a beautiful beamed ceiling.? He was also responsible for the addition of a first class kitchen.? What had once been elegant guest rooms were now offices for various Tucson businesses.? In
1984, an additional 2 story office building was added to the northeast
side of the existing buildings, which copied the style and materials of
the original structures. ? ? Most
recently, for a period of about 2 years the original mansion housed a
French restaurant that went by the name of the original home, Stone
Ashley. ??While many changes have taken place over the years, much hasn¡¯t.? You
still enter the property by way of the tall Italian Cypress lined road
and the original paneled front door of the Pond mansion, believed to
have cost $1,500 in 1936.? A few of the fruit trees remain from what was a family citrus grove of grapefruit, sour orange and olive trees.? To
the right of the front entrance, the bath house with 2 dressing rooms
still remains although the pool has been replaced with a parking lot.? Many
of the decorative gardens, fountains and other exquisite touches that
made this estate one of the show places of the southwest can still be
found inside and out.? ????????
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Curious....what part of the building was Charles Restaurant?? I think the Mountain Oyster club only uses a portion of the building, I think the rest of it is offices.? I ate there with a member several years ago, thought it was just a restaurant for the club - was that Charles'?? Impeccable service and food!
Catherine
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