Rancho Santa Fe, San Diego in Focus

 

An Early Destination for Old Hollywood

Rancho Sante Fe, a beautiful and insular ranching community located near the city of Solana Beach in the northern part of San Diego County just twenty miles north of downtown San Diego and only four miles inland of the Pacific Ocean, is a quiet luxury ranch community with a lot of Old Hollywood history and connections.
The Spanish village-inspired community of Rancho Sante Fe was designed by one of the very first women to graduate from the University of California with a degree in architecture, Lilian Rice. And Rancho Sante Fe quickly became popular with glamorous Hollywood film stars of old, including Bing Crosby, Bette Davis and Errol Flyn. The site of Bing Crosby’s former estate is now a luxury home development known as “The Crosby Estates.”
The Inn at Rancho Sante Fe was the very first building in Rancho Sante Fe built by Lilian Rice, and was the hot spot where celebrities gathered. Built in 1922, it originally had twelve rooms. Now, only guests of this exlusive and historic inn, as well as Rancho Sante Fe residents, are able to gather at the Rancho Sante Fe golf course. It’s considered one of the most challenging and best golf courses in Southern California, and was formerly the home of Bing Crosby’s Bing Crosby Pan-Am. Crosby also used to hold annual clambakes on the Rancho Sante Fe golf course.

A Affluent, Family-Oriented Community

Primarily a residential community, the exclusive Rancho Sante Fe is cited as having the sixth most expensive zip code in the United States, and for very good reason. Rancho Sante Fe’s beautiful lush hills and valleys are covered with eucalyptus trees and dotted with mansions and luxury homes on every roadway. But it’s also a family-oriented community and there are many trails that extend through those verdant hills and valleys, and seeing families riding horses together over these trails is a common sight.
The population in Rancho Sante Fe really took off in the time between World War I and World War II, becoming a popular destination with the building of the Del Mar Racetrack, a natural attraction for both Hollywood celebrities and the wealthy.

Downtown Santa Fe area

Today, the downtown area of Rancho Sante Fe is home to many financial firm offices, high end shops and small boutiques for shopping, and several fine restaurants. The Spanish village inspiration that Lilian Rice used in designing the town is evident in the beautiful Spanish names of the streets that border the downtown area, the intersections of Linea del Cielo/Paseo Delicias and La Granada/Via de Santa Fe.
The downtown area of Rancho Sante Fe is also home to a library and one of the schools in the excellent Rancho Sante Fe school district.
This is because education is also very important in the quiet Rancho Sante Fe. Within the community at large, there are several excellent private and public schools that cater to the many families that live in the community in both the Rancho Sante Fe school district, and the nearby Solana Beach school district.
For more information on luxury Rancho Santa Fe Homes and Estates, contact Lucy Kelts for a no-pressure real estate consultation.

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