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29-560: The La Playa Hotel, dates to 1905 when artist Chris Jorgensen (1860–1935) built a two-story wood-framed, ell shaped stone mansion on the southwest corner of El Camino Real and 8th Avenue, in Carmel-by-the-Sea, California . The home was a gift to his wife, Angela Ghirardelli (1859–1936), heiress to the Ghirardelli Chocolate fortune. The original part of the building was a stone tower with a quatrefoil window, on

58-757: A Apple development team retreat at the La Playa hotel and unveiled the Macintosh computer prototype during the retreat. He christened the computer with a bottle of La Playa water. In 1992, the hotel became a member of the Historic Hotels of America and is currently one of nine hotels in California recognized by the National Trust for Historic Preservation for its architectural quality, historic character, and sensitive rehabilitation. The hotel

87-514: A general store in Hornitos, California , between 1856 and 1859, during a gold rush, where he perfected his chocolate recipes. The remains of the store can still be seen in town. A fire on May 3, 1851 , destroyed Ghirardelli's San Francisco business, and a few days later, his Stockton store also burned down. However, in September of the same year, Ghirardelli used his remaining assets to open

116-541: A more impressionistic technique and learned to intensify the colors in his works by coating them in a heavy glaze. At the end of his course at the School of Design in 1881, Williams appointed Jorgensen an instructor and the Assistant Director of the School. It was in this period that Jorgensen had the good fortune to fall in love with and marry one of his art students in 1888, Angela Ghirardelli , heiress to

145-542: Is an American confectioner , wholly owned by Swiss confectioner Lindt & Sprüngli . The company was founded by and is named after Italian chocolatier Domenico Ghirardelli , who, after working in South America, moved to California. The Ghirardelli Chocolate Company was incorporated in 1852, and is the third-oldest chocolate company in the US, after Baker's Chocolate and Whitman's . In 1817, Domenico Ghirardelli

174-625: The Emperor Norton ). As of 2024, they feature 11 different sundaes (World Famous Hot Fudge, Ocean Beach, Chocolate Lovers, Gold Rush, Mint Bliss, Strawberry Passion, Non-Dairy Hot Fudge, Cookie Crumble, Lands End, Golden Gate Banana Split, and Treasure Island). In 1963, Ghirardelli Chocolate Company was bought by the Golden Grain Macaroni Company, maker of Rice-A-Roni . Later, in 1986, Quaker Oats bought Golden Grain, and thus Ghirardelli. In 1992, Quaker Oats sold

203-598: The gold strike at Sutter's Mill and sailed to California. After doing some prospecting, Ghirardelli opened a general store in Stockton, California , offering supplies and confections to fellow miners. Ghirardelli's tent-based store was one of the first shops set up in the area. Several months later, Ghirardelli opened a second store on the corner of Broadway and Battery in San Francisco, which became, in 1850, his first establishment in that city. Ghirardelli had

232-464: The 1960s Ghirardelli has also moved to focus on a restaurant division by selling ice cream sundaes , complete with their famous hot fudge chocolate sauce. In one of their earliest menus from the 1960s they featured five " Nob Hill Sundaes" all named after different landmarks, historical aspects, or local figures from San Francisco ( Twin Peaks , Golden Gate Banana Split , Strike it Rich , The Rock , and

261-578: The Cairo Coffee House in San Francisco. This business venture proved unsuccessful, and Ghirardelli opened a new store, named Ghirardely & Girard, on the corner of Washington and Kearny Streets in San Francisco. Soon afterward, Ghirardelli was making enough money to send for his family, who were still living in Peru. He changed the company's name to D. Ghirardelli & Co. and, in 1852, imported 200 lb (91 kg) of cocoa beans. The company

290-554: The Ghirardelli Chocolate division to a private investment group. John J. Anton, from that group, became the president and CEO of the newly independent Ghirardelli Chocolate Company. In 1998, Lindt and Sprüngli , from Switzerland , acquired Ghirardelli Chocolate Company as a wholly owned subsidiary of its holding company. In 2015, an independent laboratory tested 127 chocolate products for lead and cadmium, and found that 96 of them contained lead and/or cadmium above

319-469: The Ghirardelli family. Jorgensen died on June 24, 1935, from a heart attack. His wife lived only several months after him. Jorgensen was an unusual artist in the sense that he often chose to paint in watercolor, a medium that was still viewed as inferior to oil painting at this time. However, Jorgensen was more successful in the medium of watercolor than in oil. His style of careful delineation in

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348-480: The Ghirardelli fortune. Influenced by the travels of Thomas Hill, Virgil Williams and Albert Bierstadt , Jorgensen decided to visit the famed Yosemite Valley in 1898. Two years later, the artist submitted an application to the Yosemite Commission for permission to construct a studio in the valley itself on July 12, 1900. The commission granted their permission for an initial four-year lease which

377-531: The Museum as a bequest from Angelina Jorgensen after her death. In 1905 the Jorgensens settled in Carmel-by-the-Sea, California , and built a mansion, which they used as a winter studio. He designed and built a two-story wood-framed, ell shaped stone mansion as a gift to his wife, Angela. The original part of the building had a 25-foot stone tower with a quatrefoil window, that was used as his art studio. It

406-578: The United States to control every aspect of its chocolate manufacturing process, rejecting up to 40% of the cocoa seeds shipped in order to select what the company calls the "highest quality" seeds. The company then roasts the cocoa seeds in-house by removing the outer shell on the seed and roasting the inside of the seed, or the nibs. The chocolate is then ground and refined until the particles are 19 micrometers (0.00075 in) in size. Ghirardelli produces several flavors of chocolate. The chocolate

435-630: The United States to reunite with her brother in San Francisco , California. Jorgensen met his future mentor Virgil Williams shortly before the San Francisco School of Design opened in February 1874. Williams, the director of this academy, spotted the young fourteen-year-old Jorgensen sketching near his residence in the city and invited him to be the first free student. Williams' influence over Jorgensen's budding artistic style

464-552: The company was importing 1,000 lb (450 kg) of cocoa seeds a year. By that time, the company not only sold chocolate, but also coffee and spices to the United States, China , Japan , and Mexico . In 1885, the company imported 450,000 lb (200,000 kg) of cocoa seeds. In 1892, Ghirardelli retired as head of the company and was replaced by his three sons. Two years later, on January 17, 1894, Ghirardelli died at age 77 in Rapallo, Italy. By 1900, Ghirardelli's company

493-624: The early work of stonemason Ben Turner. Chris Jorgensen Christian August Jorgensen (October 7, 1860 - June 24, 1935) was a Norwegian-born American landscape painter. Jorgensen is best known for his paintings of Yosemite Valley and the California Missions . Chris Jorgensen was born in Oslo, Norway in 1860, to parents Ole and Sophie Jorgensen. Ole Jorgensen died of tuberculosis in 1864, leaving his wife to care for Chris and his four older siblings. In 1870 Sophie immigrated to

522-664: The foreground and distinct foggy washes in the horizon appears charming in a transparent medium but more primitive in heavier oils. Watercolor also lent itself well to his habit of painting en plein air . During his career as an artist, Jorgensen was successfully received and made a tidy profit selling his paintings both in Yosemite and San Francisco. Early Works Selected Oil Paintings Selected Watercolor Paintings 37°44′55″N 119°35′17″W  /  37.7486°N 119.5880°W  / 37.7486; -119.5880 Ghirardelli The Ghirardelli Chocolate Company

551-542: The house's living room was described by the San Francisco Chronicle (February 17, 1901) as one of the “most unique and artistic studios on the coast” containing all manner of objects from skins and baskets to beer steins and water buffalo horns. Jorgensen and his wife Angela donated many Native American baskets to the Yosemite Museum between 1922 and 1929 and many of Jorgensen's works came to

580-585: The north-east side, designed by Jorgensen and built by master stonemason Ben Turner. The upper floor had a wood railing between the stone columns that supported a low-pitched hipped roof. The property had the first swimming pool in Carmel. The Godwin's rebuilt the hotel with Michael J. Murphy as the contractor in 1925. They added an additional 30-rooms to the south wing, steam heat and private baths. The original entrance and lobby were reconstructed. Fred Godwin went on to mayor of Carmel from 1946 to 1950. The hotel

609-425: The safety threshold defined by California's Proposition 65 . Based on these results, As You Sow filed notices with over 20 companies, including Ghirardelli and Trader Joe's , for failing to provide the legally required warning to consumers that their chocolate products contain cadmium, lead, or both. The suit was settled in 2018. According to their own website, Ghirardelli is one of the few chocolate companies in

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638-718: Was born in Rapallo , Italy , to an "exotic foods importer" and his wife. Domenico received his first education in the chocolate trade when he was apprenticed to a local candymaker as a child. By the time he was 20, Ghirardelli had sailed to Uruguay with his wife to work in a chocolate and coffee business. A year later, Ghirardelli moved to Lima , Peru , and opened a confectionery store. In 1847, nine years later, James Lick (Ghirardelli's neighbor) moved to San Francisco, California, with 600 lb (270 kg) of Ghirardelli's chocolate. Ghirardelli remained and continued to operate his store in Peru. In 1849, Ghirardelli received news of

667-633: Was designed by Jorgensen and built by master stonemason Ben Turner. The property had the first swimming pool in Carmel. The house still exists today as the La Playa Hotel on Camino Real and 8th Avenue. His Yosemite studio became the first museum in Yosemite Valley in 1922 although it was later dismantled. In 1917 when the Jorgensens left Yosemite, they decided to live permanently in Piedmont, California , in order to remain closer to

696-435: Was great. As Williams had been exposed to French and Italian methods of painting in his travels abroad, he emphasized the importance of regular exhibition to the young Jorgensen. Jorgensen's lifelong tendency towards classical compositions arose from Williams’ mentorship. Another influential mentor of Jorgensen's was Thomas Hill , a highly successful California artist during the late 19th century. From Hill, Jorgensen developed

725-462: Was incorporated in 1852 and has been in continuous operation since. The next year, in 1853, the business relocated to the corner of Jackson and Mason Streets. By 1855, a larger manufacturing facility was needed, and so the factory was moved to the corner of Greenwich and Powell Streets, while the office remained at the previous location. During this time, the company sold liquor, but dropped their line of alcoholic products sometime after 1871. By 1866,

754-454: Was purchased by Howard E. Allen in 1968 and underwent changes that included a full-time bar and sprinkler system. A full renovation of the hotel occurred in 1983–84, when the Cope family, owners of San Francisco's Huntington Hotel , purchased the hotel and completed a $ 5 million renovation, which included an upgrade and expansion to the surrounding gardens and landscaping. In 1983, Steve Jobs had

783-583: Was registered with the California Register of Historical Resources on September 21, 2002. It qualifies under the California Register criterion 1, in history as one of the earliest remaining artists’ studios in Carmel, and one of the most notable hotels in the history of Carmel. It is also significant under criterion 3, in the area of architecture as one of the few artist designed studio buildings remaining in Carmel, and an example of

812-404: Was repeatedly extended. Not only did the commission wish to promote Yosemite's beauty by having a popular artist in residence, but they also had the intention of eventually taking over use of the structure when Jorgensen's lease expired. Jorgensen constructed his home for a total of $ 5,000 and lived there during the summers and some winters from 1900 to 1917. At the time of the artist's occupation,

841-589: Was selling only chocolate and mustard, having sold its coffee and spices businesses. Further expansion over the years into different buildings allowed the company to expand into new markets and grow financially. In 1965, San Francisco declared Ghirardelli Square (where many of the Ghirardelli buildings were constructed) an official city landmark. Two years later, production facilities moved to San Leandro, California ( 37°42′40″N 122°08′42″W  /  37.711°N 122.145°W  / 37.711; -122.145  ( Ghirardelli Chocolate Factory ) ). Since

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