California's last surviving Victorian-era seaside resort, this landmark structure of white wood and red shingles, sweeping balconies and graceful spires, rises beside Coronado's southern shore. Financed by Coronado founders Elisha Babcock Jr. and his friend Hampton Story, it was begun in January 1887 and opened before the year was out. Thomas Edison reportedly supervised the installation of the electrical lighting system.Over the years, the Del has hosted at least 14 US presidents and numerous celebrities and is said to have inspired Coronado resident L. Frank Baum's vision of the Emerald City in The Wizard of Oz. The hotel was long a favored location for Hollywood filmmakers, appearing most notably in Billy Wilder's 1958 comedy Some Like It Hot, starring Jack Lemmon, Tony Curtis and Marilyn Monroe.Today the opulent, English-style, two-story grand lobby is richly finished in Illinois oak. The vast main dining room, the Crown Room, boasts walls and ceiling of Oregon sugar pine held together with wooden pegs; the whimsical, crown-shaped chandeliers were designed by L. Frank Baum. From the end of the palm-shaded Garden Patio, the History Gallery, a hallway lined with historical exhibits, leads to ocean-view public terraces and decks.