An Era Comes to a Close
Asilomar's summer camps were marked with songs and poems, and lists of young women wanting to return the next summer. However, Asilomar was unable to keep up with its expenses and had never been financially self-supporting. Despite the YWCA's desperate attempts to raise funds, it was after all, the Great Depression, and by 1933, the YWCA decided to end all funding to its conference facilities and hotels throughout the United States, and recommendations were made to close Asilomar.
On January 24, 1934, the National Board of the YWCA voted to close Asilomar. The property was offered for sale, but no one was interested in buying it. The YWCA® leaders in California formed the Asilomar Committee and maintained the empty grounds.
In 1936, brothers David and Paulsen Visel leased the property as a motel for four years. They had an option to buy, but declined as they were unable to raise the $100,000 necessary for the purchase. In 1940, the Visels vacated the property, and the National Youth Authority then used the grounds as a training camp, after which a nearby hotel used it for "overflow" guests, most of whom were families of servicemen stationed in the area.
In 1943, the YWCA opened the empty rooms as living quarters for World War II military families of Fort Ord and the Defense Language Institute. Two years later, the military families were moved out of Asilomar, and the YWCA again advertised the property for sale, but were unsuccessful at finding a buyer. In 1947 the YWCA Asilomar Committee began operating the grounds as a full-service conference facility, and in 1949, Roma Philbrook was appointed general manager. Business started to pick up, and Asilomar became a money-making venture.
Glory Days | The Stuck-Ups | The Pirates | End of an Era | Park Purchase