A Tearful Reaction to ‘Dear Del’

I don’t often get teary-eyed about an article--also I certainly just never write to a newspaper to express my opinion--but that magnificent article about “Dear Del,” I think, is what the world needs--to realize the fantastic accomplishments of the past (“A Dowager Hotel Undergoes Perpetual Beauty Treatment” by Paul Dean, Jan 28). This world was not built between 1930 and 1984--we are such a small part of architectural, literary, and various other accomplishments.

You are absolutely right--the Duke of Windsor did meet Wallis Simpson there--I was a very small child and happened to be staying there at the time with friends. I understand everything you say about our dear Del, but I think, besides my thoughts expressed above, the main reason I wanted to write is that you did not mention the ultramagnificent Mt. Washington Hotel in New Hampshire. It roams over acres and acres of green, rolling, grassy hills (which we in California don’t know anything about). As I remember, it was built in about 1902, and they have preserved the magnificence of those marvelous fixtures you talk about.

It was there that the international financial bigwigs gathered from all over the world in 1945 to set the price of gold at $35 per ounce. That hotel is closed from Oct. 15 until May, because they have never figured out a way to heat it all. It is a one-of-a-kind monument to man’s ability to build. When you think of gorgeous places to be blessed with early 1900s courtesy and surroundings, think of The Del and the Mt. Washington Hotel.

PATRICIA NEWING

Joshua Tree