Hotel del Coronado debuts Marilyn Monroe exhibit for her 100th birthday
Monday would have been Marilyn Monroe’s 100th birthday, and the Hotel del Coronado, which served as a backdrop for one of her most well-known films, is memorializing the iconic actress with a new limited-time exhibit and audio tour.
Running May 30 through July 31, “Marilyn Monroe: The Defining Roles,” examines Monroe’s film career, and features the work of photojournalist Lawrence Schiller. The photographer, who also photographed the likes of Paul Newman, Lee Harvey Oswald, Muhammad Ali and Barbra Streisand, grew up in La Jolla and Pacific Beach and attended La Jolla High School.
At a visit to the exhibit Friday, Schiller explained that, while he took the photos on display at the exhibit, Monroe’s own expertise and artistic vision factored into how she was captured on film.
“She was a very smart, calculated businesswoman,” Schiller, now 90 years old, said. “Marilyn knew exactly what to do.”
Featured photos by Schiller are from the set of “Something’s Got to Give,” a film that was never released, as well as the set of “Let’s Make Love” and other parts of her life, including her funeral.
The exhibit also features archival material and footage from the filming of “Some Like It Hot,” which took place at the Hotel del Coronado in 1958. The film features many exterior scenes outside the hotel, as well as on the adjacent beach, though indoor scenes in the movie were filmed elsewhere.
"I still get people today that will come into the museum and say, ‘Can you show me exactly where on the beach she stood?’" Gina Petrone, the property's heritage manager, said in a interview with The San Diego Union-Tribune earlier this year. "There's still this fascination.”
Among the displayed artifacts are some from Coronado resident Sandy Barkhurst, who was one of the many spectators who converged on the hotel to try to get a glimpse of Monroe during “Some Like It Hot,” and was able to get an autograph. Visitors can also see photos taken by her father, Millard “Duck” Snyder, which give a behind-the-scenes look at Monroe’s time on set. It also includes a rate card from the time that cast and crew were on location at the hotel - $24 to $28 per night for a single room with an ocean view.
As part of the festivities marking the 100th anniversary of Monroe’s birth, guests can also take a self-guided audio tour, “Marilyn: On Location,” which takes visitors to filming locations on the property. It takes participants - who will need to scan a QR code and bring their own smartphone and headphones - to areas such as the north entrance and garden patio and shares details about the film.
There is also a new Monroe mural by artist Jason Gaillard at the pool area of the resort and fans of Monroe can order “An Icon’s Chilled Souffle” from the hotel’s restaurant Veranda, which replicates the dessert she ordered while on location filming at the hotel.
The exhibit can be found in the Ice House Museum on the front side of the hotel. Reservations for time slots to visit “Marilyn Monroe: The Defining Roles” can be made at hoteldel.com/experience/marilyn-exhibit.
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This story was originally published May 30, 2026 at 11:38 AM.