Massive oak doors greeted visitors to the Alcazar Hotel in the fall of 1965. I took a deep breath and pushed my way into the two-story Moorish lobby with a giant tiled fountain at its center. In the 1920’s, the Alcazar had been an elegant hotel, but now it was a genteel residence for the elderly. Ladies chatted over tea beside a baronial fireplace crackling with a real fire, even though it was still September. I made my way across the echoing floor to the reception desk.