The hot springs around which the Agua Caliente Tourist Complex grew was a well known location and prior to major development, was the site of small hotels and cabins. With the development of the casino and resort in 1928, Agua Caliente developed as a premier tourist attraction that drew the likes of
Charles Chaplin,
Rita Hayworth, and
Laurel and Hardy. The resort was designed in a Mexican and Californian colonial style, fitted with gardens, its own airstrip, bungalows, minarets, baths, and the casino and hotel itself. The Agua Caliente Club was a golf course adjacent to the city that later became the
Tijuana Country Club. In 1930 the golf course had its first
PGA Tour event at the
Agua Caliente Open, won by
Gene Sarazen. The Agua Caliente Racetrack was constructed one year later in 1929 and was the site of the
Agua Caliente Handicap. The race attracted wealthy
Southern Californians and was the richest race in
North America. In 1935, then Mexican President
Lázaro Cárdenas outlawed gambling and the resort was closed. The resort was converted into a technical school and the site gradually fell into a state of disrepair as the resort furnishings were stripped away. Though the race track continued to operate, gambling was not legalized until 1938. In 1971 the original structure of the racetrack was destroyed in a fire. It was later repaired and continues operation today, though horse racing has been replaced with
Greyhound Racing, as the Racetrack of Agua Caliente ().
Plaza Aguacaliente & Grand Hotel Tijuana are a set of twin towers built adjacent to the Tijuana Country Club, constructed in 1982. It was the first major complex built in Agua Caliente after the original Tourist Complex. The early 2000s saw the establishment of
Estadio Caliente on the grounds of the racetrack, though the stadium does not interfere with races. The development of the stadium brought
Club Tijuana to the city, its first professional
soccer team. ==Agua Caliente today==