Veteran Hollywood actor Clint Eastwood has revealed that he purchased the Mission Ranch Hotel in his adopted Carmel, California because he couldn't stand the thought of the place where he first drank a beer legally becoming an apartment block.

The movie icon took charge of the historic coastal building in the late 1980s and admits the decision was rooted in nostalgia, not business.

"I used to come here when I was in the army, back in 1951 or 1952," the Daily Star quoted saying in an interview with the Los Angeles Times.

"I think I had my first legal beer here when I was 21. It was a funky joint. Anyway they were going to tear it all down, take it all out and put in condos.

"I thought, 'Well, nah, we can't let that happen.' It didn't seem right to me," he added. (ANI)