THE OARD AND

...,,�TTEN Newsletter of the Pacific Grove Heritage Society

December 2000 I January 2001

1l1e second bath lwuse at Lovers Point, built in 1882 by the Patjfic Improvement Company. Please see inside for more on all the different bath

lwuses that existed at Lovers Point over the yews.

Calendar of Events

March 14, 2001: Victorian Dinner at Old Bath House

April 7,8 2001: 44th Annual Good Old Days

July 24-28,2001: Feast of Lanterns

October 2001: Annual Historic Home Tour

The Bath Houses At Lovers Point

According to Lucy McLane's "A Piney Paradise", the first bath house in Pa­cific Grove was a little brown frame shack built in 1875 on Lovers Point where the Japanese Tea Garden later stood. The Tea Garden can be seen at the far right of the photo on page 6. It had a huge tank into which salt water was pumped for tub baths for visitors. It was described as "cramped, cold and decidedly inade­quate."

In 1882, the Paci fie Improvement Company built a new bath house at Lovers Point. It had 22 dressing rooms and eight private salt water baths. Please see cover photo. The Hand Book of Monterey, published at the time, described the bath house as 60 x 24 feet, and "conveniently placed in a small ravine on the verge of a beautiful little bay, whose sandy floor rivals in whiteness the marble of the Romans' bath." Within a few years, it had deteriorated to the point of be­ing ridiculed often in the local paper. In 1885, the Del Monte Wave reported on the bath house: "The arrangement called by that name at present is a disgrace to the city, a disgrace to the owners and a standing opportunity for Peeping Toms." Finally, in 1893, a third bath house was built.

Mrs. N. R. Sprague wrote the following in a letter to the Pacific Grove Tribune in 1944. "In 1893 my father, Mr. J.L. Birks, leased the land from the P.I. Com­pany, and erected a frame building with some sixty rooms for dressing rooms for surf bathers and for hot tub baths, with a big covered promenade with seats for people to sit and rest after bathing. He had both a wind mill and a gasoline en­gine to pump the water from the bay to the tanks which were heated by a furnace for the tub baths. He furnished bathing suits, towels, and even stockings for the women swimmers. He had a raft for swimmers to swim to and dive from; also a life line from a large rock on the beach to a rock that is still at the end of the pier. He also kept open on week-end through the winter months." Please see the photo of this bath house on the next page. In addition to the small sign indicating "Hot Salt Water Baths 25 cents", other advertising adorns the large sign as well as the front of the building. Also notice the life line on the rocks.

This bath house also quickly deteriorated, not surprising considering its use, the rather flimsy construction and its location on the rocks. By the early 1900s, it was little more than a shack on the rocks being used as a dressing room .

However, in 1904 things improved dramatically. It was then that a Mr. William F. Smith actually purchased the land from the Pacific Improvement Company and created the beach as we know it today. He blasted out all the rocks seen in the photo and created a much larger sandy beach. He also built the piers that are still there today to make the water calmer and safer for swimming. He took a somewhat sheltered, but very rocky cove, and tried to build a bathing resort. He saw the possibilities of the beach as a recreational resort.

2

Pat Hathaway California Views

3

Bath Houses

(Continued)

In 1904, Mr. Smith built the fourth bath house at Lovers Point. Please see the photo on page 6. The bath house contained dressing rooms and salt water tubs. He built two pools, one for adults, another for children, with heated salt water, o]ass enclosed. On either side of the pools, but not connected to them, was a 14 foot gallery, about 120 feet long, and beneath were additional dressing rooms. To oet to the beach one went down stairs beneath the gallery. At the 17th street enct°of this building was a concert hall, and a bowling alley, then called a "hard ball" room. The 1914 Sanborn map calls it a "Box Ball Court". At the other end of the galleries was a restaurant. It turned out to be such a grand project, that he was from that point on known as "Bathhouse" Smith.

In his desire to make Lovers Point into a recreational resort, Smith was instru­mental in building the Japanese Tea Garden, an auditorium for dances and con­certs, a photo booth and a merry-go- round. However, this only serv�d to _keep him in "hot water" with the local authorities who frowned on such th111gs 111 our Christian Seaside Retreat. The "blue laws" forbade him from operating on Sun­days and the weather and lack of business dictated that he only be open from June through September. He finally tired of this in 19 10 and sold the property and business to Dr. Claredon Foster. "Bathhouse" Smith left Pacific Grove to travel the world and did not return until 1944 when he retired here. He died in a local rest home in 1947.

Dr. Foster ran the business without incident until he moved to Sacramento in 19 18. He then sold the land and bath house to Mrs. Mattie McDougall. At this time, the City of Pacific Grove was actively acquiring all the property on the ocean side of Ocean View Blvd. By the late 1920s, the only privately held land at Lovers Point was occupied by the bath house, now owned by Mrs. McDou-. gall. The bath house building became an eyeso�e and was condemn�d by the city in 1932. This angered Mrs. McDougall who bmlt a gate and locked 1t, effec­tively denying public access to Lovers Point and the beach. Long time readers of the Board and Batten will recall that Julia Platt took her axe to the fence and gate and restored public access. Following two years of litigation, an agreement was reached on May 18, 1934 and the city of Pacific Grove purchased the bath house and land at Lovers Point. Within two months, all buildings, including the bath house were removed from Lovers Point. July 1934 marked the first time since 1875 'that there was not a bath house, nor dressing rooms, at Lovers Point. It appears there were no structures on Lovers Point for the next 15 years.

At this point you may be wondering where the existing Old Bath House Res_tau­rant came from. In 1949, the city built a municipal bath house on Lovers Po111t on the former site of the large auditorium, which can be seen in the center of the photo on page 6. At the same time, the little snack bar was_ built close to where the original bath houses were located. The snack bar remams unchanged today, but the bath house has changed considerably since 1949. On Saturday, July 9, 1949, the new $60,000 municipal bath house was formally opened by Mayor Chapman along with the architect Robert Jones and the contractor Fred Stolte. The building featured a fountain-lunch counter restaurant operated by Charles Bremer and his partner Maynard Monette on the top deck of the bath house. A

4

contest, open to children only, was held to name the new eatery. Maur�en Sinns, 15, of 226 3rd street, won the $25 top prize by submitting "The Bay View Roof Garden". An ad in the July 29, 1949 Tribune proclaimed: Enjoy the Bay View Roof Garden atop Pacific Grove's beautiful new Bath House. For your eating pleasure: Fish and Chips (They're Good, too!), Hamburgers and Sandwiches. Complete Fountain Service.

The Bay View part of the name didn't seem to stick and the place ;1as _al.ways re­ferred to as the Roof Garden Restaurant. For a time Rozsi & Leon s Dmmg Room occupied the space as seen in the postcard on page 9. It closed sometime in the late I 950s.

In I 959/60, Sal Lucido took over the place and remodeled it, enclosing the out­door eatino area and introducing fine dining. He named it Slats Roof Garden Restauranf (Specializing in Sea Food, Steaks, and Chicken). Ma�y people re­member Slats with its distinctive sign on top, which can be seen 111 the photo on page 7. Slats was a favorite among locals and visitors alike until 1975.

Recently, Mr. Lucido recalled that his establishment had the first liquor license in Pacific Grove. And it wasn't easy. Although voters had approved the sale and servino of liquor in Pacific Grove in 1969, a few residents went to court to pre­vent h�rd liquor from being served. Mr. Lucido had to go all the way to the State Supreme Court for the right to use his license. Finally, on October 3, 1970, Mr. Lucido served the first legal drink of hard liquor ever in Pacific Grove. The cus­tomer for that first drink was Mayor Earl Grafton. Slats had become the first cocktail lounge in the city. The first restaurant with a beer and wine license was across the street at the Lovers Point Inn, now the Tinnery.

In 1975, David Bindel took over operation of the restaura_nt on top of the Bath House. He remodeled the building, inside and out, extensively and named the restaurant The Old Bath House, which it remains today. It has become one of the premier restaurants in Pacific Grove for fine dining.

As for the downstairs bath house portion of the building, it is still there. Mr. Bindel has leased a few rooms for his own use in support of his restaurant. Changing rooms and showers are still used for swimn:iing events .. The plumbing necessary for the plunges is still there. Recent discuss10n ab�ut d1�ers and others using the showers is on hold as the antiquated pipes clog easily with sand.

If you want to learn more about the restaurants above the most recent bath house, please visit the Barn to see Kayla Consiglio's display �ailed "Pacific Grove: The End Of A Dry Era." It features photos of Mr. Lucido, Mayor Grafton and the restaurants mentioned.

5

Ol

"l

"Cl

� ::r: Pl

&

j ()

� { s 2. Pl

::;

� 11te above plwto, cirea 1906-14, shows the buildings atI.ooers Point. From the left is the restawnnt, the bathhouse, three elevated

water tanks, the auditmium, plwto stand, "Bathhouse" Smith's 1wuse and the Japanese Toa Garden.

"Cl ::r 0

s

i � "Cl

� ::r: Pl ..... ::r

� �

11te above plwto was taken by Pat Hathaway in 1971 from the same vantage point as the plwto at the top. Notice the many trees where buildings used to siL Also rwtice the Slats sign above the bath lwuse.

Down The Piney Path: News From Old Pacific Grove

From the Pacific Grove REVIEW: April 1898

+ by E. C. Davis

+ James H. Meyers has lately returned from his mines in Calaveras County

for the purpose of refitting his bathing houses on Arena Gordo beach in New Monterey.

+ Cornelius Culp returned Wednesday from San Felipe where he has been visiting his parents and overseeing the Culp Bros. tobacco plantation. He reports the crop (30 acres) in very flourishing condition.

+ Dr. John Hadsel has returned to the Grove after an absence of 18 months and is preparing his cottages upon Laurel and Fountain avenues for the

renting season. He has recently bonded his mines, the richest in

Calaveras County, for a princely figure.

+ Mrs. B.L. Hollenbeck, one of our most patriotic ladies, has volunteered to

raise by subscription funds sufficient to purchase a silk flag for our Naval

Reserve.

+ B.A. Eardley spent Monday at Salinas attending to the P.I. Company's

taxes.

+ B.V. won the wheel that was up for raffle, and now he declares he'll take

no more chances on wheels. It is a wheel all right, but that is all it is, it

being the front wheel and handle bars of some old bike of by-gone days.

+ Ice delivered to any part of pacific Grove and Monterey. J.H. Meyers,

Agent.

+ Towle and Holman have added to their large establishment an immense

curved plate showcase, or rather, four of them which are attractions in

themselves. Mr. Towle is the artisan to whom belongs the glory, we

believe.

+ For Sale: The Gomez Ranch, comprising 32 acres, adjoining Pacific

Grove. Good house, stables, windmill, plenty of water, and modem

improvements. Cheap for cash. Apply to F.N. Gomez.

+ "My house is rented and I am happy. Will Wright rented it for me and he

keeps things square, too."

+ The jail (Hotel St Lee) and pound are nearly completed. In response to a

question as to its power of resistance, Abe Lee, who took the contract,

says he will vouch for its strength.

+ Mr. Canfield, the painter, has finished painting and varnishing a

three-seated rig, which looks quite pretty, especially the bronze striping

which is an imported article and is the very latest.

8

Others Saw Us Through Postcards

9

Ken's Comer

(Pl ease note that the following is written by Ken Hin shaw. He c a n be reached at khin­sha2@aol.com. He welcomes your comments.)

Historic Resources Committee Disaster Averted: The City Council on January 3, 200 I considered the proposal to do away with the Historic Resources Commit­tee that oversees additions and deletions to the inventory of historic houses as well as demolitions and relocations. The new City Manager, Ross Hubbard, had been asked to come up with ways to make the processing of remodeling applica­tions more efficient. The Council decided that although the process is awkward, the problems could probably be ironed out by an ad hoc committee that will make recommendations in three months. Some on the Council would like to give the HRC more latitude in influencing what is constructed on an empty lot when an historic structure is demolished. In the past it had been verboten for the committee to look at the whole project, which has frustrated many committee members. The HRC itself expressed the wish that it take on the design review of historic buildings, although there did not seem to be any Council support for this. Several Councilmembers felt that design review should be done by one body (the ARB) for consistency, and not divided between two Boards. The com­mittee members argued that the State Office of Historic Preservation has found that by far the majority of cities with preservation programs have a separate board that rules on design review for historic structures. About a dozen people spoke in favor of keeping the committee arguing that the Planning Commission already has full agendas and could not take on more work. Other speakers pointed out that our historic homes are our most important resource and the HRC was established only after nine months of discussion. The Council's deci­sion seemed to satisfy those past and present member HRC members in the audi­ence, as well as those concerned with streamlining the planning process.

What Not To Do When Remodeling: If you are considering remodeling or add­ing on to your historic home, the first step, even before checking your bank ac­count balance, is to identify the style of your house. Failing to do this can bring grief to homeowners and architects trying to get their plans approved by the Ar­chitectural Review Board. This happened to a recent project whose approval has been needlessly drawn out. The home in question is located on Chestnut and owned by a nice young family desperately in need of more space. The Crafts­man cottage, with its hip roof, exposed rafter tails, shiplap siding and six-over­one windows was misidentified as a Victorian. The plans developed by the architect would have been quite appropriate for many of our smaller Victorian cottages, but had little to do with preserving the Craftsman's origin. By the time the plans were presented to the ARB, much energy and money had gone into fine tuning the ideas; the architect and homeowners were committed to the "new" house with its impressive gable, fishscale shingles and overall Victorian feel. Most projects presented to the ARB are unanimously passed with positive comments. This proposal was unanimously turned own, appealed and turned down unanimously by the Planning Commission. If you are in doubt about the style of your home, or want to learn how to identify the defining elements of your home, help is at hand. The Planning Department, at Laurel and 16th, has a

10

pamphlet that pairs arch_it_ectural elements (doors, window type, etc.) with the ar­chitectural styles m Pac1f1c Grove. �tart your project on the right path and avoid needless expense, delay and frustration.

Resource Guide Correction: Apologies to Linda Nicols at Coldwell Banker for misspelling her name in the latest issue of the Historic Home Resource Guide.

Thanks Christie

We would like to thank past president Christie (Martine) Miller for her steadfast support of and leadership in preservation issues while serving on our City Coun­cil the past few years.

Victorian Dinner

Please mark Wednesday evening, March 14th, on your calendar for our second Victorian Dinner fund raiser. It will be held at the Old Bath House and featured wines will be Pavano and Baywood Cellers. The cost will be $75.00 each for members and $85.00 each for non- members. You will receive additional infor­mation in the mail. If you can't wait, please send your check to the Heritaoe So-ciety at P.O. Box 1007 in PG 93950.

0

New Members

Mr. & Mrs. Heller-Gilhooley John & Mary Hickey Marilyn Schultz Jeff Becom

Sandra Chadbourne Joan Carpenter Pamela O'Brien *

Share The Heritage With A Friend Annual Family Membership $10.00

Members receive The Boord and Batten newsletter of the Heritage Society of Pacific Grove.

Name:

Address: ���������������������

City:

State,Zi2: � ��������������������

Phone:

$ Please return to The Pacific Grove Heritage Society Box 1007 •:• Pacific Grove, CA 93950 •:• Telephone 372-2898

11

The Heritage Society of Pacific Grove

P.O. Box 1007 Pacific Grove, CA 93950

Board of Directors

President: Vice-President: Secretary: Treasurer:

Jean Anton Darlene Billstrom Sonia Cook Ken Hinshaw Lisa Nickerson Beverly Wallace

Bobbie Hall Paul Finnegan Carrol Patterson Don Beals

Marilyn Arioto John Billstrom Chris Haubert Pete Houser Muriel Pyburn Adam Weiland

The Board and Batton Staff

Adam Weiland Colin Gough Typesetting courtesy ofVISCOM

The Barn

Laurel & 17th (831) 372-2898 Hours: Saturday, 1-4 p.m. ,noffliiiu

snitv

C�nkff.fflR(J! "Turning Up the Volume on Volunteerism11

Internet: www.communitylinks.net Toll Freec;�Phone: 1-888-21-LINKS

Nonprofit Org. U.S. POSTAGE

PAID Permit No. 30

Pacific Grove,

CA 93950