Category Archives: Weekly Articles

HISTORIC OCTAGON HALL OF RECORDS and OUR ORIGINAL COURT HOUSE (AFTER 1882). This beautiful stately two floor masterpiece was our first County Court House, built in 1867 and burned down in 1894. Next door and on the left was and … Continue reading →

MISS CALIFORNIA CONTESTANTS ATOP PALOMAR HOTEL. That’s Miss Tulare on the left and Miss Azusa on the right. Obviously it’s 6:14 p.m. and not so obviously it’s June 1963. Newcomers shopuld note that this was the original location of our … Continue reading →

DREAM INN BEING CONSTRUCTED. This was April 26, 1963. On the far left you can see the old Sisters Hospital which moved to the Branciforte Plaza on Soquel. The Dream Inn is often considered the local environmentalist’s biggest loss, and … Continue reading →

CABRILLO/CABRILHO COLLEGE. Circa 1962. Plenty of parking spaces here. According to Kevin Newhouse’s Aptos book…it was 1958 when the County voters voted to create a junior college. The location was a hassle then and it still is, being between Watsonville … Continue reading →

SANTA CRUZ BEACH & BOARDWALK 1940. By taking a closer look you can see the historic La Bahia Hotel in the lower left corner. You don’t need to look so hard to see the Historic Casa Del Rey Hotel that … Continue reading →

LA BAHIA…FORMERLY CASA DEL REY APARTMENTS. The La Bahia Apartments were originally designed as the luxury Casa Del Rey Apartments. Back in the Golden Age of Santa Cruz Tourism, before WWII, they were part of a sprawling tourist complex that … Continue reading →

BAY & HIGH STREETS BEFORE UCSC. 1957. On the left is the present UCSC Campus. That’s Meder Street coming straight down to the bottom center. If you squint you can see them building Highway One over the San Lorenzo at … Continue reading →

COOPER HOUSE aka. SANTA CRUZ COUNTY COURTHOUSE This magnificent structure stood at the corner of Pacific and Cooper Streets (now O’Neills). It became our Cooperhouse, a center of community and cultural attractions until the quake of ’89 caused minor damage … Continue reading →

THE ALMOST HISTORIC “PALO ALTO” CONCRETE SHIP. This photo was taken in 1947. The “Palo Alto” was built of concrete by the U.S. Government in 1918, and it cost $2 million. It was towed to where it is today (Seacliff … Continue reading →

RAINY DAY AT SEABRIGHT AND SOQUEL STREETS.I’d guess at the date of this photo but car enthusiasts (like Paul Elerick) can, and I hope will tell us what year (years?) this could be. But I do know that second car … Continue reading →