Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk: The Early Years

Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk
The Early Years -- Never a Dull Moment

by Chandra Moira Beal and Richard A. Beal

Fascinating, entertaining, and carefully researched -- Frank Perry, Santa Cruz Historian.

Important addition to our knowledge of the past -- Harold J. van Gorder, 100 year-old former Boardwalk employee.

Fascinating and highly informative history of Santa Cruz's No. 1 tourist attraction -- Bob Walsh, Register-Parajonian

A must-have local history -- Chris Watson, Santa Cruz Sentinel

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Stroll through the early history of the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk!

Visit the historic Boardwalk through over 175 photographs, personal interviews, and extensively researched records in this first comprehensive book about the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk in Northern California. Rekindle memories and meet the colorful characters that shaped the town's image as a world-class resort. Learn about the Boardwalk's beginnings as a simple wooden bathhouse on the beach to the multi-million dollar business of today, and the unique political and cultural marriage between the Seaside Company and the City of Santa Cruz.

Includes information about:

Entrepreneur Fred Swanton, "Father" of the Boardwalk
Famous Orchestras and Dances at the Cocoanut Grove Ballroom
World-Famous Casino's Tragic Fire and Reconstruction
The West's First Hot Salt-Water Plunge Natatorium
Giant Dipper Wooden Rollercoaster
Charles Looff's 1911 Carousel
Origins of the Miss California Pageant
Luxury Hotels such as the Casa del Rey and Pacific Ocean House
And much, much more!

Sample Excerpts

Photos courtesy of: Harold J. van Gorder Collection; Museum of Art & History@The McPherson Center, Santa Cruz, California; Covello & Covello Collection; and the University of California Santa Cruz Special Collections Library.

HOW TO ORDER

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The single copy price direct from the publisher is:

Within California: $19.95 plus $1.70 sales tax plus $6.00 shipping ($27.65 total)
Outside of California: $19.95 plus $6.00 shipping ($25.95 total)

Mail to:
The Pacific Group
PO Box 44
Aptos, CA 95001-0044

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Please include a daytime phone number in case we have questions.
All orders will be processed within 48 hours, and will be shipped via Priority Mail through the U.S. Postal Service.

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Single or multiple copies of this book can be ordered at amazon.com or at any bookstore (ISBN number 0-9629974-2-0)

BOOK EXCERPTS.......

WATER CARNIVAL

When a fire gutted downtown Santa Cruz in 1894, the city decided to rebuild its civic center in Renaissance styles and bill Santa Cruz as the "Florence of the West." James Philip Smith was a local wealthy businessman who had recently converted the Kittredge Hotel on Beach Hill into his private home. Smith's wife called it the Sunshine Villa. He created a lagoon on the San Lorenzo River and hosted the first week long Santa Cruz Venetian Water Carnival in 1895. The idea was an extension of the floral fairs of the state fair pavilion. A huge floral pavilion was constructed for costume balls and the coronation of the first carnival queen, Anita Gonzales, Smith's stepdaughter. The brand new all-steel ships of the Pacific Fleet were anchored offshore, seen by many for first time. The Fleet staged a mock battle, then were met at the beach by Queen Anita and pelted with flowers. The Queen led a floral parade down Pacific Avenue. Later a rose regatta of decorated boats, music, and stage entertainment was paraded down the river. The "Aquatic Sports of the Water Olympics" was held, one year before the first modern Olympics, and featured swimming, diving, canoeing, and yachting. A velodrome on West Cliff Drive hosted a cycling event. The penultimate day was "Hi Jinks Day" when Santa Cruzans dressed up in masquerade and burlesque. Another parade was held with a fat man in a dress crowned the hobo queen, who then floated down the river on a garbage barge and was hoisted by tack and rope to the throne. When Venice, California opened in 1904, their superior development of the Venetian theme eclipsed Santa Cruz, and the water carnivals ended until 1912.

LOOF'S CAROUSEL
The carousel was one of the Boardwalk's most popular attractions. Delivered on August 3, 1911 by its creator, Charles I.D. Looff, it was considered a "thrill" ride at the time. Looff was born in Denmark on May 24, 1852. He immigrated to New York in 1870 and was soon employed as a furniture carver. In his spare time, Looff carved his first carousel horse in his attic using scrap wood from the factory. He sold the piece to Coney Island immediately, originating what would later become known as the Coney Island style.

Looff built about forty carousels in all, many in New York and Rhode Island, and several along the West Coast. The Boardwalk carousel is one of only nine operating Looff carousels today, with others in Yerba Buena Center, San Francisco and Spokane, Washington.

After placing several carousels in the western United States, Looff and his wife, Anna, moved in 1912 to Long Beach, California where he set up his factory. The couple lived on the second floor of the factory until Looff died in 1918.

Looff's middle initials, "I.D.," came about when Ellis Island officials told him he had to have a middle name "for his I.D." Looff's sense of humor and personality show in his hand-carved horses. Several of the Boardwalk's carousel horses display their teeth in open smiles, a gentle, playful look in contrast to the stern faces popular in European roundabouts. A single rosette carved on the breast of each horse is Looff's signature mark. Each horse is unique and colorfully detailed. Many are decorated with swords at their sides or garlands of flowers around their necks. Faux jewels emblazon their saddles. The tails are crafted from real horse hair.

The art of carving carousel horses the way Looff did has almost disappeared. Because of their rarity, carousel horses have become collectible and increasingly valuable. The Boardwalk's entire carousel cost $18,000 in 1911; today just one of the Looff horses could bring in excess of that if sold.

Reviews:

Register-Pajaronian

Santa Cruz Sentinel

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