LONG AWAITED BEACH RESORT TO BREAK GROUND

LONG AWAITED BEACH RESORT TO BREAK GROUND

No one would dispute that Oceanside is enjoying a time of revitalization and rebirth. Oceanside has become the new trendy, happening place to be and be seen. With its “rediscovery” and new found popularity, a resort hotel is in demand. This year, Oceanside awaits two new projects by Two Roads Hospitality together with S.D. Malkin Properties Inc. The project will encompass two blocks along Pacific Street with the Joie de Vivre boutique hotel situated on the north block and the Destination Resort to the south. Designed by architectural firm, Delawie of San Diego, the project will be built by DPR Construction. When completed, the projects will provide Oceanside resort accommodations worthy of a city in renaissance.

From its earliest years, Oceanside advertised itself as a “seaside resort.” When Andrew Jackson Myers first acquired 160 acres to build his new city, he built a bathhouse just below the bluff on the beach (located where the current Beach Community Center now stands). He then arranged excursion trains that brought

prospective investors from Redlands, Riverside, Colton and Temecula to see the natural beauty of the coastline and offered a piece of paradise to would be buyers.

Needed for a seaside resort was a substantial hotel, and in 1887 the beautiful South Pacific Hotel was built. It was located on Third (Pier View Way) and Pacific Streets. A.P. Hotaling of San Francisco was the owner

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Oceanside’s greatest asset is its proximity to the beach and with a name that says it all, Oceanside still captures the imagination of tourists.

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of the hotel, which was four stories tall and faced the railroad track, instead of the beach, to entice train passengers stopping at the new city by the sea.

On the wave of success, however, tragedy struck in June

6 | Oceanside Chamber of Commerce Quarterly Business Journal Spring 2018 | www.oceansidechamber.com

South Pacific Hotel

of 1896 when the magnificent South Pacific Hotel caught on fire. The volunteer fire department did not have adequate equipment and the hotel guests along with city residents watched helplessly as the fire engulfed the entire structure. There was no insurance and owner could not be persuaded to rebuild. Without its grand hotel, Oceanside suffered a tremendous blow.

It wouldn’t be until 1904 when a new hotel was built, the El San Luis Rey. Named after the Mission San Luis Rey, the hotel was located at Third (Pier View Way) and Pacific streets near the same location as the South Pacific Hotel. It was stained a dark brown, built three stories tall and faced the Pacific Ocean. The Redlands Citrograph shared the news with its readers and added: “Oceanside has always seemed to us to be one of the finest seaside resorts.”

The El San Luis Rey Hotel was touted as “first class in every respect.” It featured 36 “well-appointed and elegantly furnished” rooms, with “large, well-kept grounds made more beautiful by the landscape gardener’s art”.

The local paper listed the guest list weekly and visitors from all over the country stayed in Oceanside resort hotel. Folks came as far away as Denver, Chicago, New Orleans, Boston, Philadelphia and New York.

By 1922 the El San Luis Rey was renamed the Beach Hotel and eventually its dark exterior was painted white. Oceanside’s 4th

pier was built in 1927 and The Strand was paved. With a beach gazebo or bandshell, the hotel was in a prime location for numerous events, including concerts and beauty contests.

The name of the hotel changed again in the 1950s to the Colonial Inn. In 1965 plans were announced to demolish the aging structure and replace it with a $2 million commercial, recreational and apartment complex. The hotel that had stood for six decades and watched Oceanside grow and transform, was at the end of its lifespan. The hotel was torn down the following year but the land was never developed and stood vacant for forty years until the Wyndham Resort was built.

While Oceanside waits for the new hotel projects to break ground and begin construction, Oceanside continues to beckon tourists and offers itself as a resort city with amenities most cities cannot offer: namely the longest wooden pier on the West Coast, a small craft harbor, an historic California Mission, paved strand, 3 ½ miles of beach with public access along the Pacific Ocean, and a variety of museums, eateries and established microbreweries.

Oceanside’s greatest asset is its proximity to the beach and with a name that says it all, Oceanside still captures the imagination of tourists.

Jeremy Cohen, director at S.D. Malkin Properties said of the impending projects: “From first seeing the site in 2004, we had the vision that Oceanside would become a world-class beach resort destination. We have been committed to this project for over 12 years and are thrilled that it is now coming to fruition.”

Photos courtesy Oceanside Historical Society

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