Ocean Beach 125th Anniversary Special

SPECIAL OCEAN BEACH 125th ANNIVERSARY SOUVENIR EDITION

1887 – 2012

Inside: For 125 years, Ocean Beach has grown and thrived next to the vast, shimmering sea. San Diego’s earliest residents and visitors fell in love with the location and were spellbound, enchanted by the area’s sunkissed appeal. Over 12 1/2 decades, the community took root, laid down its infrastructure, boomed and created for itself an identity like no other in the world. Journey with us back through time to explore the origin of our community and let us bring you full-circle back to the Ocean Beach of today. Happy 125th anniversary, Ocean Beach!

2

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 20, 2012

OCEAN BEACH

125th Anniversary Special

Celebrating 125 Years of Ocean Beach 1887-2012 f there’s one thing everyone in Ocean Beach agrees on, it’s a celebration. Here at the ocean’s edge, where fun is the very fabric of the community, the passing of time is marked more by community events than the calendar.

Residents, businesses, visitors and civic groups all join in support of time-honored traditions like the annual Ocean Beach Kite Festival, the yearly Street Fair and Chili Cook-Off Festival, the community 4th of July fireworks celebration and ensuing marshmallow fight, the Ocean Beach Pier Pancake Breakfast, Oktoberfest, and the annual Holiday Parade, Christmastree lighting and decorating, and the Ocean Beach Food and Toy Drive for the less fortunate.

Weekly, a farmers market fills the streets.

Even sunsets are a cause to pause once a day.

Ocean Beach is chock full of rich and vibrant

I

PHOTOS BY: Jim Grant, Paul Hansen and Mike McCarthy.

history. From its pioneering roots to the rise of its iconic features that set it apart from any other California waterfront, and from its business, civic and development booms to the tight-knit sense of community and identity — there is no place else like Ocean Beach.

In this spirit, the Ocean Beach MainStreet Association, the Ocean Beach Historical Society and The Peninsula Beacon join together to light the candles for Ocean Beach’s 125th anniversary this year.

The information used to establish timelines, key events and players and historic photo caption information was provided almost entirely by the OB Historical Society.

We hope you enjoy this commemorative anniversary issue filled with the memories and milestones and fun facts that are the cornerstone of Ocean Beach — one of the last remaining authentic beach towns in America today.

125th Anniversary Special

OCEAN BEACH

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 20, 2012

The History of OB Woman’s Club

“Best Oceanfront Hotel in San Diego”

Providing our Guests with the Best Complimentary Sunsets in San Diego for nearly 60 Years!

The Ocean Beach Woman’s Club has been a hub of activity in Ocean Beach for 88 years. The majority of the club’s history from 1924 to 1937 has been lost from the official records. The information that we do have comes from historians and newspaper articles of the time. On Sept. 21, 1997, the building sustained major fire damage. Again, much of the club’s records and history were lost or damaged by the fire. It is gratifying that the sons and daughters of old-time members are finding and presenting the club with memorabilia of the club in years past.

The Ocean Beach Woman’s Club was founded on Nov. 24, 1924, and is one of the oldest civic groups in San Diego. Forty-five charter members are listed as having signed the charter. Many of the club’s charter members were married to the Chamber of Commerce men, so the women had long been involved in public affairs. Records indicate that the club was a member of the National Federation of Women’s Clubs prior to 1936. The club was organized with a constitution, bylaws, and its first board of directors on Jan. 12, 1925.

The purpose of the Ocean Beach Woman’s Club was to work for the community in its civic, educational, and social development. In those first years, Ocean Beach Woman’s Club’s along with the San Diego Chamber of Commerce was instrumental in paving the streets, installation of sewers, securing street lights, and garbage disposal. In 1939, the club improved

Happy 125th Anniversary Ocean Beach!

AMONG THE OLDEST CIVIC GROUPS IN CITY The Ocean Beach Woman’s Club was founded on Nov. 24, 1924, and is one of the oldest civic groups in San Diego. Forty-five charter members are listed as having signed the charter. Many of the club’s charter members were married to the Chamber of Commerce men, so the women had long been involved in public affairs. Records indicate that the club was a member of the National Federation of Women’s Clubs prior to 1936. The club was organized with a constitution, bylaws, and its first board of directors on Jan. 12, 1925.

the beach area by having lifeguards appointed for all year round and had money appropriated by the city for maintaining a recreation center with two directors a week. The Woman’s Club also helped to obtain our local library, which is a great asset to Ocean Beach. Most recently the club helped get the skate park at Robb Field.

In 1929, the club’s garden department planted five streets in OB with trees and shrubs. Oleanders were planted on Brighton Street, acadia trees on Muir, hibiscus on Long Branch, Cape May Avenue was planted with coco plumosa, and Sunset Cliffs Blvd received plantings of jacaranda trees (but only a few lived). Today, it is understood that only two remain. The club’s garden department was also responsible with beautifying empty lots by sowing seeds and planting wildflowers.

In those early days, meetings were held at homes, churches, halls, lodges and other buildings. January and June meetings were held at Alligator Rock Lodge at Bacon Street and Coronado Avenue. This was the summer home of an El Cajon family, and was rented when they were not living there. There were also meetings at the Masonic Hall on Newport Avenue, above Faber’s Grocery Store. The club voted to withdraw $18 to pay for new chairs, and to pay $5 a month to Trinity Mission for the use of rooms to rent.

In April of 1927, the club leased the Flatiron building and remained there until October 1941 when high tides swept the clubhouse out to sea.

Destructive waves destroyed the 200 foot long Flatiron building. The club was a complete loss, although some of the furniture and belongings were saved. The meetings again were held in rented buildings while the question of a new clubhouse became an urgent problem. At this time, the club rented the old Safeway building (where Apple tree Market is now) for $25 a month.

Following the Dec. 7, 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor, soldiers were stationed in Ocean Beach to guard the waterfront. The women of the club were told that the soldiers needed a place to bathe and have hot coffee to relieve their long night watches. With this, a new era was opened for the Ocean Beach Woman’s Club. The club rented rooms at 1959 Abbott St. and turned them into a recreation center for the men. The Serviceman’s Club was a huge success. Members of various organizations such as Navy wives, American

SEE CLUB, Page 7

Inn at Sunset Cliffs in 1953

Inn at Sunset Cliffs today 1370 Sunset Cliffs Blvd • San Diego www.innatsunsetcliffs.com • 619.222.7901

3

4

125th Anniversary Special

OCEAN BEACH

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 20, 2012

The Birth of Ocean Beach: 1887 - 1910

BY PATRICIA WALSH

David Charles Collier, considered the “Father of Ocean Beach.”

no conveniences, no real streets. But there were those fields of flowers, the plentiful seafood …and lots of space and fresh air.”

Among those who purchased a lot from Carlson and Higgins was 16-year-old David Charles Collier, according to research by Richard Amero of the San Diego History Center. In his paper, “Colonel D.C. Collier: An Inspiration to the Citizens of Today,” Amero documents the life of a confident and flamboyant Collier who became a major figure in the development of not just Ocean Beach, but San Diego in general.

First anniversary celebration, 1888 The Carlson-Higgins land-sale boom quickly went bust though, leaving the newly named Ocean Beach the sum of flower fields, a few shacks, surf and sand. The adventurous of San Diego’s population took advantage of the situation and, in the late 1800s, came to Ocean Beach for Sunday picnics and monthlong On July 4, 1872, some 200 settlers, nearly camping trips on the beach. everyone who lived in Old Town and New San Diego, traveled to the seaside location for an Independence Day bash. Fifteen years later, Billy Carlson, a 23-year-old who saw the potential of profit in undeveloped land, teamed up with partner Frank Higgins and purchased 600 acres of land for $50,000. n the 1800s, the land that was to become known as Ocean Beach had two things going for it: open space and opportunity. The primitive oceanfront with prolific mussel beds was the stage for historic celebrations that planted the seeds of OB’s future.

I

Collier built a shack on his lot at the corner of Pacific Avenue (what is today Coronado Avenue) and Bacon Street. He kept adding on to the tiny dwelling that became known as The Alligator House. By age 20, Collier had passed the state bar exam and became a lawyer in his father’s practice. By 1900, he was taking real estate in lieu of money as payment for his legal services. In Ocean Beach, he subdivided land, put in electricity and sold lots. In 1908, Collier built the Point Loma Railroad. In 1909, he built the Ocean Beach School.

In her book “Beach Town: Early Days in Ocean Beach,” Ruth Varney Held — a local historian and 84-year OB resident — captures the travels of the rugged and undeterred, who had to make quite an effort to get to Ocean By the end of the first decade of the 20th Beach and to stay there.“The road was rocky down below where Point Loma High is now… century, Collier, known as the “Father of Ocean After two hours of driving, everyone was glad Beach,” had the fledgling seaside community to get out,” Held wrote. “There were no stores, on its feet.

In 1887 — the year used by local historians as the community’s starting point — the men divided the land and hosted a free mussel roast on March 28, selling lots for $30 to $400.

What a sight the land sale must have been to the Kumeyaay Indians, who were sustained by the mussel beds during their migrations through San Diego County.

1887

1888

William H. (Billy) Carlson and Frank Higgins buy Pueblo lots (195, 202 & 203) totalling 600+ acres for $50,000.

Carlson and Higgins name their tract Ocean Beach.

Celebration for first anniversary of OB and the opening of OB Railroad (but no trains ran that day).

1900

Carlson and Higgins hold first mussel roast to promote their lots and Cliff House Hotel.

1880 1872 Grand 4th of July celebration.

Approximtely 200 people attend.

1872

Abraham Thomas builds a house at the foot of the cliff just south of present pier location.

Pearl Hotel is built and opens in 1904. Would be later known as the Newport Hotel, and is now the International Hostel.

D.C. Collier buys property from Carlson and Higgins. Collier builds house at Coronado Ave. and Bacon St. Cliff House Hotel completed.

1898

San Diego, Roseville and Ocean Beach Railway makes it’s first run to OB. Closes after 2 months of operation.

1880

1885 SD Population: 2,637

1886 SD Population: 5,000

Arthur Hansen was the first graduate of Ocean Beach School.

More than 100 homes have been built in OB.

Cliff House burned down.

1890

1910

1900

1889

1909

Economic slump halts San Diego and Ocean Beach development, population drops.

1888: 40,0000 1890: 16,000

Ocean Beach School is built by D.C. Collier. Has two rooms.

Opening of Trolley Line sparks a rush of lot sales.

Boardwalk built.

1910

125th Anniversary Special

z

FIRST WHITE MEN The first white men to set foot on Ocean Beach soil were a sailor, a soldier, a padre and eight archers in 1602 to examine the mountain.

They were sent by Fr. Antonio Sebastian Vizcaino.

R

FIRST HOUSE BUILT? About the time the dike was built, someone finally lived in Ocean Beach. It is said that a man named Palmer had a house and a well from 1850-1870.

OCEAN BEACH

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 20, 2012

Celebrate OB’s 125th Anniversary with these Special Deals! ¡Felicidades!

OB’s 125th Anniversary!

READERS CHOICE AWARDS

Bravo’s celebrates 5 years under

R E TA I L / S E R V I C E S

2 0 1 1

#1 Herbs Shop

new ownership!

THOMAS’S SHACK Abraham Thomas came in the late 1880’s and put up a shack at the foot of the cliff, south of the present pier. It was a famous landmark for many years. He lived to see 30,000 people enjoying the beach on the Fourth of July in 1913.

Beach

Happy & Healthy Anniversary OB! Herbs for health, happiness, horniness, energy and wellbeing

OB Anniversary Special

JoinTequila us for

P

Thanks Ocean

$1.25 OFF

$125 Shots

(house) 11/2 oz “Cabalito”

Your favorite bag of Herbs with coupon Expires 10-30-12

Weekdays only. Expires 10-5-12

Open Late ravo’s (619) 222-6633 Mexican Bistro & Cantina 5001 Newport Ave. Ocean Beach

B

MEXICAN RESTAURANT Proudly Serving Ocean Beach for over 52 Years!

BUY LOW, SELL HIGH 1887 Billy Carlson and Frank Higgins buy 600 acres of land for $50,000 (by comparison, a 792square-foot Ocean Beach home in 2012 sold for $380,000).

POPULATION BOOM In 1882, San Diego’s population reaches 2,637. By 2012, more than 23,000 people live in OB.

R

FLOWER FIELDS AND SEAFOOD Ocean Beach was abundant in flower fields and seafood in the 1890s. That, and isolation from the city, attracted campers and picknickers to the seashore.

P

Natiʼs Staff in 1960

WELL, HELLO 92107!

The first Ocean Beach listing appeaing in a city phone directo-

NATI’S MENU - 1960’S

ry happened in 1892-93 for the Ocean Beach Hotel. It wasn’t until 1909-10 that the directory recognized Ocean Beach as a place with seven business and residential listings

O

#1 Tamale, Taco, Enchilada ............. $1.25 With Rice & Beans

#2 2-Cheese Enchiladas, Taco ......... $1.25 With Rice & Beans

#3 Tostada, Taco, Enchilada ............ $1.25 With Rice & Beans

#4 2-Tacos, Enchilada ....................... $1.25 With Rice & Beans

Present this ad for one dinner at our 1960’s prices when another combo plate & 2 beverages are purchased at 2012 prices.

VALID MON. & TUES. ONLY, 11am to close. Valid on Combinations 1-4. Not valid on take-out. Certain restrictions apply. Valid 9/24/12 9/25/12 10/1/12 and 10/02/12.

One Coupon per couple per visit. Not valid with other discounts or during happy hour.

BELIEVE IT OR NOT! The size of the graduating class of Ocean Beach Elementary School in 1910 was 1. Today, nearly 3,400 children attend eight public and private elementary and middle schools located in the 92107 ZIP code.

BEST OVERALL RESTAURANT

• Beautiful Patio Dining • Ample Parking • Cocktails •

2009 • 2010 2011 • 2012

619.224.3369

1852 Bacon St., Ocean Beach

5

6

125th Anniversary Special

OCEAN BEACH

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 20, 2012

The Early Days:

1913-1929

BY PATRICIA WALSH

z

10¢ was the price of admission to Wonderland Amusement Park in 1913.

AMEN! The first church building is constructed in Ocean Beach in 1913 at 4800 Santa Monica Ave. Nine churches serve the neighborhood today.

R

LIFE SAVERS! The number of lifeguards first hired in the city in 1918: 3. They were stationed in Ocean Beach in the wake of the deadly rip current.

P

IF IT’S THURSDAY... Four young women founded The Thursday Club in 1921. In the last 50 years, the club has raised $2 million, primarily from its annual rummage sale, to fund charitable causes.

O

SHHHHHH! The first librarian for OB was Margaret Rankin. She served from 1921-1959.

i

f there’s one person who should be remembered as the matriarch and guardian of Ocean Beach history, it’s Ruth Varney Held (1906-1996).

Her book — “Beach Town: Early Days in Ocean Beach” — is the lone voice and definitive source on early OB, according to local historians.

Her 195-page tribute has rescued the community’s memories from the ashes of time.

I

Like almost everyone in Ocean Beach, Held was from somewhere else. It was 1912 when she made the trek from Montana to this “tropical paradise” with her parents and four siblings. In her book, she recalls in detail what it was like to grow up here. She remembers the day when 13 people died in a deadly rip current. She was there on the Fourth of July in 1913 when Wonderland, San Diego’s first amusement park, opened.

“Monkeyland charmed me first,

Away from the shoreline, cornerstones of the community were on the rise in the 1920s. During this time, the forerunner to today’s library was opened in a storefront on Abbott Street. The first church building went up on Santa Monica Avenue. Main streets were paved.

Philanthropy gilded the lily with the founding of The Thursday Club and the Ocean Beach Woman’s Club.

The Bank of Italy, the precursor to It was an enchanting time that the Bank of America, opened for Held dubbed the “butterfly days.” business.

The personality and destiny of Higher up on Sunset Cliffs, the Ocean Beach were shaped in those fancy free days before the Great campus of the Theosophical HomeDepression. The eight-acre Won- stead (now the site of Point Loma derland amusement park made Nazarene University) dominated tourism a driving force in OB. Then the landscape. A dream realized by when Wonderland washed away Katherine Tingley and her husband with a storm in 1916, OB forgave Gen. John C. Fremont. This idyllic the ocean and caught a new wave of settlement became know as Loma interest. A demonstration by the Land. In the mid-1920s, developBig Kahuna himself, Duke Kaha- ment began when lots were sold by namoku, anointed OB as a Califor- John Mills, Jesse Shreves and Alexander Pantages. The ambitious nia surf town. with 350 chattering monkeys making funny faces and reaching for tidbits,” she wrote. “Lively music led me to the roller skating rink, with its ‘Orchestrain’ blaring, then to the ‘Jumping Horse’ carousel. I stood there, fingering the small coins tied in one corner of the handkerchief pinned to my dress.

This one? No, I would look everything over first.”

venture came to a screeching halt with the crash of Wall Street in 1929.

Held chose the year 1930 as an ending point for her history on Ocean Beach because it was a time of change.

“The young resort days … were gone,” Held wrote. “We did it backward, we had our butterfly days first. It was a great time to grow up.”

PASS THE POPCORN! The 600seat Strand Theater opens in 1925 at 4948 Newport Ave. Despite efforts to keep the reels rolling, the single-screen closed in 1998.

“WE MUST CULTIVATE OUR GARDEN.” Voltaire, the nom de plume of François-Marie Arouet.

The thinking man is famous for, among other things, having a street named after him in OB.

Theosophical homestead, Loma Land, built

by Katherine Tingley and her husband Gen. John C. Fremont in 1909. The large domed academy (Raja Yoa School) included dormitories, Greek Theater central dining area and beautiful gardens. It is now the site of Point Loma Nazarene University.

1917 Sewer lines are installed.

1918 1915

1913 A branch streetcar line to Ft. Rosecrans begins operation.

Mission Bay Bridge (Fishing Bridge) built from Ocean Beach across the mouth of Mission Bay to the present site of Mission Beach.

OB merry-go-round the “Hippodrome” is built by O.F. Davis. It is moved to the Belmont Pier near Los Angeles after 1927.

1913 Wonderland opens on 8 acres on the bay side of Voltaire St. from Abbott to the sea.

1929

1924 Ocean Beach Woman’s Club is founded.

1919

1920

Silver Spray ApartmentHotel, Café and Plunge open at foot of Narragansett Ave.

Strand Theater opens as The Ocean Theater.

1927

1925 Point Loma High School opens.

Jesse H. Shreve announces purchase of Sunset Cliffs Park property from Spalding Estate.

1920

1916 Duke Kahanamoku starts surfing era in OB. OB branch of the SD Public Library opens in one room of the Sutliffe Building on Abbott St.

1923

1926

OB seawall (from Newport to Niagara) is built.

Main streets are paved: Voltaire, Bacon and Defoe (Sunset Cliffs Blvd.)

Pantages, Mills and Shreve donate Sunset Cliffs Park to the City of SD

Defoe Street is renamed Sunset Cliffs Blvd.

Kraft Drug Store and Bank of Italy Buildings are opened (Bank of Italy is the precursor to Bank of America.)

Mission Bay Causeway from Midway Drive begins, bypassing Ocean Beach. Mission Bay is dredged.

Katherine Tingly dies.

125th Anniversary Special

OCEAN BEACH

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 20, 2012

7

A WITNESS TO HISTORY:

For Shepherd-Vallin, OB was home for 100 years MIKE McCARTHY

For 100 years, Ruth ShepherdVallin called Ocean Beach her home.

Shepherd-Vallin lived just long enough to witness the 125th anniversary year of Ocean Beach’s birth.

Shepherd-Vallin also witnessed her share of local history and the growth of a once sparsely populated beach vacation town into a bustling and vibrant community.

Shepherd-Vallin was born in 1906 and moved to Ocean Beach when in 1912 when she was six years old. She passed away this summer on Aug. 6 — just ten days short of her 106th birthday. As a member of the Ocean Beach Historical Society, Shepherd-Vallin shared many memories of the early days.

In the beginning, her family lived in a tent house with a wood stove. Transportation consisted of walking or catching a ride on a horse-drawn carriage. Streetcars eventually provided a connection to downtown, where she attended San Diego High School. Point Loma would later build a high school that was dedicated the year Ruth grad-

uated in 1925.

In the early days, life was simple but challenging. Food was not always readily available. Many families had a vegetable garden with a goat for milk.

Downtown San Diego supplied the majority of essential needs but roads were often cut off by high tides. The early property lots were long and narrow — 25 feet by 140 feet. The purpose behind this design was to provide space for a home and garden with a horse and carriage in the rear.

Shepherd-Vallin also remembered, as a young girl, needing a chaperone whenever she wanted to go the beach.

At the time, our local Navy boys’ reputation was not well respected until after World War I. Security was often found in the form of a shotgun at the front door. Shepherd-Vallin’s mother was raised in the wild west and was an excellent shot — so much so, according to Ruth — that OB’s Wonderland eventually would not let her mother near the shooting gallery for fear of losing all its prizes.

Shepherd-Vallin and her family survived the Great Depression and both world wars. She lived through the progressive and modern eras. She witnessed the invention of the automobile and airplane. Her little town of

Ocean Beach always managed to maintain the reputation as a laid-back beach town. Yet Shepherd-Vallin was not influenced by her community’s relaxed way of living. From the beginning, Ruth had the reputation as a “classy lady” who wore high heels and always had her hair done once a week, even during The Depression, when money was scarce.

Ocean Beach honors the memory of Ruth Shepherd-Vallin as its oldest known bit of “Living History”from 1906-2012.

Shepherd-Vallin, far right, takes advantage of streetcar transportation with other schoolmates in the early 1920s in this shot taken on their way to San Diego High School.

Shepherd-Vallin, photo left, poses with her family for a portrait outside their tent home in Ocean Beach after the family moved here in 1912.

(Far left) Ruth Shepherd-Vallin, shown just before her death this year, called Ocean Beach home for 100 years. Shepherd-Vallin witnessed 10 decades of local history. She died in August at the age of 105 — just 10 days shy of her 106th birthday.

Courtesy photos

/ Ruth Varney Held 1906-1996

“

The young resort days …

were gone .” Held wrote .

“We did it backward , we had our butter f ly days f irst. It was

”

a great time to grow up .

The Varney family, steeped in pioneer tradition, moved to the new little town of Ocean Beach from Anaconda, Montana in 1912. Six year old Ruth started first grade in Ocean Beach Elementary School, later graduated from San Diego High School, and what is now San Diego State University. She taught in San diego for 35 years, 30 of them at Point Loma High School.

An honored historian and dedicated to her community, she published the first version of Beach Town in 1975, updating with each succeeding publication.

She also wrote magazine and newspaper articles and a regular column in THE BEACON.

Taking Care of Ocean Beach’s Auto Needs for Over 79 years! (previously Wheatly’s)

Over 26 years as Sunset Garage.

Woody “Thanks” you for your business for the past 13 years!

Keep on “Cruisin’ ” OB for another 125 years!

General Automotive Repair Including

State Certified Smog Inspections - Safety/New Buyers Inspections Factory Service Maintenance Performed - Complete Tune-up Service Major Engine Overhaul - Cooling Systems - Diagnostic Codes - Brakes Purchase your own copie of Beach Town at the Ocean Beach MainStreet Association office located at:1868 Bacon St. San Diego, CA 92107 (619)224-4906 www.oceanbeachsandiego.com

/

1946 Bacon St. Ocean Beach Visit us at www.sunsetgarageob.com

619-224-2929

8

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 20, 2012

125th Anniversary Special

OCEAN BEACH

x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x July 4, 1913 marked the biggest event in the history of x Ocean Beach — the opening of Wonderland, San Diego’s first x large amusement park. It covered eight paved acres on the bay x side of Voltaire Street, from Abbot to the sea. Wonderland x boasted the biggest roller coaster on the West Coast at the x time, a casino that included a large dance pavilion and a cafe x that could seat 650 for dinner, a zoo, and a fun zone with 40 “When lots were put on sale in OB in 1909, x small promoters quickly caught on that attractions. This truly was a wonderland! x On Opening Day — in addition to everything else — there here was a fantastic opportunity for a x beach resort, and soon there were restauwere afternoon and evening fireworks that cost $10,000. rants, bathhouses, candy stands and games x There was also a half-acre children’s playground, a beauti- of chance. Crowds began coming out. The x ful fountain, and the menagerie — a forerunner of the San time was perfect for Wonderland, a glam- x Diego Zoo. - BEACH TOWN our amusement center.” x - Ruth Vaney Held, local historian x >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> x x x OUT TO THE BEACH ON SUNDAY circa 1913 x When streetcars made it easy to get to the beach, townspeople could go there every Sunday, as well as on big x holidays. Ocean Beach was like any other resort in those days between the horse and buggy and the car in every x family.

- Ruth Varney Held x x x x x x x x x x x

Wonderland

ALBERT G. SPALDING ESPLANADE circa 1905

in Ocean Beach

Albert Goodwill Spalding was a wealthy sporting-goods magnate, born in Illinois in 1850. He visited San Diego, liked the area and fell in love with Elizabeth Churchill Mayer, director of the Isis Conservatory of Music at the Theosophical Homestead. They married and Spalding bought up a whole hillside of Pueblo land adjacent to the Homestead, from Point Loma Avenue to the ocean. He dreamed of a lovely park down on the cliffs, so in 1915 he hired a crew of men and spent $2 million to beautify the area.

Spalding died in September 1915. In August 1916, his widow offered the park to the city on condition it would have constant care and be called the Albert G. Spalding Explanade, but further developments indicated this deal was never consumated. - BEACH TOWN

HIGH TIDES AND FLOODING

circa 1941

125th Anniversary Special

OCEAN BEACH

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 20, 2012

Celebrate OB’s 125th with Peace, Love, & Namaste

9

Proud to be keeping OB Fit for 18 Years!

LENGTHEN STRENGTHEN

SAVE $50.00

REDEFINE

21 DAY BODY TRANSFORMATION CHALLENGE Personal Group Training • Complete Nutrition Analysis • Fitness Evaluation • Customized Work Out Plan Body Composition / Fat Analysis & Cleansing Coaching Gravity • Spin • Pilates • TRX • Yoga Also We Specialize in Programming for: Pain Management • Pre & Post Rehabilitation • 60+ Fitness Programs

619.379.8348 4966 Santa Monica Avenue, Ocean Beach sdprogressivefitness.com

The Beacon… Delivering the News to Ocean Beach for over 25 Years!

Keeping the tradition alive!

INSIDE: OCEAN BEACH 125th ANNIVERSARY EDITION! San Diego Community Newspaper Group

www.SDNEWS.com Volume 26, Number 21

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 20, 2012

A WILL TO SURVIVE

OB comfort station mural draws raves — and fresh debate

BY TONY DE GARATE | THE BEACON

...and compete Diane Hotz of Ocean Beach rests between waves while surfing at Dog Beach in Ocean Beach.

The ribbon-cutting was two years late and the project was overbudget by more than twofold. Nevertheless, the Brighton Street comfort station — the public restrooms north of Dog Beach — has earned solid reviews since opening July 2.

In fact, the public artwork — a mural adorning the ceiling that was designed by local artist Shinpei Takeda — has earned a nomination for an Orchid Award from the San Diego Architecture Foundation, which will announce its 2012 winners next month.

But at least one Ocean Beach resident who decided to check out the restrooms during a stroll thinks the community got more than it bargained for. Two community groups — The Ocean Beach Town Council and Ocean Beach Planning Board — have agreed that his concerns have merit and have scheduled separate public discussions.

The resident, Jeff Russell, said he was dismayed to discover the mural, inspired by a photograph of the historic Wonderland Amusement Park, is overlain with snippets SEE MURAL, Page 6

Courtesy photo

Congratulations Ocean Beach on 125 exciting years.

We feel privileged to have covered a small part of it!

10

125th Anniversary Special

OCEAN BEACH

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 20, 2012

The Rise of a Commmunity: 1930-1965

BY PATRICIA WALSH

ollowing the solemn years of the Great Depression, World War II ushered in a bustling era in Ocean Beach. San Diego’s population exploded as families migrated west to be near military facilities at what was then the Naval Training Center (now the civilianized Liberty Station) and the Marine Corps Recruit Depot.

F

The 400-unit government housing project Azure Vista was built in 1941 above Sunset Cliffs. Children collected scrap metal. Streetlights facing the ocean were painted black because of the fear of a Japanese attack in wartime. The Ocean Beach News carried a regular column that detailed the lives of those in service, including time spent in captivi-

Azure Vista: 400-unit government housing project build in 1941 above Sunset Cliffs.

1940 1937 Passengers injured as rail cars collide on trip from OB to downtown.

1930

Bus service is established and streetcar rails are covered.

ty. Ocean Beach had its own United Services Organization — ley-Mitchell) were there. Nati’s, now a restaurant, was a Mexa nonprofit organization that provides programs, services ican import shop that offered “rare items from Mexico.”

Lowne’s Department Store was the official Boy Scout equipand live entertainment to U.S. troops and their families. ment headquarters and gave out S&H Green Stamps. Elm’s Local schools bore the brunt of wartime expansion. sold men’s clothing and shoes for the family. Noel Furniture “Enrollment at Ocean Beach Schools 2,766” was the lead carried carpets, appliances and baby furniture. Greeting cards story in the Sept. 14, 1945 Ocean Beach News. To accommocould be purchased at Paras Shop. date the 1,114 students of the day, Dana Junior High School Services were plentiful for shoe repair, typewriters and operated on a double shift. sewing machines.

Richard Newton and Steve Kemp, who lived in Azure Vista By the 1960s, the Vietnam war again interrupted the quiet then, shared their memories with the Ocean Beach Historical Society. Their childhood experiences provide a glimpse into village life of Ocean Beach. As the war escalated 8,000 miles life in the housing project bordered by Hill Street, Cornish away in 1965, the word “hippie” slipped into America’s lexiDrive, Ladera Street and Sunset Cliffs Boulevard. There was con as one of 220 new entries in the dictionary. an elementary school, a child-care center and two pay phones Hippies — “usually young persons who reject the mores of per street. Family life met the war on the southern edge of established society” — made their way to Ocean Beach in Azure Vista where bunkers were embedded just below the droves. According to archives of the Ocean Beach Historical ridgeline overlooking the Pacific. A few of the pillboxes still Society, hippies lived a “free-wheeling lifestyle exist today. that put them at odds with the old-timers.

Protest meetings, marches and picketing The war ended in 1945, but Azure Vista ensued.” survived until 1957. Houses were then sold and moved off property and empty lots Old-timers prevailed and preserved the were auctioned off. The school moved up integrity of their family-friendly communithe hill and was renamed Sunset View. ty. Hippies mellowed and moved in for good. In the end, a seemingly impossible Commerce prospered in the decade folblend of competing ideals created a peerlowing the war. In the 1950s, thriving busiless community coveted today for the ness district of Ocean Beach had its own authentic beach town lifestyle that has all chamber of commerce. but disappeared from America’s landOcean Beach Paint, Hardware & Glass; scape. and Beardsley Funeral Home (today Beards-

1947 2,250-foot fishing pier completed at the foot of Del Monte St. Closes in 1951.

1940

1950

1960

1937

1945

1951

1957

1960

Bethany Lutheran officially began.

Local schools bore the brunt of wartime expansion. To accomodate the 1,114 students, Dana Junior High operated on double shift.

Mission Bay Bridge is demolished

Azure Vista pill box homes were sold and moved off property and empty lots were auctioned off. The school moved up the hill and was renamed Sunset View.

Ocean Beach prospered with new businesses opening; Ocean Beach Paint, Lowe’s Department Store, Elm’s Clothing, Noel Furniture and more.

125th Anniversary Special

OCEAN BEACH

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 20, 2012

11

ITALIAN

POMA’S

DELICATESSEN Happy Anniversary Ocean Beach

z

Poma’s is Glad to be part of the OB tradition since 1965 BP(Before Pier)

BUY LOW, SELL HIGH 1887 Billy Carlson and Frank Higgins buy 600 acres off land for $50,000 (by comparison, a 792- squarefoot Ocean Beach home in 2012 sold for $380.

POPULATION BOOM in 1882, San Diego’s population reaches 2,637. By 2012, more than 23,000 people live in OB.

R

T HE P OMA’ S C REW - C IRCA 1970

FLOWER FIELDS AND SEAFOOD

“Home of the World Famous Roast Beef & Meatball Sandwich”

Ocean Beach was abundant in

(619) 223-3027 • 1846 BACON ST., OCEAN BEACH

flower fields and seafood in the 1890’s. That and isolation from the city attracted campers and picknickers to the seashore.

P

Happy 125th

happy birthday Ob!

Ocean Beach!

WELL HELLO 92107! The first Ocean Beach listing appeaing in a

A Local Favorite!

city phone directory happed in

Where everybody knows your name.

1892-93 for the Ocean Beach Hotel. It wasn’t until 1909-10 that the directory recognized Ocean Beach as a place with seven business and residential listings

renovation salon

BELIEVE IT OR NOT! The size of

Caring for You and Your hair for 17 years

O

the graduating class of Ocean Beach Elementary School in 1910 was 1. Today, nearly 3,400 children attend eight public and private ele-

Enjoy the View of the Ocean while you get your hair done 30 years experience

mentary and middle schools located in the 92107 ZIP code.

619-223-2887 • 5083 Santa Monic Ave. Ste 2A (Upstairs)

HAPPY HOUR - EVERYDAY 4-7PM WELL DRINKS: MARGARITAS ALL PITCHERS SHOTS

$2.50 $3.75 $1.50 OFF $1.00 OFF

(bartender’s choice)

7 TVS • 5 PLASMA TVS

READERS CHOICE AWARDS

B E S T R E S TA U R A N T S

2 0 1 2

VOTED a favorite for Bar & Bar Tender (Juli)

3 POOL TABLES • FOOSBALL • SHUFFLEBOARD 4906 Voltaire St. (corner of Voltaire & Cable) Ocean Beach

Ocean Beach Tire Center & Auto Repair

Happy 125th Anniversary Keep on Rollin’ OB! Thank You OB Community for Supporting us for 13 years!

(619) 758-7663 4893 Newport Ave. • Ocean Beach

HAPPY 125TH

BIRTHDAY

OCEAN BEACH

KEEPING OB CONNECTED FOR OVER 17 YEARS

THANKS! FRIENDS & CUSTOMERS

FOR YOUR SUPPORT

619.224.2748 WWW.ZEDELECTRIC.COM

12

125th Anniversary Special

OCEAN BEACH

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 20, 2012

Landmarks and Business Development 1966-1984

BY PATRICIA WALSH

he watery aspects of Ocean Beach’s personality surfaced in the late 1960s. It began on July 2, 1966 when then-Gov. Pat Brown cut the ribbon to open the iconic Ocean Beach Municipal Pier. The same year, Ocean Beach hosted the World Surfing Championships.

Two years after construction was approved in 1970 for a jetty, dogs got their day with the founding of the world-famous Dog Beach.

T

Stretching 1,971 feet into the ocean, the pier offers a balcony seat to Ocean Beach’s life aquatic. While the plot varies with the roll of the tide and change of the seasons, the show never disappoints. On deck, the kaleidoscopic swirl of the sky sets the mood and serves as a backdrop for daily workouts, budding romances and anglers fishing for the catch of the day. Forty feet below, surfers take the ocean’s dare while beachcombers crouch

in tide pools for an up-close look at life on the rocks. Brown pelicans, flying in formation above, occasionally steal the show when they break ranks and fall from the sky for an ocean feed.

The Ocean Beach Pier is life sustaining and life affirming. The Ocean Beach Town Council, founded in 1967, uses it as the site for its annual pancake fundraiser. With the pier firmly anchored on the south end of the beach, the Town Council in 1972 bookmarked the north end by designating Dog Beach as one of the first leash-free areas in America.

A veritable United Nations of canine camaraderie, Dog Beach is 38 acres of open space shared by all. For locals, the site of a dog on a surfboard or a pooch with the body of a dachshund and head of a Labrador is as common as a kid on a bike. The ball-chasing, tailwagging frenzy of furry fun typically stops first-time visitors in their tracks, like the guy from another shore with a gaggle of gold

chains around his neck.

He stood with jaw dropped on the water’s edge and asked, “Hey – are dey havin’ a special party or ’sumpin for dogs at ’dis beach?”

Yup! And it happens again every day.

With the waterfront shored up by the end of the 1970s and home construction booming, business blossomed again on Newport Avenue. The times were changing. It helped that the Vietnam War had ended and took with it the highly charged atmosphere that led up to the 1973 troop withdrawal from Vietnam and 1975 fall of Saigon.

According to documents that Ocean Beach Historical Society compiled, “The hippies of the previous decade became the entrepreneurs of the ’70s. Food co-ops, free schools, a community school and new homespun businesses came into being.”

In 1978, the Ocean Beach Merchants Association was founded to nurture the family and business-friendly beach town. By the early

1980s, celebration again became a driving force in the community as Newport Avenue merchants gathered in 1981 for a street fair to raise money for the Fourth of July. Three years later, the first large-scale Ocean Beach Street Fair and Chili Cook-Off Festival was staged and the star of San Diego’s cherished community festivals was born.

1981 Merchants hold their first celebration (Street Fair) to raise money for the 4th of July.

1970

1989

San Diego contract awarded for construction of a 1,570foot jetty.

OB jetty construction halted after protest by Ecology Action Committee and a new Corps of Engineers survey.

1966

1978 The Ocean Beach Merchant’s Association begins with 25 paid members.

1970

1966

1967

World surfing championship held in OB.

OB Town Council starts.

Planters built around existing palm trees to enhance pedestrian walkways on Newport Ave. City Council approves establishment of BID.

1980

1976 SDPD opens a community relations office storefront on lower Newport Ave.

1984 The first scale Annual OB Street Fair and Chili Cook-Off Festival and Fireworks Festival took place in June. OB Planning Commission Founded.

Bronze statute located in Hawaii was dedicated to the local surf legend Duke Kahanamoka.

125th Anniversary Special

CLUB

CONTINUED FROM Page 3 Woman’s Club acted as hostesses supplying baked goods and hot coffee 24/7.

1944 was undoubtedly the most important year of our club’s existence. An Ocean Beach building that had been used as a congregational church and an Ocean Beach Elementary School bungalow was sold by the Board of Education to the Ocean Beach Woman’s Club for the sum of $1,350. Next, the club’s attention centered on getting a site on which to place the building. At this time, fortune came to us in the guise of Miss Jean Rittenhouse, a charter member who graciously and generously donated three lots on the corner of Muir and Bacon streets, to be used by the club as long as the club maintained the building and site.

Since then, the club has raised needed funds by renting the facility to many of Ocean Beach community groups, as well as, women’s networking groups, private weddings, birthday parties and yoga classes. The woman’s club has had book clubs, writers groups, acting classes, arts

OCEAN BEACH

and crafts classes, Eagle Scouts, church groups and ecological seminars. For many of the community groups the use of the facility is at little or no charge.

The club had been a social outlet for many seniors with monthly bridge and canasta marathons, weekly card games and luncheons.

For many seniors, this was their only social activity. The club has donated to, among others, Loaves and Fishes emergency food, Rady’s Children’s Hospital for its neonatal unit, OB

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 20, 2012

13

Christmas Food and Toy Drive, OB Firework Festival and the Halloween Carnival at the recreation center. We have helped Correia Junior High School buy microscopes for its science department and donated annually to OB Elementary School’s art department.

The Ocean Beach Woman’s Club’s garden department has started a community garden, with communal and individual plots. All are welcome to join us. For more information, call (619) 222-1008.

FREE ESTIMATES

Baylor’s Brush Painting Interior - Exterior Painting

Happy 125th Anniversary Ocean Beach!

It’s a real privilege to spend most of my time working near the coast in O.B. and Point Loma. My business has always been personal with my clients as I do all my own work. Thank you O.B. for making me a part of your community since 1984!

Personal Service Excellent on Detail! Bonded, St. Lic. #538443

ED BOEHLER (619) 224-9713

CATRINA RUSSELL

HAPPY 125TH OB! FROM

THE EXPERT IN OB...CALL ME! YOUR NEIGHBOR. YOUR REALTOR.

EST. 2003

z

1,971 — Length in feet of the Ocean Beach Pier, making it the longest concrete ocean pier on the West Coast in 1966. Huntington Beach comes in second with its pier at 1,856 feet. Elsewhere in San Diego, Imperial Beach pier: 1,491 feet; Scripps Pier in La Jolla: 1,090 feet; the wooden Crystal Pier in Pacific Beach: 872 feet.

WOOF, ARF-ART! — With the founding of Dog Beach in 1972, this Is dog speak for “Let’s go play

R

at the beach.”

FLOCK OF SEAGULLS — In 1973, brothers Rick and Bob Sorben created the iconic seagull/Ocean Beach logo that flies around town on windshields.

P

BEST OF THE BLOCK — On June 23, 1984, volunteers and many Ocean Beach merchants turn out to repair the Newport Avenue home of 73-year-old Martha Black as part of a competition sponsored by the Ocean Beach Merchants Association to encourage people to clean up their homes.

According to a story in the San

Diego Union, City Councilman Bill Cleator and Assemblywoman Lucy Killea helped with the efforts.

O

TWO — The original number of days the annual Ocean Beach Street Fair and Chili Cook-Off Festival ran.

3,126 — The number of houses built from 1950-59 in Ocean Beach, the most new construction here to this point in a single decade. The boom continued again from 1970-79 when 3,126 more structures went up.

TOP 2% Internationally

BREAKFAST & LUNCH

619-226-BUYS (2897) www.CatrinaRussell.com DRE# 01229742

Island DRINKS • daily bloody mary bar LUAU PANCAKES, LOCO MOCO, EGGS BENEDICT(S), ALOHA BURGER, SALADS, GULF SHRIMP, REAL LUMP CRAB

1851 Cable Street OB, CA 92107

READERS CHOICE AWARDS

B E S T R E S TA U R A N T S

2 0 1 2

Best Omelet, Pet Friendly & Breakfast Family Friendly • Take Out - Phone In • Patio Areas City Lot parking across the street Aloha Hour: 12pm-close ($3 mimosas)

8am -3pm Closed Tuesdays 619-222-0406 2296 Bacon Street, Ocean Beach, CA 92107

14

OCEAN BEACH

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 20, 2012

Ocean Beach MainStreet Association: The Ocean Beach MainStreet Association, originally the Ocean Beach Merchants Association, was started in 1978 with 25 members. A group of local business owners were looking for a way to address the needs of the growing business community, like street cleaning and beautification, landscape maintenance and better representation at the city level.

From this group a larger organization grew and began fundraising for their needs through special events, like itsfirst-ever Street Fair, which was held to raise money for Fourth of July Fireworks in 1981.

By the mid-1980s, the group was applying for Community Development Block Grant funds and working with local architects to find solutions to their needs. The Ocean Beach Business Improvement District (BID) was established in 1989. By the 1990s, the OB Tile Project’s Phase 1 was created, the OB Farmer’s Market began (May 13, 1992) and beautification projects began throughout town — a Town Square, Veterans’ Plaza and directional signs throughout the community. A full-time executive director was hired and funds were used to establish a community office where the OBMA would be able to interface with other community groups, their busi-

125th Anniversary Special

1978-2012

ness members and the community as a whole.

Some of the things the group focused on were developing special events, community enhancements and working with graphic artists and public relations consultants to brand themselves and their work.

In 1998, after waiting 13 years, Ocean Beach Merchants Association earned the “National Mainstreet” designation from the National Trust for Historic Preservation. After that success, the OBMA applied to take over the management of the MAD along Newport Avenue from the city of San Diego.

In 2000, the OBMA also donated all the funds to help replace the police storefront with the police trailer office at the OB Pier parking lot and has financed it ever since.

The OBMA works to maintain several public art projects (Community Murals and Utility Box Program), partners with local community groups to fundraise (Ocean Beach Community Foundation and Ocean Beach Town Council), manages the PROW (Public Right of Way Program), manages the Maintenance Assessment District (MAD) and works daily with its business membership (500-plus) to promote those businesses, as well as the Ocean Beach community.

the CONGRATULATIONS Black Ocean Beach on 125 Years!

Bead There’s no place we‘d rather “Bead” The Black Bead Celebrates over 19 years in OB!

The Black Bead Opened for business on February 3rd, 1993

The Black Bead Today – featuring millions of unique beads! #1 For BEADS

Wed-Sat 10:30-7pm • Sun 11-6pm 5003 Newport Ave. • Ocean Beach theblackbead.com • (619) 222-2115

125th Anniversary Special

OCEAN BEACH

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 20, 2012

Newbreak Coffee & Café 2 Unique locations in Ocean Beach serving Serving the Best Cup of Coffee in OB for 19 years!

Congrats OB on 125 exciting years Can’t wait to see what’s “brewing” for the next 125!

Traditional Breakfast at Both Locations, Fresh Bagels, Breakfast Burritos, Pastries, Gourmet Sandwiches, Paninis, Entreé Salads, Homemade Soups & Healthy Wraps!

Open 6am M-F 6:30am Sat-Sun 1830-D Sunset Cliffs Blvd.

Ocean Beach 619-226-4471

1959 Abbott Street Ocean Beach 619-224-6666

www.newbreakcafe.com

15

Bethany Lutheran Church Worship 10:30am 2051 Sunset Cliffs Blvd., Ocean Beach

619-222-7295 BethanyLutheranOB.org

Congratulations Obecians on Keeping it Wonderful!

Let’s Keep Cultivating Our Garden

Garden and Design Classes Sat Sept 22 10am - 12noon

Cost: $25.00

• Outdoor Lighting Sat Oct 13 10am - 12noon

Cost: $25.00

Sat Oct 27 10am - 12noon

Cost: $25.00

• Planting Sat Nov 4 10am - 12noon Wildflower Seeds

Cost: $35.00

• Irrigation Basics

• Saving Water

COASTAL SAGE GARDENING 619 223-5229 coastalsage.com 3685 VOLTAIRE STREET SAN DIEGO, CA. 92106

Full Menu 'Till 1am Nightly

Now Serving Breakfast!

Saturday & Sunday 9am-2pm

HAPPY 125 TH OB Celebrate here with NFL Sunday Ticket, ESPN Gameplan.

The Big Ten Network.

All on 24 High Definition TV’s from 32”-46”

Have Lunch in the SUN!

Happy Hour in Lounge Areas Only Must Be 21 with Proper ID to Enter Upstairs Bar

5083 Santa Monica Ave • Ocean Beach • 619.222.PIER

16

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 20, 2012

OCEAN BEACH

125th Anniversary Special

‘Mouse,’ the pied piper among Ocean Beach surfers Surfing legend Jim Robb still making waves in and out of the water

By PATRICIA WALSH In a town that prides itself on authenticity, there is no one more genuine than Jim Robb.

A one-time lifeguard and lifetime surfer, Robb, 79, is the Poseidon of Ocean Beach.

He has lived his life not under the water, but on it. Instead of a three-pronged triton spear that the Greek god carried, Robb’s scepter is a surfboard. His baby-blue eyes rival the deep blue that Poseidon’s were reputed to be.

When he talks about his love of the surf and sea, Robb’s eyes sparkle like the sunlight on a wave.

“It’s kept me in good shape all my life,” he said. “Now, I am so lucky to grow old around young people who surf.”

Even as he looks toward his 80th birthday in April, Robb — nicknamed “Mouse” as a kid because he was small and skinny — can’t be kept from the water. Most recently, he’s taken up another water sport.

“I just started a new career in paddleboarding, and it’s exciting,” he said. “Surfing is fun when you’re young and more agile.

You get slower feet as you get older.”

At a seaside picnic table with a bird’s-eye view of the surf and Ocean Beach pier, Mouse reminisces about a time before crowds, wetsuits and sunscreen.

“You weren’t allowed to surf with the big guys until you could control the board,” he said. “You weren’t allowed to brag. If you got a good wave, they’d let you know. You had etiquette and would share the waves.”

The band of boys who ruled the waves with Mouse from San Onofre to Ocean Beach included Skeeter Malcolm, Marsh Malcolm, Bob Figer, Sonny Maggiora, Buddy Lewis, Izzy Isbell, Bruce Westphal, Don Mellon, Rod Luscomb, Lance Morton, Considine and Hal Krupens. Their happy days and high jinks are captured in two books, “The Lifeguards” by Robert C. Baxley and “The Beachboys” by William Ward Martin.

In “The Beachboys,” Martin recalls a young Poseidon who in the 1940s and ’50s owned the surf at the Cliffs, Ab and Garbage.

“Mouse, smallest of the crew, seemed sprung from the very elements themselves. In all weathers and season you could find him at the beach or out at the cliffs. Full of stories and good time he knew everybody … Mr. Information they called him. He loved to charm audiences and sweet talk the girls and nobody was ever more at home on the

/Words to live by/

“It’s kept me in good shape all my life,” he said. “Now, I am so lucky to grow old around young people who surf.”

Jim “Mouse” Robb, shown third from right in this historic photo, poses with several surf buddies at Sunset Cliffs. waves.”

In “The Lifeguards,” Baxley has a chapter titled “Mouse and the Great White Shark.” “(Mouse) was then, and is today, one of the best surfers ... Always light, muscular and strong of heart … he has probably saved more lives over the past 40 years than any other person around these waters.”

When the World Surfing Championship came to Ocean Beach in 1966, Mouse competed in the tandem event with Judy Dibble.

The memory is captured in a stack of blackand-white photos Mouse keeps from the glory days.

In 1999, Mouse, then 66 years old, competed in the National Lifeguard Championships in Cape May, N.J. He won the 800meter paddleboard race in the super veteran category.

While more than a half-century of standing on a surfboard has left Robb with ramrod posture and a core like a rock, the surf and sun have weathered the Scotsman around the edges. Melanoma claimed a chunk from the top of his right ear. He has a “little arthritis” in his shoulders, and more in his big toe.

When he was 56, he beat cancer in the lining of his bladder with an operation that kept him from undergoing chemo.

“It’s the normal aches and pains from being almost 80,” he said.

While he doesn’t take any prescription pills, Mouse does admit to a daily dose of glucosamine.

“I went for several months without it, but

Courtesy photo

Jim Robb, aka “Mouse,” looks at a picture from 1966 that captures him in a tandem-surf event holding partner Judy Dibble over his head.

Photo by Patricia Walsh I The Beacon later there was pain, so I started taking it again,” he said.

Out of the water, Mouse, who retired at 53 from a career at Western Electric, is a bigger part of the Ocean Beach community. He and his wife, Carole, married 55 years, raised a daughter and a son.

A two-time grand marshal in the OB Holiday

Parade, Mouse volunteers around town and wires the Ocean Beach Christmas tree. On the beach, where everyone knows his name, he is constantly stopped to talk about surfing.

“I do have a lot of friends and know a lot of people,” Mouse said. “My wife says I’m the pied piper of surfers.”

125th Anniversary Special

OCEAN BEACH

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 20, 2012

17

Congratulations Ocean Beach on 125 Years!

Insuring Obecians for over 56 Years!

GET TO A BETTER STATETM CALL MATT TODAY.

Matt Kalla Insurance Agency, Inc. Matt Kalla, Agent • Ins. Lic. #0801685

State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Co., State Farm Indemnity Co., State Farm Fire & Casualty Co., 4148 Voltaire Street • www.mattkalla.com State Farm General Insurance Co., Bloomington, IL

619-223-1629

Family Owned & Operated and Serving the Peninsula since 1956

Independent Wall Street Alternative Objective Guidance and Advice www.lploceanbeach.com 4835 Voltaire St. Ocean Beach, CA 92107 chip.messenger@lpl.com 619.573.4738 office 619.573.4758 fax 866.686.8143 toll free Member FINRA/SIPC

Chip Messenger Investment Representative CA Insurance Lic. #Oc84814

{

}

Happy 125th Anniversary Ocean Beach!

Keeping OB in Style for 20 years.

Anniversary Special 20% OFF your entire purchase

5054 Newport Ave. Ocean Beach www.dreamgirls5054.com

Dog Beach Dog Wash Do-It-Yourself Service and Accessories Keeping Dog Beach & the Dogs clean for nearly 20 years!

Happy 125Th OB!

4933 Voltaire Street, San Diego, CA 92107

619-523-1700 Open 7am to 9pm, 7 days a week

www.dogwash.com

Celebrating 44 years in OB Sales • Service • Accessories

Happy 125th Anniversary OB! It’s been a Great “Ride” for the past 23 years – Roger & Yasuko Cable Street (619) 224-7084 1911 Ocean Beach

18

125th Anniversary Special

OCEAN BEACH

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 20, 2012

Ocean Beach as we know it: 1985-2012

BY PATRICIA WALSH

n the late 1980s, Ocean Beach became a magnet again for independent businesses. Locals renewed their affection for the place they called home and pushed for economic and traffic studies. Newport Avenue received a face lift and San Diego City Council approved a business improvement district.

T

By the early 1990s, long standing businesses were joined by the influx of antique stores and OB became San Diego’s antique row.

Residents shared the love by wrapping their arms around Newport Avenue with a tile project. When the Farmer’s Market came to town in 1992 it brought with it another reason to visit — or never leave — OB. Even now, 20 years later, the market offers an eclectic and revolving selection of fashion, food and cool finds.

In 1994, a handful of residents made preservation a priority and founded the Ocean Beach Historical Society. The most important room in town may be in the basement of the United Methodist Church where OBHS volunteers maintain a growing collection of OB’s history.

had a new importance. Celebrations, civic treasures, buildings and businesses all had a new meaning.

The Ocean Beach MainStreet Association led the charge and continues preservation through organization, promotion, economic restructuring and design.

Among the gems in the archives are picture boards of bungalows and cottages built before 1931. The boards represent the passion of Priscilla McCoy, one-time chair of the Ocean Beach Planning Board, who, in 2000, set out to save the structures and created the Ocean Beach Cottage Emerging Historic District. Other documents tell the story of a little branch library that, despite continual threats of closure, has kept its doors open since 1928 through the unwavering support of groups like Friends of the Ocean Beach Public Library.

The local economy is driven by OB’s independent small business. A food co-op and grocery stores support lifestyles from vegan to carnivore. Surf and skate shops, thrift and bargain stores and a 93-yearold hardware store beckon with the every day essentials.

Services abound for well being and cutting-edge looks with choices for salons, spas, workouts and healthcare. A multitude of auto services keeps wheels rolling. There is an abundance of alternative businesses like crystal stores, herb shops and tarot card readers. In Ocean As the 20th century came to an Beach, you can get a tattoo, pick up some incense and find artisan end, everything that was old in OB

jewelry and beach-influenced fash- burgers, sushi, sandwiches, pizza, ions without getting in a car.

Mexican fare, breakfast, lunch, dinner, coffee, sweets and a late-night Hotels are walking distance to snack are all on the menu. The origOB’s restaurants and bars, which inal, fresh and affordable food has are second to none. Fish tacos,

cont’d on page 19

1984 The first large scale annual Ocean Beach Street Fair and Chili Cook-Off Festival and Fireworks Festival takes place in June.

1985 OB Merchants Association applies for its first CDBG (Community Development Block Grant) and is awarded $100,000. Local architects are enlisted for the project.

1980

1999

1992 May — first OB Farmers Market held.

1993 Arts & Culture Commission designs and funds Town Square, Veterans' Plaza, OB Directional Signs.

1990

1987 30 firms are interviewed and Rob Wellington Quigley, AIA is hired as a lead consultant for Ocean Beach design, economic and traffic studies. As a result of the community workshops, his group had this to report: “The people of OB deserve tremendous credit for their courage and creativity in tackling a multitude of complex and diverse problems and opportunities concerning their downtown... that is a wonderful accomplishment.”

1990 Tile project along Newport Ave. begins.

2010

Artist, Activist Rich James creates the OB Community Mural Projet for the 20th Annual OB Street Fair & Chili cookoff. Today 11 murals can be found on buildings throughout OB.

Members of the business community work together to form the Ocean Beach Restaurant, Entertainment & Lodging Group (OBREL) and come up with ways to bring more people in to the community.

2000

1997

2001

Ocean Beach designated the ‘Best Place to Watch a Sunset’ by Sunset Magazine.

Ocean Beach Farmers Market receives Best Farmers Market in the State Award by San Diego Magazine.

125th Anniversary Special

OCEAN BEACH

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 20, 2012

19

Happy Anniversary Ocean Beach!

From

z HEART AND SOUL — “The pier is sort of the heart and soul of Ocean Beach.” — Councilman Ron Roberts told the San Diego Union when the Ocean Beach Pier reopened on Jan. 21, 1991 after being closed 14 months to under-

go $2 million in renovations.

“TWO CLASSY DAMES FROM THE OLD DAYS” — The title of a presentation at the first Ocean Beach Historical Society meeting held in February 1994. Featured were author and OB Historical Society founder Ruth Varney Held and her friend Helen Lowry Gute.

R

SMALL BUT SIGNIFICANT — In 2000, Priscilla McCoy, Ocean Beach Historical Society board

Congratulations OB on 125 years!

LITTLE

CHEF CHINESE FOOD TO GO

&

50% OFF

member, leads the charge to preserve cottages built before 1931 and creates the Ocean Beach Cottage Emerging District.

P

BOOKMARK

— In 2002, the

Ocean Beach Branch Library is designated a historical landmark by the city of San Diego.

O

Celebrating OB’s 125th with these special deals!

Thank You Ocean Beach

Classic Rolls

FREE Small SAKE with any large Beer

We appreciate your support over the last 22 years!

READERS CHOICE AWARDS

Daily Lunch Specials Served 12-3pm

B E S T R E S TA U R A N T S

2 0 1 2

4910 Newport Ave. • Ocean Beach 619-222-6627

www.obsushisushi.com • Open 12pm to 9:45pm 619-222-3288 • 4967 Newport Ave., Ocean Beach

“DUDE, I NEED A ROADMAP” “Dude, I need a roadmap to eat through this thing,” food guru Guy Fieri says to Hodad’s owner Mike Harden as he gets ready to eat a Hodad’s burger on the TV show “Diners, Drive-ins and Dives” in 2009.

FLIP-FLOPS — Accepted attire in 2012 in Ocean Beach hotel, restaurants and bars– collectively the

Happy Birthday Ocean Beach!

125 Years for you, 6 Years for Ocean Beach Business Center & both going strong!

beach town’s biggest businesses.

Buy LocalShip Anywhere!

BELIEVE IT OR NOT! The size of the graduating class of Ocean Beach Elementary School in 1910 was 1. Today, nearly 3,400 children attend eight public and private elementary and middle schools located in the 92107 ZIP code.

Ask about our fine art printing on paper or canvas

4876 Santa Monica Avenue Phone: 619-222-4876 Fax: 619-222-0976

www.obbusinesscenter.com

• Print • Pack • Ship • Notary • Mail Boxes

Congratulations

cont’d from page 18

Ocean Beach on 125 years

been the darling of national and international media attention.

NEW HAPPY HOUR 2-6pm Monday-Sunday

The entertaining sounds of live music and the crack of a cue against billiard balls drift from countless clubs and bars onto busy pedestrian-filled streets.

Ocean Beach is a modern-day Wonderland that echoes the excitement of the 1913 seaside amusement park of the same name. If author and historian Ruth Varney Held were alive in 2012 she would get to relive OB’s butterfly days all over again. Perhaps her new book might be titled “Beach Town USA: It’s Everyday in Ocean Beach.”

4902 Newport Ave. San Diego, CA 92107 P: 619-222-TAPA www.thejointob.com

20 Draft Beers Specializing in local and craft brews

Serving Ocean Beach for 47 years

OPEN FOR LUNCH 11am - 2pm Mon. - Fri.

Featuring our full menu WE NOW

D EL IVE R

to Ocean Beach & Pt. Loma

(619) 223-8197 FULL BAR • WINE CELLAR HAPPY HOUR 4-6 P.M. DAILY 3663 VOLTAIRE STREET • SAN DIEGO

20

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 20, 2012

OCEAN BEACH

125th Anniversary Special

OB flexes muscle in city’s world of entertainment

By BART MENDOZA/Beacon Ocean Beach is today one of the top neighborhoods in San Diego to hear live music. While this is a relatively recent phenomenon, there have always been venues at which to catch a band or two in the Ocean Beach area.

The current explosion of options and musical prowess began back in the mid-1980s amid the growing number of restaurants in Ocean Beach. In addition to such popular local nightspots as Win-

“We’re a vacation destination now, whereas we didn’t have that claim before. We meet a lot of people in our office who are here for an extended periods of time and they want to immerse themselves in the culture of Ocean Beach.” - Denny Knox ston’s Beach Club, The Harp, Gallagher’s and Java Joe’s, there is the popular weekly OB Farmers Market on Newport Avenue. And, at various times of the year, the streets truly come alive with music at events like the annual Ocean Beach Street Fair and Chili CookOff Festival, and the yearly Holiday Parade celebration.

Ocean Beach has established itself among San Diego’s music industry, drawing powerhouse performers — and setting the stage for up-and-comers in the business — through such events as the annual Ocean Beach Street Fair and Chili Cook-Off Festival, the weekly OB Farmers Market and nightly performances at venues throughout the heart of Ocean Beach.

For 125 years, Ocean Beach has been one of San Diego’s scenic jewels, known for its excellent beaches. But Denny Knox, executive director of the Ocean Beach MainStreet Association, said she feels the boom in music is an “added attraction” for visitors and tourists to the already magnetic community.

“Definitely,” Knox said. “We’re a vacation destination now, whereas we didn’t have that claim before.

We meet a lot of people in our office who are here for an extended periods of time and they want to immerse themselves in the culture of Ocean Beach. They want to meet the locals and visit the local stores, restaurants and bars.”

She said Ocean Beach can now boast an entertainment district because it offers far more restaurants than it has ever had.

“And that’s going to drum up a bit more nightlife,” Knox said.

Michael Head, who books performers for the Ocean Beach Farmers Market, as well as for numerous stages at the OB Street Fair and Chili Cook-Off Festival, said he has also noticed an upward swing at both events and in an increased interest by performers wanting to play in the area.

He agrees that music draws people to the community, noting that this applies to listeners and musicians alike.

“We just had a band play that came all the way from France and included the OB Farmers Market on its tour,” said Head. “It was great. Although they only knew a little English, they spoke music, so the crowd loved them. ” Head said the increase of entertainment at area venues has also been beneficial to Ocean Beach’s

own artist community.

“Bands see it as a sort of a pathway to play here,” said Head.

“They see other bands that have come out of the area, like Slightly Stoopid, Jet West and the Heavy Guilt. Musicians, for example, see the track record of a venue like Java Joe’s, which has helped establish performers with names like Jewel, Jason Mraz and Steve Poltz, and they want to be a part of that, too.”

OCEAN BEACH PAINT, HARDWARE & FEED

H APPY A NNIVERSARY OB! We’re Proud to be one of Ocean Beach’s oldest ongoing Businesses - Serving the community for over 93 years!

Your Local Independent Hardware Store Problem Solvers Since 1919 4871 NEWPORT AVENUE

(619) 223-3083

125th Anniversary Special

OCEAN BEACH

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 20, 2012

21

NEWPORT PIZZA & ALE HOUSE

HAPPY 125 T H OB!

z POPULAR OB BUMPER STICKERS

“Ocean Beach – It’s beside the point”

A N Y WAY

INCOME TAX & BOOKKEEPING

OCEAN BEACH

• Year-round Tax Service • Notary Public • Bookkeeping & Payroll

YO U S L I C E I T. . .

STILL RULES! Proud to be part of OB

S t a c e y T h a ye r

for over 26 years!

Newport Pizza in 1993

4869 SANTA MONICA AVENUE, SUITE C

21 CRAFT BEERS ON TAP • 100 BOTTLED BEERS PIZZA BY THE SLICE Free Delivery in OB

R

5050 NEWPORT AVE. • OCEAN BEACH • 619.224.4550

P

"Happy 125th Anniversary OB!!"

“U.S. out of OB” “OB Is an attitude, not an address” “Respect OB”

OBECEANS (OH BEE SHUN) Noun: A native or resident of Ocean Beach. Adjective: Of, relating to, or characteristic of the state of neighborhood of Ocean Beach.

R

(619) 225-9571 SAN DIEGO, CA 92107

Next to the Post Office

LolaLuna Lunaisisproud proudtoto Lola haveserved servedthe theOcean Ocean have Beachcommunity communityfor for Beach thepast pasttwelve twelveyears. years. the Thankyou youfor for Thank shoppinglocal localand and shopping supportingthe theOcean Ocean supporting BeachCommunity.

Community.

Beach

READER CHOIC AWARD

R E TA I L / S E R V I C

2 0 1

OB: A STAR IS BORN

Ocean Beach has been featured on TV shows like “Wonderland,” a

(619) 222-6811 / 619.223.7421

4985 Newport Ave. Ocean Beach

KPBS series in 2009 hosted by Noah Tofolla; “Terriers,” an HBO series that ran for one season in 2010; and “OB Law,” a segment in San Diego newsman Larry Himmel’s “San Diego at Large” show from the mid- 1980s.

NEWPORT AVENUE

P

OPTOMETRY

CIVIC ORGANIZATIONS

Providing Eyecare for the community

Ocean Beach Community Foundation www.wesupportob.org The mission of the OBCF is to preserve, educate and improve the quality of life in Ocean Beach. OBCF Foundation raises funds through private donations, fundraising efforts and community grants. Ocean Beach Community Foundation supports programs in Community Education, Community Enhancement, Community Spirit and Public Safety. Ocean Beach Community Foundation builds collaborations that bring schools, businesses, churches and other area community based organizations together for the betterment of Ocean Beach.

Community Education: Utilize a variety of contests, advertising mediums and scholarships to inform merchants and residents of our support of community enhancement programs.

If you are interested in becoming a partner and supporting programs that benefit the Ocean Beach Community, please contact us at donate@wesupportob.com.

Ocean Beach Town Council www.obtowncouncil.org The object and purpose of the Ocean Beach Town Council is to express the will and represent the welfare of the community

con’t on page 23

HAPPY 125TH OB!

in the same location since November 1957

OB - 125 Years & Counting Keep the“Vision”Alive

Be Sure to Celebrate at our: HAPPY HOUR Every Monday Thru Friday Check our Football Specials During NFL Games

3-7pm 1/2 Price Appetizers $1 Off Drafts & $2.75 Wells 12-5pm Burgers, Fries & Beer Special-$10. Excluding Sculpin

aBEST reader’s choice for: NEW RESTAURANT AMERICAN RESTAURANT

2228 Bacon St

Ocean Beach

619-221-8100

Serving San Diego since 1976

For that “One of a Kind” Gift

HAPPY B-DAY OB! Dr. Mitchell (left) founder of Newport Ave. Optometry & Current Owner Dr. Eli Ben-Moshe since 1995.

Selling Recycled Treasures in Ocean Beach for 16 years

Buy - Sell - Trade Dr. Eli Ben-Moshe & Associates

4822 Newport Avenue (619) 222-0559 www.NewportAveOptometry.com

$$ TOP DOLLAR PAID FOR GOLD & SILVER $$

619-223-6170 4926 Newport Ave. Ocean Beach

22

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 20, 2012

OCEAN BEACH

125th Anniversary Special

OB’s skate park still filling a key need for local youths

By PATRICIA WALSH It’s been 12 years since the trendsetting Robb Field Skate Park opened and life here is still rolling, flipping and grinding along.

The first municipal skateboard park in San Diego when it opened in 2000, the site took 11 years to become a reality, according to Mike

Ryan, a community activist and former Ocean Beach Town Council-member who saw the project through to fruition.

“When it was first proposed, I got laughed at,” Ryan said. “Liability was the issue, but eventually things changed.”

Once a new law was passed that exempted the city of San Diego and

its employees from any litigation resulting from injury at the park, the city happily footed the bill.

Still, over the years, the park has had its ups and downs.

When it first opened, the park was gated and supervised. Users paid $5 a day or $30 a year to enter. Three years ago, when the city was faced with do-or-die bud-

get cuts, the skate park, along with five others in the city, lost its supervision and the user fees were dropped.

Today, the 40,000-square-foot crater of concrete rails, ramps and curves is free for all and open 24/7.

“It’s no hassle,” said Ryan. “It’s always open and it’s free. Kids are having a ball and being cool. What could be better than that?”

“It’s no hassle,” said Ryan. “It’s always open and it’s free.

Kids are having a ball and being cool. What could be better than that?”

Top Middle: Mike Ryan, who worked behind the scenes for 11 years to make OB's skate park a reality, is glad to see his efforts still make a difference in the community today.

Bottom: Tanner Fox, 12, nails a flip every time on his Razor.

P

125th Anniversary Special

OCEAN BEACH

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 20, 2012

23

cont. from page 21 of Ocean Beach by: • Providing a forum for the discussion of community issues • Communicating the views and needs of the community to the appropriate agencies • Taking the appropriate action on the community issues • Promoting the general betterment and beautification of Ocean Beach and the welfare of its residents • Fostering cooperative efforts among all community organization and residents for their mutual benefit

Ocean Beach Historical Society www.obhistory.wordpress.com The Ocean Beach Historical Society is a non profit organization dedicated to documenting and preserving the unique history of Ocean Beach. The group meets regularly, holds an annual photograph contest celebrating the community and has a large archive of photographs, news archives and microfiche.

Ocean Beach Community Development Corporation www.obcdc.org OBCDC is a 501c3 non profit organization dedicated to promoting the vibrancy of the Ocean Beach neighborhood. They were founded in 1993 by a group of residents concerned about the future of the neighborhood. In the course of their history, they have chalked up an impressive list of accomplishments aimed at preserving and enhancing the unique character of OB, and they’ve kept on making news. OB CDC is run by an active board composed of neighborhood residents. Our professional staff is responsible for the day-to-day operations of the organization.

Ocean Beach Planning Board www.oceanbeachpb.com The Ocean Beach Planning Board is recognized by the City of San Diego as the primary advisory group for land use and land development issues in the Ocean Beach community. An urbanized coastal community containing 742 acres within its approximately one square mile planning area. The Ocean Beach Planning area is bounded by the San Diego River to the north, the Pacific Ocean to the west, Froude Street and West Point Loma Boulevard on the east, and Adair Street to the south. The Ocean Beach Planning Board meets on the First Wednesday of every month at 6:00PM at the Ocean Beach Recreation Center at 4726 Santa Monica Ave. The Ocean Beach Project Review Committee meets on the Third Wednesday of every month at 6:30 at the Ocean Beach Recreation Center at 4726 Santa Monica Ave.

Ocean Beach Kiwanis www.oceanbeachkiwanis.org Kiwanis Club of Ocean Beach are now in their 84th Year of Public Service. They are a Hands-On Community Service Organization serving the beach communities since 1928.

Objective: To respond to the needs of the community. The clubs primary emphasis is on the youth, with the willingness to support all facets of our community. Kiwanis, through guidance and example, works to develop future generations of leaders. Every day, Kiwanians are revitalizing neighborhoods, organizing youth-sports programs, tutoring, building playgrounds, and performing countless other projects to help children and communities.

Commitment: Our club meets for dinner on the first and third Monday of the month .

Please refer to the " Club Meetings " on your left for a complete schedule .

Not For Profit: Every dollar we raise from the community goes back to the community !

z

HAPPY 125TH OB KEEP ON GROOVIN’ Out of the BLUE and into...

Providing the Most Best Ocean View 2012, 2011 & 2010 Place to Watch People 2012, 2011 & 2010 Best Fish & Chips 2012, 2011 & 2009 and Best Seafood 2012

Breakfast • Burgers • Salads Sandwiches • Seafood Appetizers • Mexican Food

We’re on the Pier at the end of Niagara 619.226.3474

Unusual in Novelties

for over 40 years

•Pipes •Tobacco •Cigars •Jewelry

•Clothes •Books •Posters •Music Center

5017 Newport • Ocean Beach • 619-222-5498 Open Seven Days - All Major Credit Cards Accepted

Happy 125th Anniversary OB Keeping your Car Looking Good for 33 years We Specialize in Insurance Work, Collision Repair & Paint

INCORPORATED

4856 VOLTAIRE STREET SAN DIEGO, CA 92107 (619) 223-1232 FAX 223-0820

Formerly at 1955 Bacon St.

Cheers OB! On your 125th!

Providing Ocean Beach with Good Times, Good Company & Great Drinks for nearly 75 years!

Early Years at the AZ

Since the 1930’s

619-223-0558 5034 Newport Ave., Ocean Beach www.tonysbarob.com

Since 1943

619-223-7381 1925 Bacon St. Ocean Beach www.theazcafe.com

Since 1974

619-222-0722 5028 Newport Ave., Ocean Beach www.sunshineob.com

24

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 20, 2012

OCEAN BEACH

125th Anniversary Special

Hodads Opened in 1969 at their Original Lo cation next to the Life Guard Tower Parking Lot

Hodad’s moved to Voltaire from 1980-1991

Hodad ’s on Newport Ave. 1991-Today