Del Mar

For many years, there was a relatively long stretch of open track between Twin Lakes and Capitola—it was a span of 2.8 miles. Then, in the late 1891, James Corcoran, Patrick Moran, and Henry Johans donated a section of land between Corcoran and Schwann Lagoons for use as a Catholic resort. The new summer retreat was located at the bottom of 17th Avenue and placed under the administration of the Catholic Ladies' Aid Society. The Society built a female-centric resort called the Santa Maria del Mar Hotel which catered both to Catholic women and summer tourists. It sat above the cliffs beside modern-day East Cliff Drive.

Hunting Crabs near Twin Lakes Beach with the Santa Maria del Mar Hotel in the background.
(Jongeneel Collection – Santa Cruz Museum of Art & History)

A Southern Pacific Railroad flag-stop was raised beside 17th Avenue at around the same time on a 60-foot wide stretch of land donated by Corcoran. Today, it would be located near the site of Shoreline Middle School just east of Schwann Lagoon. Del Mar first appeared as a full station in January 1909 under the name "Delmar" (later that year renamed "Del Mar"), located 2.9 miles from Santa Cruz, 117.5 from San Francisco via Pajaro Junction, and 83.3 miles from San Francisco via Santa Cruz and the Mayfield Cut-Off. It had no spur or siding, emphasizing its existence as a passenger stop. A short spur was finally added in 1923, suggesting the introduction of an industrial complex nearby. That spur was privately owned by the Farmers Co-Operative Exchange, the grain elevator for which still sits on the site across from the school.

The Villa Maria del Mar today. (Santa Cruz – Connection Magazine)

The creation of the Rio Del Mar housing development at the mouth of Aptos Creek further to the east likely caused the Southern Pacific to rename their small station on 17th Avenue to "Cliffside" at some point in the early 1930s. The name recognized the community's status as a clifftop subdivision, though the station itself was over half a mile from the nearest cliff. Though the Catholic church still had a presence in the area, the landscape had evolved to include dozens of private homes and rental cabins. Regular passenger service to the site ceased in February 1938 and has not since resumed. When the spur was removed is unknown.

Traces of Del Mar still persist in the area. The resort hotel survives as the Villa Maria del Mar Retreat Center operated by the Sisters of the Holy Names of Jesus & Mary since 1963. Thus, it remains a Catholic facility, though it caters to everyone as a conference center. Over the years, the facility has been greatly expanded and a small Mission-style church now sits nearby. Closer to the tracks, the Del Mar Middle School still keeps alive the old name for the community. The track, now owned by the City of Santa Cruz, still cross over 17th Avenue, though its use has been infrequent since 2007.

Citations:

• Donald Clark, Santa Cruz County Place Names (Scotts Valley, CA: Kestrel Press, 2007).
• Gary B. Griggs & Deepika Shrestha Ross, Then & Now: Santa Cruz Coast (Arcadia Publishing, 2006).

Twin Lakes

Twin Lakes was one of the last seasonal stops put in place along the Southern Pacific Railroad tracks along the Monterey Bay. It was established in April 1890 as a summer retreat for Baptists. In a ten-acre tract of land between Woods Lagoon and Schwann Lagoon purchased from J.C. Kimble, the Baptists built a large tabernacle able to seat 300 people. On East Cliff Drive beside the beach, they also built a hotel and conference center. The conference center soon picked up a large concrete swimming pool by the beach for those wishing not to swim in the surf. Cabins and a campground were built around the tabernacle and the resort was used seasonally. Four windmills placed in the area powered the facilities. The Baptists first used the retreat on June 23, 1890, and it became a regular gathering place for Baptist communities from around the country.

A transcription of historian H.S. Harrison from his 1892 History of Santa Cruz County, California is perhaps most appropriate to present at this point:

TWIN LAKES PARK.

This tract, generally known as Twin Lakes, is the appropriate and euphonious name of a Baptist resort and summer encampment recently established in Santa Cruz. The successful endeavors of the Christian people paved the way and led up to the establish- ment of this resort. 

Like the Methodists of Pacific Grove, on the other side of the bay, the Baptist Church of California was anxious to secure a desirable location for a summer' encampment and a place to hold annual conferences. A committee was appointed to look up sites and consider propositions, and, after traveling over a large part of Central California, and examining many places, and considering several large tenders of land and coin, accepted the proposition of Mr. J.C. Kimble, a resident of Oakland, and owner of one of the most desirable pieces of property in Santa Cruz County. Mr. Kimble gave ten acres of the highest part of this tract, and afterwards increased it by the addition of other pieces and a long, broad stretch of beach, aggregating twenty-two and one-quarter acres. A donation from Jacob Schwan increased the tract seven and a fifth acres, and the purchase from the same party of twelve acres additional, and a perpetual lease of a long strip along the cliff, make a domain of about forty acres. 

The location of this encampment could not be excelled if the State had been thoroughly searched. From the city of Santa Cruz to Aptos, as has been previously noted, is one of the most desirable residence parts of the globe. And of this most desirable part of the Monterey Bay, the Baptists, in point of contiguity to the city of Santa Cruz, steam and street railway facilities, bathing facilities, including surf bathing in the open bay, and still salt water bathing in Swan Lake, beauty of natural surroundings, grand marine and mountain views, to say nothing of the pretty little vistas, shady walks, and secluded nooks among the grand oaks which fringe the lakes, have certainly demonstrated the conception of their undertaking under a most auspicious star. 

The grounds have been laid out by Mr. N. E. Beckwith, of Los Gatos, who has been appointed superintendent and resident agent for the sale of lots. Mr. Beckwith has demonstrated his ability as a surveyor, and high artistic taste, by the way that he has plotted the grounds, surveying the entire tract and adjacent lands of Mr. Kimble in one homogeneous plan, with an eye to the future growth and development of this most auspiciously inaugurated effort.

A hotel and several cottages have been constructed, a large number of tents are upon the ground, and quite a number of families are enjoying the privilege and pleasure of an encampment at Twin Lakes. The lots are forty by eighty feet in dimension, and have sold rapidly since being placed upon the market, many purchasers being residents of Santa Cruz, not identified with the religious association, who have taken advantage of the opportunity of a good business investment. Especial care has been taken to prevent the sale of liquors on or near the grounds. While the enterprise is under the management of the California State Baptist Association, there is no sectarianism in the conduct of affairs, as each purchaser of a lot is entitled to membership in the association. 

In addition to his donation of land, Mr. Kimble has assisted in opening roads, and otherwise shown his generosity and desire for the success of the undertaking, which is now assured. Some pretty features of the natural scenery are shown in the accompanying engraving.

Naturally, most visitors arrived to the Twin Lakes resort by rail. The nearest tracks were at the back end of Schwann Lagoon, at the end of 7th Avenue. As soon as the Baptists began using the site, Twin Lakes station was in full swing. It initially had no structure or services and no siding. It was located 118.6 miles from San Fransisco via Pajaro Junction and 1.6 miles from Santa Cruz. The Ely horsecars passed down 7th Avenue, crossing the Southern Pacific tracks where it picked up passengers who were bound for the beach.

The Jongeneel family at a cottage at Twin Lakes in 1907.

On the beach, management changed quickly. The Baptist tabernacle remained the focus point for the area, but the conference center changed hands in the late 1890s when Howard E. Parker bought it and renamed it Hotel Surf. He in turn sold it to J.H. McCulock on Mar. 2, 1903. At this time, the Twin Lakes was growing. New seasonal and permanent residents were beginning to crowd out the historic Baptist core. By 1917, much of the area was under development as private residences, some Baptist, some not. The Union Traction Company took over the Ely horsecars around 1904 and began running seasonal service between the railroad stop and the beach. Around 1908, a 350-foot spur was added to Twin Lakes station, likely to provide a place for trains to park and unload passengers. Any freight purpose for this spur is currently unknown by this historian. From that point until the 1930s, Twin Lakes was a fully-fledged year-round station, appearing on employee timetables regularly. Service was still on-demand, but it would stop at Twin Lakes for any passenger on or off the train.

The Hotel Surf became the Twin Lakes Hotel in 1926 when Karl O. Kott bought out the property from Charles and Otto Stark, the previous owners. By then, the Baptist tabernacle had become simply a local Baptist church, its heritage fading into history. Passenger service continued to Twin Lakes Station until February 1938, after which the route was used for excursions trains and freight only. The tracks became property of the Union Pacific in 1996 and were purchased by the City of Santa Cruz in the mid-2000s. The beach area became Twin Lakes State Beach in 1955 and at the time was connected to Seabright Beach located between the San Lorenzo River and Woods Lagoon. The construction of the small craft harbor in Woods Lagoon in 1964 divided the two beaches, though they legally remain the same state park. Today, Twin Lakes Beach is still a popular venue at the mouth of Schwann Lagoon, but few traces of the area's historic or railroad past remain.

Citations:

• E.S. Harrison, History of Santa Cruz County, California (San Francisco, CA: Pacific Press Publishing, 1892.

Seabright

Though the Santa Cruz Railroad was intended primarily as a freight line, its use as a passenger line was never ignored and, indeed, it was emphasized at times. One of the railroad's benefits was that it ran near the beach throughout much of its length between Pajaro Junction and Santa Cruz. Between the San Lorenzo River and Woods Lagoon, a small jetty of land included a small beach area. The land was originally owned by a Mr. Doane.  In 1884, this land was purchased by F.M. Mott of Sacramento from Mr. Woods, after whom Woods Lagoon is named. Mott developed it into a farm and summer home. In the early 1880s, he visited the New Jersey coastal village of Sea Bright and took the name home with him.

Seabright Beach and Wood's Lagoon, c. 1895. (SC Libraries)

Camp Alhambra, designed by Thomas Pilkington, dominated the area directly above the river to the west of Seabright Beach. It was the only resort between Camp Capitola and the Santa Cruz Main Beach. The entire resort was composed of a long, low building surrounded by cypress trees. Eventually, out buildings such as cottages and cookhouses were built. Captain Hall and his daughter, Mrs. Green, ran Camp Alhambra for seven years beginning in 1882, until they parcelled the property out in 1889. Seabright Park was built soon on one of the larger parcels.

Seabright Beach in the early 1900s. 

The Southern Pacific Railroad began advertising the property by the late 1880s as an aquatic getaway with most of the visitors coming from San José. The railroad station for Seabright was built in 1898 on the southeast corner of Railraod Avenue (later Seabright Avenue). The stop had served as a flag-stop since the early 1890s and continued as a flag-stop through to the 1910s. It was located 119.5 miles south of San Francisco via Pajaro Junction. In 1909, the line was reassessed via the mountain route and Mayfield Cut-off and measured 80.3 miles from San Fransisco. It had no siding or spur and the first station shelter was open-air with back-to-back rows of benches, built in the shadow of the Seabright Hotel. The Seabright streetcars of the Union Traction Company also used the station, making it one of the few railroad/streetcar transfer stations in the city.

Seabright Station, 1907. (Museum of Art & History – M. Jongeneel Collection)

Seabright got itself a post office on April 13, 1899 but the annexation of Seabright into the City of Santa Cruz in February 1905 ended the post office's existence. Forty-five years later, a new post office was built across the tracks and, though formally called the East Santa Cruz Branch, it is frequently referred to as the Seabright post office. Part of the allure of Seabright was the Castle. James A. Pilkington, son of Thomas, built what was formally called the Seabright Bathhouse in 1899. The design of the building mimicked that of a castle, though it had, in reality, wood walls. In the 1920s, Pilkington's son, Louis, expanded the facility to include a dining room and other features, while renaming the medieval structure the "Scholl-Mar Castle", after his business partner, Conrad Scholl. By the 1940s, it became the Casa del Mar restaurant, while the 1950s and 1960s saw the building converted into an art gallery.

Castle Beach in the early 1960s.

A streetcar parked beside the station, c. 1910s. (Surf, Sand & Streetcars)

Seabright Station was upgraded at some points in the early 1910s to a larger structure with a small ticket office beside a covered passenger waiting area. This marked the station's evolution from a flag-stop to a seasonal station. In the 1920s, the station had been moved across the tracks and the passenger waiting area enclosed and converted into a baggage storage room. By 1921, a short spur had been built beside the station heading into the Santa Cruz Fruit & Olive Canning Company. In 1926, Seabright became one of three stops along a short segment of automated block signals heading toward the depot in Santa Cruz. Block signals helped control traffic along narrow lanes and were used here since there were no sidings between Capitola and the Santa Cruz depot. Seabright remained in use as a passenger flag-stop until early 1942 when all passenger traffic within Santa Cruz County was halted for the war. Passenger service never resumed and Suntan Specials passed by the former stop without giving the option for a flag.

Second Seabright Station, after its closure in 1942. (Jim McGowan)

The station building survived into the 1950s but was finally demolished. Murray Street now passes through the site of the original station shelter while the second station site is now a dirt parking lot. The Canning Company spur persisted into the 1980s before finally being removed, with the old canning facility converted into Pacific Edge. Castle Beach, meanwhile, was established as a part of Twin Lakes State Beach in 1955 though the construction of the harbor in 1964 permanently separated it from its former neighbor. The Seabright Castle was demolished on March 24, 1967, after a major storm damaged the building beyond repair. Erosion also had an impact on the surrounding cliffs, further damaging the Castle and other buildings in the area. Directly across from the site of the Castle, the Santa Cruz Natural History Museum with its iconic bronze whale was built at Tyrrell Park.

The demolition of the castle, 1967. (Rex Walker Collection)

Citations:

• Donald Clark, Santa Cruz County Place Names: A Geographical Dictionary (Scotts Valley, CA: Kestrel Press, 2007).
• Elizabeth M.C. Forbes, "Reminiscences of Seabright: Excerpts", Santa Cruz Public Libraries  <http://www.santacruzpl.org/history/articles/403/> (Accessed 3 October 2014).