This House Was Built 100 Years Ago (But Not in Capitola!)

By Rich Didday, CVRA

San Francisco’s Panama–Pacific International Exposition was a world’s fair held in 1915. The only building that remains in its original location is the beautiful Palace of Fine Arts. However, one of the houses built for fair workers survives here, in Capitola.

Capitola Village Residents Association (CVRA) member Steven Woodside recalls his grandfather telling him about how the house was disassembled after the fair was over, was loaded on a train, brought to Capitola, offloaded at the Capitola Depot, and reassembled where it is now, on Soquel Creek between the trestle and the Stockton Avenue bridge.

The house has been remodeled to some extent, the original front porch was closed-in some time in the mid 1980’s, a brick chimney was lost in the Loma Prieta earthquake, and the insides were redone more recently but some of the original fittings remain:

• Window latches on the double hung sash windows
• Light fixtures in the living room
• A wall electrical outlet that was still in use into the late 1970’s. (Now a paperweight.)
• And we’re hoping for another 100 years!

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CVRA Board Elections

At the June 16 meeting, the CVRA elected new officers, and then launched into spirited discussions about the New Civic Center proposals, the County Passenger Rail Study, and upcoming proposals about City zoning changes, among other topics.

President: Nels Westman
Vice President: Margaret Kinstler
Secretary: Ellen Miller
Treasurer and also Membership Coordinator: Linda Hanson

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The CVRA is now in its eighth year. To learn more, please visit www.CapitolaCVRA.org