v w. 1 4 W V..1. of the galleries was a restaurant. It turned out to be such a grand project, that he was from that point on known as "Bathhouse" Smith. In his desire to make Lovers Point into a recreational resort, Smith was instru- mental in building the Japanese Tea Garden, an auditorium for dances and con- certs, a photo booth and a merry-go- round. However, this only served to keep him in "hot water" with the local authorities who frowned on such things in our Christian Seaside Retreat. The "blue laws" forbade him from operating on Sun- days and the weather and lack of business dictated that he only be open from June through September. He finally tired of this in 1910 and sold the property and businessto Dr. Claredon Foster. "Bathhouse" Smith left Pacific Grove to travel the world and did not return until 1944 when he retired here. He died in a local rest home in 1947. Dr. Foster ran the business without incident until he moved to Sacramento in 1918. He then sold the land and bath house to Mrs. Mattie McDougall. At this time, the City of Pacific Grove was actively acquiring all the property on the ocean side of Ocean View Blvd. By the late 1920s, the only privately held land at Lovers Point was occupied by the bath house, now owned by Mrs. McDou- gall. The bath house building became an eyesore and was condemned by the city in 1932. This angered Mrs. McDougall who built a gate and locked it, effec- tively denying public access to Lovers Point and the beach. Long time readers of the Board and Batten will recall that Julia Platt took heraxe to the fence and gate and restored public access. Following two years of litigation, an agreement was reached on May 18, 1934 and the city of Pacific Grove purchased the bath house and land at Lovers Point. Within two months, all buildings, including the bath house, were removed from Lovers Point. July 1934 marked the first time since 1875 that there was not a bath house, nor dressing rooms, at Lovers Point It appears there were no structures on Lovers Point for the next 15 years. At this point you may be wondering where the existing Old Bath House Restau- rant came from. In 1949, the city built a municipal bath house on Lovers Point on the former site of the large auditorium, which can be seen in the center of the photo on page 6. At the same time, the little snack bar was built close to where the original bath houses were located. The snack bar remains unchanged today, but the bath house has changed considerably since 1949. On Saturday, July 9, 1949, the new $60,000 municival bath house was formally opened by Mayor Chapman along with thnd the contractor Fred Stolte. The building featured a fountain-lunch counter restaurant operated by Charles Bremer and his partner Maynard Monette on the top deck of the bath house. A 4 , OCR Text: v w. 1 4 W V..1. of the galleries was a restaurant. It turned out to be such a grand project, that he was from that point on known as "Bathhouse" Smith. In his desire to make Lovers Point into a recreational resort, Smith was instru- mental in building the Japanese Tea Garden, an auditorium for dances and con- certs, a photo booth and a merry-go- round. However, this only served to keep him in "hot water" with the local authorities who frowned on such things in our Christian Seaside Retreat. The "blue laws" forbade him from operating on Sun- days and the weather and lack of business dictated that he only be open from June through September. He finally tired of this in 1910 and sold the property and businessto Dr. Claredon Foster. "Bathhouse" Smith left Pacific Grove to travel the world and did not return until 1944 when he retired here. He died in a local rest home in 1947. Dr. Foster ran the business without incident until he moved to Sacramento in 1918. He then sold the land and bath house to Mrs. Mattie McDougall. At this time, the City of Pacific Grove was actively acquiring all the property on the ocean side of Ocean View Blvd. By the late 1920s, the only privately held land at Lovers Point was occupied by the bath house, now owned by Mrs. McDou- gall. The bath house building became an eyesore and was condemned by the city in 1932. This angered Mrs. McDougall who built a gate and locked it, effec- tively denying public access to Lovers Point and the beach. Long time readers of the Board and Batten will recall that Julia Platt took heraxe to the fence and gate and restored public access. Following two years of litigation, an agreement was reached on May 18, 1934 and the city of Pacific Grove purchased the bath house and land at Lovers Point. Within two months, all buildings, including the bath house, were removed from Lovers Point. July 1934 marked the first time since 1875 that there was not a bath house, nor dressing rooms, at Lovers Point It appears there were no structures on Lovers Point for the next 15 years. At this point you may be wondering where the existing Old Bath House Restau- rant came from. In 1949, the city built a municipal bath house on Lovers Point on the former site of the large auditorium, which can be seen in the center of the photo on page 6. At the same time, the little snack bar was built close to where the original bath houses were located. The snack bar remains unchanged today, but the bath house has changed considerably since 1949. On Saturday, July 9, 1949, the new $60,000 municival bath house was formally opened by Mayor Chapman along with thnd the contractor Fred Stolte. The building featured a fountain-lunch counter restaurant operated by Charles Bremer and his partner Maynard Monette on the top deck of the bath house. A 4 , Heritage Society of Pacific Grove,Historical Collections,Historic Properties of Pacific Grove,Jewell,741 Jewell,JEWELL_026.pdf,JEWELL_026.pdf 1 Page 1, Tags: JEWELL_026.PDF, JEWELL_026.pdf 1 Page 1