David Morrell

Neighborhoods and homes in Capitola, California reach further and wider than one might discover during a first visit; each locale is peppered with a rich history of its own.

Upon further acquaintance with the city, beautiful and quiet neighborhoods sit just above the roar of summer tourism and crowds where rugged nature meets the ocean and many call home.

To the east of Soquel Point in Capitola lies one of the most popular surf spots — a neighborhood called Pleasure Point. Local legend says that its name was acquired from a once-existing house of prostitution that existed there during the 1930s. The story, embellished over time, is a favorite explanation among Santa Cruz County locals. In actuality, the name of the locale came from a salt water pool turned health spa, which was built in the basement of a mansion that burned down in 1914. Once the basement was turned into a health spa, it was named the “Pleasure Point Plunge” — a local attraction until it went bankrupt in the mid-1950′s.

Just east of the beautiful European-style village sit two other sub-divisions – Jewel Box and Opal Cliffs. In the early 20th century, the Loma Prieta logging camps in the coastal mountains above Aptos and Soquel took their lumber to Opal so that it could be shipped on the So. Pacific Railroad to San Francisco. After Capitola’s owner and developer Frederick Hihn died, the property was subdivided by his widow’s new husband, J.T. McGeoghegan, and became Opal Subdivision 1 after the train stop. The name “Opal” then inspired the naming of adjoining streets that were once only known by numbers. They are now joined by “Garnet”, “Diamond”, “Topaz”, “Crystal” and other streets named after gems — and it was affectionately coined “The Jewel Box” neighborhood.

The name of Capitola’s State Park, New Brighton, was taken from an old hotel that existed on a settlement not far from where the state park sits now. Brighton Hotel sat on a settlement that was once called Camp San Jose, which is located on the area that is now known as Pot Belly Beach — just to the West of Capitola Village. Before it was known as New Brighton, the stretch of coastline was named China Beach after a Chinese fishing community that existed there for a number of years during the 1870s.

Last but not least is a neighborhood that overlooks the quaint Capitola Village and Monterey Bay from an ocean side bluff called Depot Hill. Depot Hill — a close-knit and historic residential community — became known as Depot Hill after Capitola’s train depot was relocated to the bluff in the late 1800s. The hill quickly became a desirable residential community due to its proximity to the railway; many beautiful Victorian homes from this turn-of-the-century period can still be found on Depot Hill today.

Stay tuned, as we will feature more information on Capitola homes and neighborhoods in upcoming posts.

If you have any questions about Capitola, or to look at property in any of these fine neighborhoods, please contact David Morrell, David@DavidMorrellSC.com or (831) 239-1255.

Homes in Capitola, California