Santa Cruz California Boardwalk

The Santa Cruz California Boardwalk is not only an amusement park but it's also an historic site. The Santa Cruz Boardwalk is the oldest amusement park in California that is still in operation. The park takes up 24 acres on the coast of Monterey Bay and adjacent to the municipal wharf which features several excellent seafood restaurants. As you can see from the photos, the Santa Cruz Boardwalk is very scenic.

The park which began operating in 1907 would be one of several beachfront amusement parks along California's coastline. At San Francisco, in the late 1800's an amusement area opened up on the Pacific Ocean west of the city. By 1926 it was named Playland-at-the-Beach. This was at a time when many might ride the electric urban railways for a day of amusement on the shoreline. This was the era before Disneyland, Knott's Berry Farm and Great America.

Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk

Santa Cruz California is located on beautiful Monterey Bay. Today, the entire area from Santa Cruz southward to Carmel is one of the most popular vacation destinations for Californians and people world wide. Even before amusement parks appeared, Santa Cruz, as early as 1865, was noted for it's bathhouse near the mouth of the San Lorenzo River. People traveled to Santa Cruz to enjoy the touted health benefits of bathing in salt water and the number of bathhouses' grew. During the mid to latter 1800's, bathing in certain natural waters including hot springs, was thought to be extremely therapeutic. Hot Springs in Arkansas and outside Las Vegas New Mexico were just two of many well known locations for hot mineral baths. The salt water baths in Santa Cruz were just as popular in the late 1860's. From the 1860's to the end of the century, more shops opened up in Santa Cruz catering to the tourist trade.

Present day Roller Coaster

The origins of the present day Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk is all about the story of Fred W. Swanton. Swanton acquired land in 1903 in a town that already had a tourist trade and reputation built by the bathhouses. With this land and it's scenic location, Swanton started the Santa Cruz Beach, Cottage, and Tent City Corporation. Not long after that Swanton, one of the best promoters of his time, added a casino, pinball games and rides. Eventually the area was known as the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk. With these holdings, Swanton became a one man Santa Cruz tourist booster. He traveled far and wide promoting Santa Cruz as a tourist destination and was credited in getting none other than Teddy Roosevelt to visit Santa Cruz. With the cooperation of the Southern Pacific Railroad, Fred Swanton conducted a brass band traveling promotion tour on special trains. Swanton also had the foresight to promote Santa Cruz to the early movie industry which was growing each year. Many people called Swanton's Boardwalk the Coney Island of the West. In many ways it was.

In 1908, a year after the park's fabulous grand opening, Fred Swanton had constructed a four minute  coaster ride called the "L.A. Thompson Scenic Railway". This coaster was replaced in 1924 with the "Giant Dipper" which was a modern type roller coaster. As the years past, more rides were introduced along with more games. Indoor swimming was added with "The Plunge" which lasted until 1963.

Neptune's Kingdom arcade

Business, like most businesses, suffered during the Great Depression years, however, over the decades, the Santa Cruz Boardwalk grew with more rides and more technology. Additionally, the Boardwalk was a popular venue for Miss California Pageants as well as concerts from big names like Lawrence Welk, Tommy Dorsey, Gene Krupa and Benny Goodman just to name a few.

Like many amusement park funhouses across the U.S., the Santa Cruz Boardwalk had it's "Laughing Sal"  with her loud boisterous laugh. Sal was built in the early 1930's by a company in Pennsylvania. She was built with paper mache, cams, springs and gears and was one of the most popular amusements in the 30's and 40's. Sal's laugh was such that she had the habit of scaring children. If nothing else, kids remembered the first time they saw Sal.

Today's Cocoanut Grove opened in 1907 as the Casino with 1,200 people in attendance at the grand opening . This was also the venue in the 1930's and 1940's which featured the big band concerts as well as concerts geared to the younger audiences beginning in the 1960's. The Cocoanut Grove was also the venue for the Miss California Pageants and was designated a California Historic Landmark in 1989.

Santa Cruz Pier showing trolley line, 1904

The Santa Cruz Public Wharf is adjacent to the park and is in easy walking distance. The wharf is great to visit when at the park and, as mentioned above, offers a fine selection of restaurants.

Two other of our articles you'll enjoy are Mission San Juan Batista and the John Steinbeck Center in Salinas. Both are good companion stops along with your trip to the Santa Cruz Boardwalk.

You may also enjoy our travel article on Beautiful Tomales Bay California.

There's an excellent book available on the subject, California Theme Parks by author Alex Miller which details the history of theme parks in California and how important they are and were to 1900's California. Miller explains how these amusement parks came to be and the big role that roller coasters played in their appeal. Another good read on the subject is The Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk: The Early Years-Never A Dull Moment, by author Chandra Moira Beal.

(Photos from author's private collection. 1904 photo from the public domain)