The stop-and-go demolition of the Casa del Rey Apartments on Beach Street (better known as La Bahia) has been halted for weeks since removal of one of the last courtyard foundations caused a hidden spring to bubble up. An earth berm was pushed up to contain the flow, and now holds a good-sized pool.
Resumption of work presumably awaits design changes to deal with the unexpected groundwater.
To anyone who has read about the history of La Bahia, however, finding the spring is not such a surprise. According to a 1928 Santa Cruz Evening News article, the spring was a well-known source of drinking water in the pre-development days of Beach Hill.
The spring was also known to architect William C. Hayes, who designed the apartment complex that opened in 1927. The layout included two interior courtyards, one of which enclosed the spring, and directed its flow into a rock-lined pool in the courtyard named El Fuente de los Marineros (Fountain of the Mariners).
Santa Cruz Changes locations can be found on this Google Map.
