Santa Cruz Changes - 29: 900-800 Pacific Avenue

In the 900 and 800 blocks of Pacific Avenue, we get into some familiar territory, at least on the east side of the street. The three big redevelopment projects on that side will rebuild the entire 900-800 frontage. The two Pacific Station projects were described in posts #21 and #22. Neither of those projects have begun construction yet. Most of the 800 block has been razed in 2021, and the big new project there (see post #4) is slowly rising from the ground. So let's look now at the west side of those two short blocks.

As with the 1000 block, the first thing to notice as you travel south on Pacific Avenue past Elm Street is a large, colorful wall mural facing you on the right. Streetlight Records has filled some of the new & used LP/CD/DVD vacuum left when Logos closed, and seems to be doing well. All of the mid-block businesses beyond are also open. 

At the next corner is yet another fun wall mural, facing south toward Maple Street from the wall of long-time retailer Andy's Auto Supply. The store closed in 2019, unlikely to return, but I hope the mural stays. If the scene pictured in the mural is accurate, Andy's used to be located farther south, in the 800 block. 

The old location of Andy's has long been home to Zachary's, a locally-owned breakfast/lunch institution. Since re-opening for indoor dining, weekend waiting lines once again fill the PacAve sidewalk in front.

Past Zachary's is the last surviving Santa Cruz example of what was once common in commercial building nomenclature - the Jonas Block. From about 1870 to 1910, Pacific Avenue filled up with large-ish buildings dubbed "Block"  - usually following the owner's name. This one was built by David Jonas, a clothing retailer, in 1908. the building name, high up on the roof-edge parapet, is hard to see from the street because of the trees, but can be read easily on the Andy's mural.

The block ends at Laurel Street and a less-treasured local institution, the Bonesio Liquor Store. The front corner of the building is chamfered at 45 degrees, so that customers can drive in from either street, stop right in front of the door, leave the motor running while running in to make a purchase, and exit straight ahead onto the other street. What could go wrong? 

A bit of historical deja-vu: in 1963, Victor Bonesio announced his intention to sell his liquor store to a man from Tulare named Harold W. Jarvis. Probably no relation, but among the earliest wine-and-spirits wholesale/retailers in Santa Cruz was George M. Jarvis, who opened a store on the north end of Pacific Avenue in 1876.  

Santa Cruz Changes locations can be found on this Google Map.  

Santa Cruz Changes - 28: Pacific Avenue 1000 block

 

Crossing Cathcart Street and continuing toward the beach, the 1000 block is a short one, extending only to where Elm Street dead-ends from the right. Not much has changed recently -  the mid-2000s mixed-use building at 1010 is the only thing on the left. On the right, the Old School Shoes mural (above) still decorates the long blank wall facing Cathcart.

Next door to O.S.S. on both sides is an odd L-shaped 2-story building with narrow frontage on both Pacific and Cathcart. A building permit has been issued to remodel the structure into several condos, but construction has not begun.

Mid-block is filled by The Catalyst, long-time icon of the Santa Cruz live music scene. Long closed because of COVID protocols, the venue reopened in mid-August. The photo at right is from 2019, when the marquee still advertised upcoming shows.

Also reopened in mid-August is The Starving Musician, which had recently moved from Ocean Street (see Changes #14) into the old Union Grove Music store when COVID hit. The fate of a musician supply store located next door to a live-music club would seem to depend on whether that club is open, so let's hope there are no further public-health-related closures.

Santa Cruz Changes locations can be found on this Google Map.

Santa Cruz Changes - 27: 1100 block Pacific Avenue

The 1100 bock of Pacific Avenue begins at the Soquel Ave. junction on the east, and at the Lincoln Street junction on the west. The block ends at Cathcart Street, in a return to east-west cross-street alignment. 

New Leaf Market remains at the Soquel corner, in the 1929 building originally home to the Bank of Italy, which grew into the Bank of America. The last vestige of the BofA presence departed a few years ago with the closing (2018?) of the sidewalk ATM. 

Next to the former ATM, long-time sustainable-material retailer EcoGoods closed, and that space remains empty. Out front, Cafe Campesino moved into the sidewalk kiosk.

A bit further on, plans to reopen the Del Mar theater remain on hold. The StreetView image at right shows what was playing in July, 2017. The theater's longtime sidekick, Cafe Delmarette, has reopened.

Beyond the Del Mar at 1122, Santa Cruz Jewelers & Gifts came and went since 2017, probably a victim of the COVID closures.

At the Lincoln Street corner, Bay Area franchise Nick the Greek replaced the Sitar Indian restaurant, in the 1937 building built by Morris Abrams for his clothing store.

Farther along is the site of a major loss for Santa Cruz readers and listeners. Logos Books and Records. Owner/builder John Livingston retired in 2019 from the location Logos has occupied since rebuilding after the 1989 earthquake.  

Announced plans to convert the Logos space into a brew pub have not materialized, and the street frontage remains empty.

This is a good time to mention one other change affecting all of Pacific Avenue from Locust Street to Lincoln street - the addition of informational signs pointing out along side streets to where various businesses can be found.  

Locations in the Santa Cruz Changes blog can be found on this Google Map.

Santa Cruz Changes - 26: 1200 block Pacific Avenue

The saddest recent change in the 1200s of Pacific Avenue (for us Irish, anyway) is also one of the least visible - because it was upstairs. Longtime resident Rosie McCann's Irish pub & restaurant did not survive the long COVID closure, perhaps in part because it was unable to set up an outdoor serving area. Coupled with the closing of The Poet and The Patriot, it's getting harder to find a pint of Guinness downtown. 

Across Pacific and to the north of Walnut Avenue, Joe's Pizza and Subs has left its shop next to Pacific Cookie Company, which continues to thrive (hooray!) The other Joe's location remains open, at the corner of Water Street and Branciforte Ave.

Two years ago, the 1200-block business that seemed most likely to disappear was Forever 21. The clothing chain survived bankruptcy, however, and its Santa Cruz store reopened. Following Borders Books, another large chain retailer failure at 1200 Pacific might have started rumors about ghosts or curses.

At the corner of Walnut, right across from Forever 21, local clothing retailer Berdel's also seems to be doing well. The store has grown to absorb the next-door space formerly occupied by Synergy Clothing.  

Locations in the Santa Cruz Changes blog can be found on this Google Map.

Santa Cruz Changes - 25: Pacific Avenue 1300s

The first large building in the 1300 block of Pacific Avenue doesn't actually have a PacAve address. The edifice that replaced the beloved Cooper House has a 100 Cooper Street address, and the retail spaces have suite numbers, so longtime corner tenant O'Neill Surf Shop is in Suite 100D.

Inclusion of the Galleria walkway in the building design was perhaps a nod to the glass-roofed alley that used to serve as a backstage area for Don McCaslin and Warmth when the band was set up on the outdoor stage. Warmth inspired James McFarlin's mural that once adorned the alley wall.  

To the south of the Galleria was the Pour Taproom in Suite 100B, which offered an impressive array of brews on tap, but didn't survive the 2020 COVID closures. The space remains vacant, as does the adjacent space vacated by Verizon, who moved to a different suite in the same building.

The venerable El Palomar Hotel, at 1344 Pacific, is home to the also-venerable El Palomar Restaurant, which survived a lengthy dislocation during building repairs after the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake. The restaurant found perhaps the nicest of all the outdoor "parklet" dining spaces allowed by the city in 2020 when indoor dining was prohibited, but it's not easy to find. It's behind the PacAve buildings, in Frazier Lewis Lane. You might not recognize that name, either, because the city has never installed any identifying signage.

Until 2019, there was a small sign identifying Frazier Lewis Lane, courtesy of local confectioner Marini's, whose back door opened onto the Lane. Lewis was also a Pacific Avenue confectioner, from a much earlier era, credited by some with inventing the candy bar. 

Marini's other locations remain open on the Boardwalk and the Municipal Wharf. Their former PacAve storefront remains vacant.  

Locations in the Santa Cruz Changes blog can be found on this Google Map.

Santa Cruz Changes - 24: Pacific Avenue 1400s

 

Continuing the survey of recent changes to the south, the 1400s occur only in the short block on the west side of Pacific Avenue, between Locust and Church streets. There have been, however, several recent changes: one arrival, one departure, and one change of ownership.

The arrival is the most recent change. Radhe Radhe Cafe just opened last week, a brand new restaurant at 1411 Pacific in the McPherson building, next door to Pleasure Pizza. The cafe menu is described as "vegetarian comfort food". 

Next door to the south is Peet's Coffee, which seems to be doing well, but past Peet's is the recent departure. Long-time PacAve tenant Palace Art and Office Supply moved out a few months ago, keeping only its Capitola location. 

The last 1400 block business is Santa Cruz Cinema, where new owners took over from Regal Cinemas. That change was noted back in February - in post number 3. The 2017 photo above shows both of the now-departed names. 

Locations in the Santa Cruz Changes blog can be found on this Google Map.

Santa Cruz changes - 23: Pacific Avenue 1500s

Taking a break from looking at all the big new projects in the approval pipeline, let's take a walk down Pacific Avenue to catch up on recent changes along the main Santa Cruz business street. Starting at the Water Street end, the block from Water to Locust Street has numbers in the 1500s. 

The biggest change to the block was covered in post #6 - the multi-use pile called "Nanda on Pacific". Since then, I've been watching the two retail spaces that face PacAve. Both are still awaiting their first tenants, which is not surprising while we're still in the COVID upheaval.  

While admiring the nice ironwork of a gate set into the facade at the Lulu's end of the Nanda building (photo to be added here later), I was pleasantly surprised to realize that the space behind that gate is exterior - not inside the building as it appears from the sidewalk. A flight of steps leads up to an outdoor landing, from which the old brickwork of the Lulu's building wall remains visible. Unfortunately, only residents with a key to the gate can get up to that landing, but you can get a peek from outside the gate. 

It's nice to know that wall view will remain as a reminder of what we had to look at for almost 30 years as the site sat empty after the 1989 earthquake demolitions, including the bolted-on wood framing that once attached the 1899 Williamson & Garrett building floors and roof to the Lulu's wall.

A somewhat older change is the loss of longtime fixture Benten Japanese restaurant at 1541B, on the corner of Plaza Lane. Benten closed in 2019, replaced by a restaurant named Barceloneta (Spanish food maybe? - haven't checked the menu), which has now reopened.

Across the street at #1532 is one of the rare new businesses to open on PacAve since the COVID shutdown began. Leaf & Vine specializes in house plants, something all those new Nanda apartment dwellers will need. The new store replaced the venerable Judi Wyant Antiques, which posted notice that its business has gone entirely online. 

Locations in the Santa Cruz Changes blog can be found on this Google Map.

Santa Cruz Changes - 22: Pacific Station North

Last week's post looked at an upcoming redevelopment project called Pacific Station South, which will border the south side of Maple Alley between Pacific Avenue and Front Street. Across the alley will be another long-and-narrow, multi-use, many-story building, but with a different orientation. The 2017 photo above-right shows the view from the south on Pacific Ave.

Pacific Station North will occupy the entire Pacific Avenue frontage from Maple Alley to the five-story multi-use building at 1010 Pacific, built on the corner of Cathcart Street in 2004. That frontage now includes - south to north - a city parking lot, the Metro Center, and the Greyhound bus parking lot. The developer's rendering (at left) looks at the proposed building from approximately the same angle as the existing conditions (top photo). 

Comparing these two views, the most noticeable change is the replacement of blue sky with building facade. That's an unfortunate consequence of all the new developments - taller buildings will make downtown sidewalks a lot shadier. Fortunately, Riverwalk Park is only a block away. 

The biggest surprise with Pacific Station North, however, is what's behind it. The Metro bus lanes will be totally redesigned and expanded, with all entry and exit from Front Street. 

The bus lanes will be shaded, too - by a forest of solar panel "trees" similar to those at the City Hall Annex parking lot. The blue-tinted solar panels are visible in the aerial-view rendering at right - and you'll never again have to wonder what time it is while waiting for your bus.

More information about this project can be found at the City of Santa Cruz website. 

Santa Cruz Changes locations can be found on this Google Map.

Santa Cruz Changes - 21: Pacific Station South

 

Santa Cruz Changes post #4 looked at the big redevelopment project now underway at the Pacific-Laurel-Front site. Another not-as-big project will soon begin just to the north of that one, along the south side of Maple Alley. Its current project name is Pacific Station South. 

The proposed mixed-use building will have below-market-rate apartments on the upper levels.

The Pipeline smoke shop, which used to be flanked by the Haber's building on the south and Tampico Kitchen restaurant on the north, now stands all alone awaiting its fate. For reference, its location is about where a red car is shown emerging from a garage onto Pacific Ave. at middle-right in the design rendering above. The near corner of the building in the rendering is where Tampico Kitchen used to sit.

Tampico Kitchen closed in 2016 after 24 years at that location, and no new restaurant ever took over the space. Then the empty building was damaged by a fire, and sat boarded-up until the developer DEVCON bought the site in 2017 and tore the building down. 

Now combined with other parcels, Pacific Station South will run the entire one-block length block of Maple Alley from Pacific to Front.

More information about this project can be found at the City of Santa Cruz website. 

Santa Cruz Changes locations can be found on this Google Map.

Santa Cruz Changes - 20: Bail Bonds

 

State laws sometimes create visible changes in the local built environment. One example already noted in this blog is marijuana legalization, which has spawned a number of new retail businesses in Santa Cruz. 

A somewhat less noticeable change has come about because of changes to state laws reducing the number of cases where cash bail can be used in the criminal justice system. The law's effects seem to have caused three of four local bail bond businesses to close.

The state law was enacted in 2018, but legal challenges put it on hold until this year, when finally confirmed by the state Supreme Court on March 26. The anticipated outcome, however, had already begun to cause a reduction in the number of bail bonds offices in the area around the County Court House (Water and Ocean streets).

On Ocean Street, one of the two bail bond businesses (Diaz Bros.) has closed, and both of the bail bond offices on on Water Street have now taken down their signs. Santa Cruz Bail Bonds (pictured above) opted to consolidate with a legal documents preparation business next door and share space there, giving up its separate space. These businesses were just a small part of the local business scene, but their disappearance marks big changes in the workings of our local criminal justice system.

Santa Cruz Changes locations can be found on this Google Map.