Still sitting majestically on the Esplanade (originally Ocean Front Avenue) facing the sea, are three historical Capitola duplexes known as the "Six Sisters." These testaments to grander times were constructed around the turn of the 20th Century (circa 1900), designed by architect Edward Van Cleeck, who also designed the beachfront Capitola Hotel (long gone, a victim of fire), the bathhouse, a theater, and other miscellaneous buildings in Capitola. The Sisters were owned by Capitola developer Frederick Hihn or his heirs until 1919 when H. Allen Rispin purchased the entire development of Capitola. It is believed Rispin sold off the Six Sisters in the 1920's. The property in front of the Sisters once included railway tracks for the electric train that ran from Santa Cruz to Capitola. The... 05/25/2007

I vacationed at the historic Venetian Court in Capitola-By-The-Sea (California) as a child, and my husband and I continued the tradition with our kids. I have strong childhood memories of swings on the beach (no doubt now an insurance liability that could not be fathomed), of begging my dad for nickels and dimes to play "skee ball" in the bars that flanked the Esplanade. Running loose, barefoot, back-and-forth from the beach to the arcade - I feel sad that most kids never know the experience to roam free and play at whim. 05/15/2007