Pismo Beach offers a spectacular 23-mile stretch of sandy beach where visitors can explore isolated dunes, cliff-sheltered tidepools, caves, and old pirate coves by foot, horse, or all-terrain vehicle (the area has the unique distinction of being the only spot in California where cars are allowed on the beach). The former clam capital of the world--overfishing decimated the population of bivalves--Pismo Beach is still a seafood lover's paradise. Fishing is permitted from the pier.
ATV
rentals and horseback riding on the beach are available all year around at
the World Famous, Pismo State Beach Vehicular Recreation Area. Over 2500 acres of
colossal sand dunes
History
The Pismo Beach region has an interesting history going back in time to 1769, when Don Gaspar de Portola and parties camped in the area. According to the diary of Costanso, a member of the Portola party, "The party continued over the sand dunes and then descended to the beach, along which they walked for several miles before camping for the night. Near their camping place was an Indian village of some forty people." Undoubtedly, the beach walked upon by the Portola party was that known today as Pismo Beach. We invite you to take a look at some our rich history.
The First Pismo Beach
In 1875, Price took the first step toward funding the community of Pismo Beach when he built a hotel on the road from Arroyo Grande to the People's Wharf in Avila Beach. The hotel was not a success and Price had the hotel moved to the beach in 1884.
In 1881, Price has leased oceanfront
land to the Meherin brothers to build a wharf and a warehouse. This wharf
at the end of Main street was successful and the hotel's new location was
next to this operation.
The school district was founded in 1888, and the post office was also
established then.
Parceling Pismo Beach
Pismo's Pier
It was not planned for recreation as such-- it was a commercial venture-- designed in part to save freight fees for South County products. Lumber was received as well as other commodities.
Stock was issued to farmers and landowners for $20 a share and the wharf was built for $14,613. The Meherin brothers, Arroyo Grande merchants, started the venture. Most credit is given to D.J. Meherin for its inception, construction, and maintenance.
In 1882, a year after its completion, Meherin figured the wharf had saved the people of the county $35,000 in a decrease of freight rates compared with those of the steamer line they would have patronized.
Thirty-eight vessels were loaded at the wharf in 1882. Two warehouses were built near the entrance where teams could move cargo in and out. A small hand car track led out to the end of the pier. The wharf was still active in 1890, but a few years later it gave way during a heavy storm. Probably contributing to the disaster was a load of heavy "bituminous rock" that had been dug in Edna and was waiting in sacks for shipment to San Francisco to be used as paving material.
The new pier that replaced the original was built in 1924 and was much longer than it is today. Some can remember driving cars along its length, then backing out, or using the tight turn around at the end. It is said that it extended out far enough that Navy ships could tie up and the men could come ashore.
The pier has sustained damage several times, but a major storm tore up the south side of the sea wall and about 500 feet off the end of the pier early in its existence. It was never put back. After a 1983 storm washed out most of the wharf, it was rebuilt in its present configuration in 1985-86. The state, county, and city all have an interest in the pier. The pier at Pismo Beach continues to be one of the community's major attractions.
Tourism
The 1900's were wild times in Pismo Beach. Pismo was noted for having many saloons, along with several notorious brothels. Other amusement type businesses at the time, besides the hotels, offered a variety of entertainment including a skating rink, a bowling alley, and a dance hall.
The property directly south of Shell Beach now known as Dinosaur Caves, was the site of an amusement park, with a giant cement dinosaur to gather attention. H. Douglas Brown started building the dinosaur in 1948 and was stopped by local opposition. The headless dinosaur remained a local landmark until it was torn down in the late 1950's. Pismo Beach was also known to be a place to find booze during the Prohibition Era.
The second El Pizmo Inn was built about the turn of the century and became so popular that a "Tent City" was erected for the overflow of tourists. They were clean, well-organized 18' x 14' tents that could be rented for $8 a week. Resting on wooden planks, the tents were located where the Clam Digger stands today. Eventually, the "City" was expanded to where the theater now stands. "Tent City" lasted into the late 1920's.
The Southern Pacific Railroad also helped tourism in Pismo Beach. It brought people from the San Francisco Bay area to Pismo Beach in one of the first "timeshare" operations. The people paid $30, for a ride down to Pismo Beach, and stayed in the tent city. If they liked the tents, the Railroad would use their fare to put a down payment on a tent for the people. If the people didn't like the tent, they were refunded their money, and returned to San Francisco free of charge. It was rumored that more people stayed than asked for refunds.
In 1912, Highway 2, today's Highway 101, was routed through Pismo Beach, giving automobile travelers an easy route to the beach. Highway 101 was not expanded to four lanes until the late 1950's.
Shell Beach and Sunset Palisades
Shell Beach was quite different 36 years ago, when it was nothing but pea fields. The area was the site of a Chumsh village. Floyd Calvert bought and developed much of the land in 1926. He paid $45,OOO for 41 acres between the ocean and the highways
When Calvert first visited Shell Beach there were approximately 50 residents in the area. Calvert sold lots in the area for as little as $195. A resident of Hollywood, Calvert was told about the area by a friend in 1925. When he first visited Shell Beach, there was only one street, Boeker Avenue, with a few cottages on it.
Calvert was struck by the beauty of Shell Beach and bought a portion of it. In January 1926, he opened offices in the area, hired seven salesmen and began selling land to persons seeking summer retreats from the hot valley. When the summer selling season was over that first year, Calvert had to close his offices. The depression, which was to hit hard in 1929, was already beginning to be felt. Then Calvert had to devise a new way to sell his land. He offered it for $5 a month. Even then it was hard to sell.
During the depression, Calvert, who had been a builder in Hollywood, lost all his property except for Shell Beach. He had such faith in this area he thought if he could hold on to this land, someday people would realize its worth.
It took Calvert 20 years to sell the first 456 lots on the Shell Beach land he owned. But shortly before and after World War II Calvert began to have more success selling lots. During World War II many soldiers had trained in California. They liked the climate and wanted to live in the area. It was then that Shell Beach changed from a resort area for residents of the San Joaquin Valley to a residential community.
When Calvert began to break ground for building houses he found skeletons of Indians who had died and were buried in the area. He also found bracelets of copper, arrowheads, spear head, and stone bowls, which had been used for grinding meal. Most of the Indian artifacts were found near the ocean between Placentia and Palomar Streets. Major archaeological sites have been noted in this area and that of Sunset Palisades. It was known as Oilport and was opened in August of 1907, quite different from today's residential Sunset Palisades area. Built with investor funds, it operated for only one month.
The plant, built by California Petroleoum Refineries Ltd., was to be the most modern on the West Coast. Nearly 2.25 million bricks went into the construction of the facilities. Financed primarily by investors, it cost over $2 million to build. It was to be the most complete refinery on the coast. It was set up to produce kerosene, gasoline, lubricating oil, and oil byproducts.
The refinery existed until just after World War II, when it was finally torn down. The land was sold, subdivided and replaced with housing.
Accommodation
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