(Note: All donations on this page and the entire EHS site are for EHS, not for the Encinitas Preservation Associattion who administer the Boathouses or anyone else.)

Walking, cycling, or driving along a quiet street of beach houses, apartments, and mismatched cottages, you’ll suddenly be confronted by the incongruous sight of two enormous boats – most definitely in dry dock since they’re on a slope more than two blocks from the bluff overlooking the beach.

In fact they’ve never been to sea. Despite their 19 portholes, mariner’s wheels and quirky starboard list, the SS Encinitas and SS Moonlight have only ever been homes for landlubbers. The structures were built by architect Miles Kellogg in the late 1920’s using timber salvaged from the 1888 Moonlight Beach Dance Parlor, a local ocean bathhouse and hotel that failed to survive Prohibition.

The boathouses exemplify early California “courtyard architecture” and a vernacular design associated with historic Highway 101.

The Encinitas Preservation Association, formed by the Downtown Encinitas Mainstreet Association (DEMA) and the Encinitas Historical Society, purchased the houses in 2008 and has been renting them as private dwellings. The long-term plan is to convert the structures into a museum, for which there are occasional fundraisers.

The Boathouses are part of the Society’s Guided Downtown Walking Tour, which starts at 10:00 a.m. every third Saturday from September to July. A short distance from the Pacific Ocean, take a walk and visit them at 726 and 732 Third Street.

For more information, contact the Encinitas Preservation Association at 818 S Coast Hwy 101, Encinitas CA 92024, or call (760) 943-1950.

For a detailed history of the Boathouses, see Rachel Brupbacher’s book:

Available at 1883 Schoolhouse, http://www.arcadiapublishing.com, and bookstores everywhere.