One year later in 1929, the China House, which gave the cove its moniker, was built by William Lindsay, a prominent department store owner and attorney. The building remains to this day and has become the landmark structure for the cove. Kerckoff, a tycoon, donated $50,000 from his fortune earned through enterprises in lumber, gas, oil, electricity and land development. It was at this time that the cove became home to the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) biological studies building. Lot sales were non-existent and many cash-strapped owners gave there lots back to the City of Newport Beach for as little as $75 in back taxes.Īs part of these tough times, the Balboa Palisades Clubhouse was sold. But the Great Depression was a death knell for the Palisades Club as was reflective of the entire effort to develop the Corona del Mar bluff area. By 1928, a group of Pasadena members purchased the Palisades operation and tried to resurrect the struggling resort. This privately funded club was financially unsustainable because of its location, lack of good water and competition with the town of Balboa on the peninsula, which had everything that the Palisades did plus the easy access of the Red Car rail service. The club offered boat service, cottages and general recreation. The members built an exclusive club and bath house just east of Sparr’s Bathouse. In 1925, among celebrities such as Duke Kahanamoku and then famous movie queen Dorothy Mackaill, the Balboa Palisades Club was founded by 100 members. This made it a prime target for builders and developers. Little did any of Newport’s early pioneers know that this rough and tumble cove would be among the chic enclaves in Newport Beach.īy the1930s with the completion of the two jetties, thus ensuring a safe access to the harbor, China Cove’s sandy beaches were protected from the ravages of the sea and became the first sheltered inlet upon entering Newport Harbor. China Cove was void of human life at that point, but had an over abundance of rattlesnakes, gulls, fish, starfish and stingrays. In the early years of Newport Beach, this approach to Newport Harbor witnessed many boating and marine mishaps that resulted in numerous deaths. Beneath this bluff was a yet unnamed cove that was mercilessly beat about by the large waves cresting and breaking at the harbor entrance. Before Corona del Mar there was nothing but Rocky Point, a windswept mesa high above the harbor entrance.
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