Downtown Encinitas MainStreet Association (DEMA)

For Immediate Release
Contact: Dody Tucker, DEMA
Phone: 760-943-1950
Email: dodytucker@sbcglobal.net
January 20, 2008

2008 Rods & Woodies Classic Car Show

ENCINITAS: With imagination, creativity, and recycled lumber from the 1888 Moonlight Beach Dance Hall and Bathhouse that was dismantled in 1925, Miles Minor Kellogg, in honor of his forefathers built the now famous Encinitas Boat Houses. Now, the most famous and photographed houses in Encinitas.

A local Newspaper, the Coast Dispatch, lampooned his boat house project as folly in a scathing 1928 editorial. Mr. Kellogg responded with a tongue lashing, "To the people of this district... the building of these boats helped the building up of Encinitas as much as any editor that has come to town." - from the Encinitas Progress, late1920s.

Mr. Kellogg had no idea of how right he was. In a culture of generic mass market housing offerings, the Boat Houses stand apart--a testament to the unique creation of a talented man, they express the creativity and imagination needed to build a dwelling with recycled lumber and supplies.

The Encinitas Boat Houses are an icon of Encinitas, and a cornerstone of the culture that is downtown Encinitas. Equally important, the Encinitas Boat Houses are a National treasure that exemplify early California courtyard architecture, early building with recycled materials, and vernacular architecture associated with Historic U.S. Hwy 101. The Encinitas Boat Houses have been deemed eligible for the National Historic Registry. The Boat Houses are currently privately owned. "The owners of the Boat Houses approached DEMA last year and expressed a desire to sell the property to a Historic Preservation Foundation. I am thankful that they did so, and for their preservation stewardship of the property for the past several years," said Dody Tucker, DEMA Executive Director.

Owners John Deters and Mark Whitley have been exploring preservation options for years, and believe that by working with DEMA and the Encinitas Preservation Foundation their dreams of public access to the Boathouses will finally be realized.

"We went right to work and started seeing if we could make this happen. We immediately discovered our natural partner in the Encinitas Historical Society which owns and operates the 1883 Encinitas School house just a third of a block away. Together, and with members outside the two organizations we have formed the Encinitas Preservation Foundation. Our goal will be to assemble funds to purchase the Boat Houses and preserve them in a Preservation Foundation for future generations," said Peder Norby, Hwy 101 Coordinator.

"Preservation of Encinitas history is important to the community," said Supervisor Pam Slater-Price. "As a former mayor of Encinitas I am fond of the boat houses. But I also think they are cultural heritage and a tourist draw which is important to the downtown shops and restaurants."

The first order of business is the purchase and preservation of these irreplaceable structures, and then the Encinitas Preservation Foundation will look to the Encinitas Historical Society to one day have them open for the pubic to view and experience first hand.

"As President of the Encinitas Historical Society, we are pleased and excited to be participating with the Historic Preservation Foundation to maintain and operate these historic structures" said Rosann Drielsma, Encinitas Historical Society President.

The Encinitas Preservation Foundation will be working with the City, County and State as well as fundraising in the effort to purchase the property. On October 10th the Encinitas City Council will discuss the opportunities to partner in this effort.

"This is a unique moment in time for Encinitas, a combination of actions and factors has made it possible for the Boat Houses, that we all cherish, to be purchased and preserved forever. We have identified the funding sources and the path to make this possible. Hopefully, with the help and generosity of the public and our civic leaders we can make this goal a reality for all of Encinitas to take part in the preservation of the Boat Houses" Doug Long, President of DEMA.

For more information contact:
Rosann Drielsma: rosierox@cox.net