Early Mission Beach bathhouses rose on open sand in the 1910s

by Debbie L. Sklar • Times of San Diego

This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is entrance-bh.jpg — *Main entrance to the Mission Beach bathhouse. The roller coaster can partially be seen behind the building at the far right.*
*Many people are strolling or sitting in front of the building’s ornate facade. c. 1925*. *(Photo and caption info courtesy of the San Diego History Center)*

At Mission Beach in the mid-1910s, entering the water meant stepping onto an undeveloped shoreline where bathhouses were only beginning to take shape.

In the mid-1910s, one such bathhouse stood under construction near what are today Queenstown Court and Redondo Court. Its wooden frame rises from open sand, exposed and unfinished, with the coastline stretching wide and unbroken behind it. There is no continuous beachfront development, no boardwalk, and no defined edge between town and sea — just sand, surf, and a structure still coming into being.

This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is bathouse-2-1.jpg — *View of beach scene at Mission Beach in about 1916. People are standing on the beach, and the original bathhouse is under construction between Queenstown Court and Redondo Court in the background.* *In the image, the bathhouse remains the most defined structure in the scene. Around it, the beach is still open and unsettled, with construction underway and no continuous built edge along the water.* *(Photo and caption info courtesy of the San Diego History Center)*

At this stage, Mission Beach is only beginning to take shape along the narrow strip between Mission Bay and the Pacific Ocean. A street grid has been laid out, but development remains uneven, with open lots and scattered construction marking the landscape. A few figures stand along the shore, set against a coastline that is still largely open and unformed.

Left view of a drawing depicting the Mission Beach Bath House done by Lincoln Rogers, architect, with F. W. Stevenson’s signature on the drawing as associate. Right Mission Beach Bath House Construction 06-26-1925. *(Photo and caption info courtesy of the San Diego History Center)*

Bathhouses in this period were simple shoreline buildings that supported early beachgoing. They provided changing space, basic shelter, and storage for personal belongings for visitors using the ocean. In many coastal communities, they were among the first permanent structures placed near the water.

This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is facade.jpg — *Mission Beach bathhouse c.1922*. *(Photo and caption info courtesy of the San Diego History Center)*

Taking shape

Bathhouses reflected the practical rhythm of a day at the beach. Visitors arrived carrying clothing, towels, and supplies, then moved between sand and surf. The bathhouse offered a fixed point on an otherwise open shoreline — a place to pause, change, and return to the water without ever fully leaving the beach.

Rather than destinations, these structures organized movement. People gathered around them naturally, using them as anchors in an otherwise unmarked landscape.

Unlike later recreational developments, early bathhouses were tied directly to open-water swimming. The ocean itself was the attraction. Enclosed pools and amusement-style “plunges,” which would appear in Mission Beach in the 1920s, represented a later shift toward controlled swimming environments.

No bikinis here

Beachgoing at the time required preparation. Swimwear was often made of heavy wool fabrics, and a day at the coast meant planning for changing, storing belongings, and returning to the water throughout the day.

This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is bsuits.jpg — *Bathers in swim attire in Mission Beach, c. 1925. (Photo and caption info courtesy of the San Diego History Center)*

Just north along the shoreline, Pacific Beach had already developed early forms of beach recreation, including facilities tied to changing and ocean access during its resort-era growth.

This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is bh7.jpg — Crowd of people on the beach at Mission Beach in August 1928. Others wade in the water while tents and umbrellas dot the sand, and most visitors wear bathing suits. Photo and caption info courtesy of the San Diego History Center)

Mission Beach would continue to evolve in the years that followed, as roads, buildings, and recreational spaces filled in the peninsula — transforming open sand into a structured seaside community.

Read more history stories here, and do you have a story to tell? Send an email to DebbieSklar@cox.net.

Sources:

San Diego History Center Digital Collections.
City of San Diego – Mission Bay Park history.
Mission Beach Women’s Club archives.
Pacific Beach Historical Society.
San Diego History Center archival materials.