North Shore Beach and Yacht Club
Encyclopedia
North Shore, California
North Shore is a census-designated place in southeastern Riverside County, so named because of its location along the northeast shore of the Salton Sea. It was once a popular vacation destination spot before ever-increasing salinity and pollution of the Salton Sea shut the tourist trade down...
USA.
It opened in 1962 as part of a $2 million development along the northeastern shore of the Salton Sea
Salton Sea
The Salton Sea is a shallow, saline, endorheic rift lake located directly on the San Andreas Fault, predominantly in California's Imperial Valley. The lake occupies the lowest elevations of the Salton Sink in the Colorado Desert of Imperial and Riverside counties in Southern California. Like Death...
which would become California's largest marina
Marina
A marina is a dock or basin with moorings and supplies for yachts and small boats.A marina differs from a port in that a marina does not handle large passenger ships or cargo from freighters....
. Several prominent figures from the entertainment industry docked boats there, among them members of The Beach Boys
The Beach Boys
The Beach Boys are an American rock band, formed in 1961 in Hawthorne, California. The group was initially composed of brothers Brian, Dennis and Carl Wilson, their cousin Mike Love, and friend Al Jardine. Managed by the Wilsons' father Murry, The Beach Boys signed to Capitol Records in 1962...
, Jerry Lewis
Jerry Lewis
Jerry Lewis is an American comedian, actor, singer, film producer, screenwriter and film director. He is best known for his slapstick humor in film, television, stage and radio. He was originally paired up with Dean Martin in 1946, forming the famed comedy team of Martin and Lewis...
and The Marx Brothers. Ever-increasing salinity from agricultural runoff from both the Coachella Valley
Coachella Valley
Coachella Valley is a large valley landform in Southern California. The valley extends for approximately 45 miles in Riverside County southeast from the San Bernardino Mountains to the saltwater Salton Sea, the largest lake in California...
and Imperial County combined with fluctuating water levels culminated in a major flood in 1981, destroying the club's jetty
Jetty
A jetty is any of a variety of structures used in river, dock, and maritime works that are generally carried out in pairs from river banks, or in continuation of river channels at their outlets into deep water; or out into docks, and outside their entrances; or for forming basins along the...
and making it impossible for boats to dock at the club; it would be completely closed by 1984.
Like the majority of the buildings which surround it, the North Shore Beach and Yacht Club was abandoned and vandalized. The shoreside swimming pool remained intact though badly vandalized as well. An often-photographed large advertising sign for Texaco Marine
Texaco
Texaco is the name of an American oil retail brand. Its flagship product is its fuel "Texaco with Techron". It also owns the Havoline motor oil brand....
at the site of the jetty has now been removed.
In July 2009, Riverside County supervisors approved the reception of a grant of $3.35 million as part of an overall package of $30 million to redevelop and restore the property.
Salton Sea History Museum
On May 1, 2010, the restored yacht club was reopened to the public as the Salton Sea History Museum, serving as a community center as well as a museum. The former pool area now serves as an activity deck while the former loading area is a children's play area.External links and references
- Salton Sea History Museum - official site
- The Salton Sea: California's Overlooked Treasure at sci.sdsu.edu
- Aerial view at Wikimapia.org
- Photographs of the yacht club in its abandoned condition and surrounding area at Richardheeps.co.uk
33.5128043°N 115.9272198°W