Quick Take
A Queen Anne Victorian house along Cliff Avenue overlooking Capitola Village is currently getting a major remodel. That’s not unusual, but this house has a place in Santa Cruz County history, as one of its former owners was both a star professional athlete and a highly civically engaged Capitola citizen.
It is a major remodel that the remodelers say is building a house forward and backward at the same time. However, the story behind its nearly 140-year history is the real gem of this long-standing cliffside home. The historic structure and local time capsule at 106 Cliff Ave. above Capitola Village stretches back to one of the most famous early Santa Cruzans, or, rather, Capitolans: former Capitola postmaster and Baseball Hall of Famer Harry Hooper.
Hooper, born in 1887, enjoyed a rather remarkable 17-year major league career in which he played for both the Boston Red Sox and the Chicago White Sox, winning four World Series titles with the former; his last season was 1925. Capitola Historical Museum curator Deborah Osterberg said Hooper lived in Capitola during the offseasons with his wife and three children.
But Hooper wasn’t just a big-shot ballplayer lying by the beach when he wasn’t at the plate. He was actually quite involved civically, and opened his own real estate firm following his retirement from baseball, said Osterberg. In addition to his tenure as postmaster from 1933 to 1957, Hooper played a notable role in the incorporation and development of the city.
When Capitola became an incorporated city in 1949, Osterberg said the vote to elect a mayor was fraught with controversy. Residents had voted for the first city councilmembers, and typically, the highest vote-getter would be appointed mayor. That was 27-year-old Bradley MacDonald.
Shortly after, however, other councilmembers challenged MacDonald’s victory, believing he was too young for the position. The council instead installed 63-year-old Harlan Kessler — a longtime real estate and insurance agent in the area — as mayor. The move was met with strong pushback and protests from Capitola residents, marking a fiery start to the city’s history. Osterberg said Hooper was crucial in calming tensions by acting as a voice of reason amid the unrest.
“He played a pivotal role in bringing everyone together and guiding the city through this first big controversy,” said Osterberg.
The project at 106 Cliff Ave. is a “major remodel,” according to Max Schultz, owner of Schultz Construction, the company executing the project designed by local architectural firm Matson Britton Architects. In fact, the goal is to bring the 134-year-old Queen Anne Victorian back to its original form. Given its age, that requires an update to some of its features, including bringing the walls to modern framing thickness and adding structural steel elements to the building. It also meant Matson Britton coordinating with multiple agencies, including three Capitola entities – the planning commission, building department and historical commission – during the planning and design approval stages. Schultz Construction has remained in touch with those agencies throughout the build.
The light gray house bearing teal accents in its windows will not look drastically different than passersby are used to seeing it, aside from the sunroom at the front of the house. That will be turned back into a covered deck, which is how it was originally built.
“We have some old pictures of it that the owner provided, and we’re working with those agencies to bring it back to what it looked like before a couple of remodels that changed the look a little bit,” Schultz told Lookout.
Schultz did not disclose the owner of the property, but the Santa Cruz County Assessor’s Office records show a fairly recent transfer of the property in December 2020, when it sold for over $2.6 million.
Hooper died in 1974 and was buried in the Our Lady of Mount Carmel Cemetery in Aptos. There are mentions of him around town, if you look hard enough, including Hooper Beach, the area just west of the Capitola Wharf, where you’ll also find a plaque dedicated to him. The plaque was removed temporarily amid post-storm repairs, but Osterberg says she believes it will return once the wharf reopens this fall.
And, of course, there’s the house on Cliff Avenue, which will reflect Hooper’s time in history even more once crews complete their project in about a year’s time. That’s a pretty sweet assignment for Schultz and his crews.
“We’ve been building the foundation while floating an almost 140-year-old house above our heads all winter, so it’s definitely unique,” Schultz said. “Then figuring out how to rebuild a house backwards and forwards at the same time is challenging, but also kind of fun.
“It’s like a big puzzle that you’re trying to complete without jeopardizing the integrity of a Victorian house.”
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