Capitola is a city in Santa Cruz County, California, United States, on the coast of Monterey Bay. The population is at 10,000. The original settlement now known as Capitola grew out of what was then called Soquel Landing. Soquel Landing got its name from a wharf located at the mouth of Soquel Creek. This wharf, which dates back to the 1850s, served as an outlet for the produce and lumber grown in the interior. In 1865, Captain John Pope Davenport, a whaleman at Monterey, moved his operations to be near the wharf. Unable to capture any whales, he moved his operations the following year to Point Año Nuevo.
In 1869, Frederick A. Hihn, who owned the property in the vicinity of the wharf, decided to develop it as a seaside resort. At first he leased the area to Samuel A. Hall and the area became known as Camp Capitola. Most authorities believe that it was Hihn who chose the name of Capitola, but they are unsure as to why he did so. Several possibilities have been asserted, one being that it was named for the heroine of , a novel by the popular author E.D.E.N. Southworth, favored by Hall’s daughter Lulu. Capitola is known as the oldest beach resort on the West Coast.
In the summer of 1961 hundreds of birds attacked the town. Most of the birds were sooty shearwaters, a normally non-aggressive species that rarely comes to shore. Alfred Hitchcock was a regular visitor to nearby Santa Cruz and read about this episode. He went on to direct a film—The Birds—based on the idea of hundreds of birds attacking humans. The reason for this attack remained unknown for over 25 years until it was discovered that the birds had been affected by domoic acid, a toxin produced by red algae.
Capitola is a popular tourist town because of its trendy shops and restaurants on the shore directly connecting to a fishing wharf and its large, sandy beach. Capitola lies west of the census-designated area of Aptos and east of the census-designated place of Live Oak. Steep cliffs mark access to several popular beaches, including New Brighton Beach, or drop directly to the rocky shoreline of the bay. Downtown Capitola sits in a depression among the cliffs so that the popular tourist and shopping area leads directly to Capitola Beach. Colorful houses and hotels line the slopes of the town leading back up to the clifftops. There have been a number of historic fuel releases to the soil in Capitola; among these the following locations have been identified by the County of Santa Cruz or the California Regional Water Quality Control Board: 819 Bay Avenue, 1649 41st Avenue, 2210 41st Avenue and 1700 41st Avenue. The historic Venetian Court that sits on the beach just east of the pier is on the Register of National Historic Places as “The first Condominium Beach Community in the United States, built in 1924”. Capitola is home to the Capitola Mall, the only enclosed regional shopping center in Santa Cruz County. Also, in the downtown square of Capitola there are many clothing, food, dessert, and knicknack shops.
The Capitola Jr. lifeguard summer camp has been using Capitola beach during the summer months since its founding in 1980. The Capitola Jr. Guards program provides instruction in the fundamentals of ocean water safety, first aid, lifesaving, fitness, and good sportsmanship. Activities include mock rescues, beach and water games, fun work-outs, and competitions. The program consists of Little Guards, aged 6–8, Jr. Guards aged 9–15, and a Captains Corp., aged 16–17.
The Capitola Classic was a skateboarding event held in Capitola village in the late 1970s and early 1980s. The Capitola Classic was known in skating circles for its annual downhill race, which was a head-to-head speed competition that drew top names in the sport, many local as well as international, including Santa Cruz, California local John Hutson, who held the world speed record for skateboarding at 53.45 mph and dominated the event each year. Starting in 2009 efforts were made to revive the event.
