When It Was Shiny & New: The Purissima House

Gone now—but here’s the Purissima House–saloon, restaurant, overnight rooms–south of Half Moon Bay.

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The Purissima House was the business anchor for the potato-growing town of Purissima, a place that competed with Half Moon Bay for political power. When a blight wiped out the crops, the economy collapsed and Purissima finally turned into a ghost town. At the end of Prohibition, when the buildings fell into disuse, they vanished from the country landscape. Today you’d be lucky to find any remnants of the past (other than a very cool and hard-to-find “antique” cemetery).

Meet Me At The Occidental Hotel

…The popular 19th century Half Moon Bay hotel where intrepid stagecoach driver “Buckskin” Bob Rawls dropped weary passengers off– after a thrilling ride over dusty, serpentine Highway 92.

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The Historic Zaballa House, A B& B I love…

because, for one good reason, they welcome pets.

These are old photos of the Z-House, located on Main Street, near the concrete bridge (built in 1900) and across the street from the Pasta Moon Restaurant–the one in color was taken in the 1970s.

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Signs Of A Different Kind On This Old Moss Beach Store

Can you see the reflection of the old Moss Beach schoolhouse in the windows? There’s an ad for “California Seeds”, Bass-Hueter paint, mixed and ready for use, and on sale at “here”–and two other signs, both of which say: “For Sale Below Cost”.

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MBbldg.jpg Photo: Is this the same building?

MBSchool.jpg The Moss Beach Grammar School–the reflection seen in the windows of the building above.