Cottage #46: The Park Store
Cottage #45 and Cottage #46: The Park Store
Once a soda fountain and store in the 1950s, Cottage #46 now features rotating exhibits showcasing the best of Crystal Cove.
With a prime location right on the sand, Cottage #45 (later replaced by Cottage #46) was a thriving store and soda fountain in its 1950s heyday, replacing the previous store that was uprooted after sustaining damage from a storm. Offering beachgoers short-order grill items, ice cream, penny candy, firecrackers and other supplies, it was a popular stop run by Merle and Pearl Van Pelt and their son Lee.
By 1962, however, the end of tent camping slowed demand and Cottage #46 transitioned from a residence to a surfboard-building shop to storage to artist Vivian Falzetti’s studio space in the 1970s. It finally opened as an exhibition space for rotating displays on the art, culture and natural environment of Crystal Cove in 2005. CCA is proud to be partnering with Firebrand Media on the 2013 summer’s exhibit, which showcases exciting new developments with Phase III renovations and the new Berns Environmental Study Loop, as well as student research conducted through the MPA Citizen Science Cruise program.
While visiting cottage #46 this summer, sign up for our monthly e-newsletter and also enter our contest to win an overnight experience here at Crystal Cove by becoming a member of CCA. For more information on overnight rentals on other cottages, visit crystalcovebeachcottages.org.