This month in Coronado history
A collection of June history through the years
June 2, 1994
Hospital directors voted to merge with Sharp Healthcare. The affiliation promised stronger services offered by the hospital, including more insurance options and programs such as home health, community education, wellness and cardiac rehabilitation services. Coronado Hospital’s name changed to Sharp Coronado Hospital and Healthcare Center (SCHHC), and its facilities and real property were transferred to the ownership of the Coronado Hospital Foundation.
June 4, 1964
Hotel del Coronado and 37 acres of oceanfront land south of The Del that was owned by Hotel Del Coronado Corporation was assigned to be an R-6 zone. The R-6 Zone permitted the erection of buildings to a height of 150 feet. The Coronado City Council action was taken despite objection by the Navy whose testimony at a previous hearing indicated any buildings would be within the flight zone of North Island Naval Air Station operations. The Navy’s objection, however, was not to the height limit but to the Navy’s own noise factor, which was feared would bring complaints from residents.
June 6, 1984
Monkey madness struck in Coronado when Max the monkey shed his shackles and began frolicking about local rooftops. The show began when Max, a 1-year-old New World monkey in town for a weekend visit, decided that there was more to life than sitting on a fence watching Fourth Street traffic go by. ‘‘I tied him to the tree on the wrong limb,” said Clara Wilmshurst, explaining how Max made his getaway. Wilmshurst had the monkey, which belonged to her brother-in-law, so her son could share Max with his third grade class at Central School. Max was eventually caught after an hour and a half pursuit by Coronado Animal Control Officer Mark Coleman. Max then spent the weekend at the animal shelter because monkeys weren’t allowed in Coronado but Wilmshurst wasn’t fined since the animal was here only for the weekend. Her youngest son, David, was probably pleased that Max was gone because the monkey jumped on his back, took away his ice cream and ate it.
June 7, 1954
Coronado and San Diego civic and business leaders gathered for breakfast at 8 a.m. at the Hotel del Coronado before the formal dedication ceremonies for the new ferry Crown City at 9:30. Crown City, which could accommodate 70 vehicles, was built at a cost of $1.5 million and joined four other vessels in the fleet.
June 14, 1996
President Bill Clinton arrived on Air Force One at North Island and rode a motorcade to Hotel del Coronado to spend the night. During his visit, he took a morning jog on the beach with the Navy SEALS, visited with well-wishers and played a quick round of golf at North Island’s Sea ’N Air Golf Course before flying out of town.
June 15, 1890
The Coronado Beach Company grew a lot of crops on North Island in the years before aviation moved in. It was reported on this date that potatoes grown on North Island were plentiful and the surplus was sent to market in San Francisco.
June 16, 1924
Coronado’s new paved road along the Silver Strand was completed but would not be open for traffic until June 29 because the concrete needed to cure. The five-mile stretch of road was built for cost of $110,000. The county of San Diego covered most of the expense except where the road entered Tent City. That part was paid for by the Coronado Beach Company and cost $10,000. Coronado trustees authorized the employment of two watchmen to make sure no one tried to use the new road before the official opening.
June 19, 1941
Lee Evans, city recreation director, authorized lifeguards to institute a system of warning flags at North Beach. Bathers were urged to look for a signal flag near the lifeguard tower before entering the water. A red flag indicated dangerous conditions, a yellow flag implied a need for caution and a blue flag meant that water conditions were safe. Evans also asked if anyone who had a pair of binoculars would lend them for the summer for use by the lifeguards.
June 22, 1915
Ordinance No. 357 was passed prohibiting any person older than 12 years from wearing a bathing suit on the public streets in Coronado. Punishment for the misdemeanor was a maximum fine of $25 or 10 days in jail, or both.
June 24, 1954
Mayor Walter Vestal showed the council four photographs of old houses in Coronado which he said, “should be condemned and destroyed.” Two of these, he said, had been unoccupied for 13 years. ‘These examples are only some of many in Coronado that should be condemned for the good of the city,” Vestal said. The matter was referred to the planning commission.
That same week it was announced that the last Senior Assembly dance of the season would be held at the Hotel del Coronado, with the teenagers dancing to the strains of the famed Les Brown orchestra. Climbing roses, greenery and hanging fuchsias decorated the Crown Room.
June 26, 1923
An aviation first was achieved when two Army planes from North Island’s Rockwell Field refueled in midair. Army Lts. F.W. Seifert, Virgil Hine, L.H. Smith and J.P. Richter conducted the exercise off Coronado.
June 30, 1949
City crews removed trash and burned weeds from vacant lots for three weeks. Property owners were then billed for the work. Lee Evans, city sanitation director, called attention to an ordinance that prohibited the dumping of trash in such areas. The violation was punishable with a $200 fine.