Del Mar Historical Society

Del Mar Historical Society The founder of the Del Mar Historical Society was a gentleman named Harold (Swede) Throneson, affectionately known as Del Mar’s “Mr.

History.”
Swede moved to Del Mar in 1959 while he was on active duty with the Marine Corps at Camp Pendleton. He and his wife rented a home on the beach for $150 a month, decided to buy a lot, built a home, and had a wonderful life in Del Mar. He retired after 21 years from the Marine Corps, taught elementary school for another 15 years, and then retired. He became involved in Del Mar history by a

ccident. In conjunction with a local businessman, they were trying to come up with an idea to encourage people to go upstairs and patronize the shops at Stratford Square. Swede decided to put up old photographs. The idea worked so well that it is still there today. In Swede’s words “That’s when I got hooked.” There was no historical society at that time. He struck out on his own constantly collecting memorabilia, keeping files and making photographs. In 1985 the Del Mar Historical Society was born. The founders and signers of incorporation papers were Swede, Alice Goodkind, Cathy Wood, Jane Scroggins, Cal Scroggins, Nancy Ewing and Gerry Wood. Swede passed away at the age of 83 on the 30th of April 2000. He will be forever remembered as the person who started it all.

You never know the cool people you might run into while running errands! Where do you think he's from?! 😄 Represent 🏖...
08/13/2026

You never know the cool people you might run into while running errands! Where do you think he's from?! 😄 Represent 🏖

Model: Jimmy Joe Gooding

08/13/2026

Historic 15th Street.

08/06/2026

Del Mar Little League circa 1970. Source: Jimmy Joe Gooding

08/06/2026

The hotel that set Del Mar's look for a century was built to resemble Shakespeare's home town.

Colonel Jacob Taylor's earlier hotel, the Casa del Mar, had burned to the ground in a kitchen fire at the end of the 1880s, and the bluff site sat empty through the bust that followed. In 1905 the South Coast Land Company bought up Taylor's land and went looking for an architect who could make the beach worth a train ticket. They hired John C. Austin, an Oxfordshire-born Englishman who had become one of Los Angeles' most prominent designers.

What Austin gave them, finished around 1910, was the Stratford Inn: half-timbering, steep gables, tall chimneys, Tudor Revival from the foundations up, named after Stratford-upon-Avon. The reasoning was commercial. Shakespeare carried real prestige with the silent-film crowd the company wanted riding down from Los Angeles, and an English inn above the Pacific was an easier thing to sell than bare coastal scrub.

It worked. Del Mar's first retail block, Stratford Square, went up across the street in the same style in 1927, and around a dozen more Tudor buildings followed. The inn was renamed the Hotel Del Mar in the 1920s, housed military personnel during the war, and closed in 1963.

A whole town's appearance, decided by a marketing hunch.

07/12/2026

Del Mar Surf Club contest spectators. Photo: Jim Lischer

For our Summer beachgoers 😎🏖
07/12/2026

For our Summer beachgoers 😎🏖

Del Mar Beach circa 1930s.

Fun Facts ❤️Howard Hughes/Spruce Goose, Price Club, Costco ❤️
07/11/2026

Fun Facts ❤️

Howard Hughes/Spruce Goose, Price Club, Costco ❤️

The first Costco to open its doors in San Diego is celebrating a ha...

When Del Mar meets Hollywood...🏖🏇🎬When Hollywood came to Del Mar: The stars who made the racetrack a summer tradition
07/11/2026

When Del Mar meets Hollywood...🏖🏇🎬

When Hollywood came to Del Mar: The stars who made the racetrack a summer tradition

Discover how Del Mar Racetrack became Hollywood's favorite summer destination, where Bing Crosby and other stars mingled with racing fans.

Still basking in the glow of your 2026 4th of July or would like to hear the Society Boys' patriotic concert you may hav...
07/10/2026

Still basking in the glow of your 2026 4th of July or would like to hear the Society Boys' patriotic concert you may have missed on July 2nd?.... Here's a replay for you - Enjoy!
🇺🇲🎼🎺🎹🎷🥁🎤🎶🇺🇸

This is "4th of July Society Boys Jazz Concert" by Del Mar TV on Vimeo, the home for high quality videos and the people who love them.

Address

225 9th Street
Del Mar, CA
92014

Telephone

(858) 756-4800

Website

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