The Pfister family enjoying a quiet day circa 1930s on Capitola Beach before the summer crowds descend. Family patriarch, Adolph Pfister, a German immigrant and Santa Clara Valley hardware and grain merchant, served as San Jose mayor from 1870-1873. Pfister was among the founders of the San Jose chapter of the German American club known as the Turn Verein. Many members of this social and athletic club were friends and business associates of Capitola’s owner Frederick Augustus Hihn and became the first purchasers of vacation lots in the seaside resort. Pfister’s circa 1890 home on Cliff Avenue has undergone few changes over the years and is still owned by Pfister descendants. In the background can be scene the Venetian Court, the old bridge over Soquel Creek, and the Esplanade’s boat house and bathhouses.
