Construction of the Historic Glorietta Bay Boat House

In late 1887, several months before Hotel del Coronado opened its main doors, the Coronado Beach Company completed the picturesque Glorietta Bay Boathouse on the calm, protected waters of Glorietta Bay. Designed by architects James and Merritt Reid as an architectural preview and miniature twin of the main hotel, the boathouse showcased the same Queen Anne Victorian vernacular, complete with red shingles, decorative cupolas, and white gingerbread fretwork trim.

The Boathouse served as the premier nautical headquarters for hotel guests and competitive yachtsmen throughout Southern California. It housed an extensive fleet of racing sloops, catboats, canoes, and motorized launches, alongside swimming dressing rooms, tackle shops, and seaside observation balconies. Elite regattas and aquatic galas held here drew yachtsmen from across the globe.

Over more than a century of continuous maritime service, the structure served as the original home of the Coronado Yacht Club and later as the celebrated Bluewater Boathouse seafood restaurant. As one of Coronado's oldest surviving wooden landmarks, the Glorietta Bay Boathouse remains an iconic symbol of the community's Victorian seaside heritage.