The Mystery of the Sunshine Lodge

The Dana Point Historical Society was recently given fragments of an old sign (or two) from the "Sunshine Lodge." (See photo above.) The fragments were incorporated into the walls of the "Doheny House" (1928) in Capistrano Beach. That doesn’t mean the sign is from 1928, of course. It could have been added later, during repairs or renovations. In fact, based on the look of the sign, I wouldn’t be surprised if this was from the 1930s or 1940s.

So, what and where was the Sunshine Lodge?

Wherever it was, it had an “unequaled ocean view.” That lets out the old Sunshine Hotel in Orange, which is the only place with a similar name I can find in the South Orange County directories between 1899 and 1953. (Yes, I said "south." For most of our history, everything below Katella Ave. was considered "South Orange County.")

There was a Sunshine Lodge at 215 Wavecrest Ave. in Venice/Santa Monica from about 1903 through at least 1959. It was the headquarters for the local branch of the International Sunshine Society. But the sign in Dana Point seems to go with a hotel of some kind – not with the clubhouse of a social/charitable organization.

There was a hotel called the Sunshine Lodge at Coney Island in New York City around 1920. But that seems a little far to haul scrap lumber.

Do you have any thoughts on the origins of this sign? The Dana Point Historical Society and I would both appreciate any light you can shed in the comments section for this post.

[Note: Due to conflicting information from multiple sources, I initially cited the Dolph House as the source of this artifact. That information has now been corrected. My apologies for the confusion.]