OB Historical Society presented: VILLA SURF
Dan Dixon’s Pleasuredome, 1950-1962, Author Barbara Houlton, Thurs., Oct. 18, 2018. Barbara Houlton has written two books about Villa Surf, the magnificent home of Dan Dixon overlooking the ocean where Sunset Cliffs Natural Park has obliterated all evidence of its past and history. Beginning with the undeveloped site, its construction, its subsequent coverage in the Sunday edition of the San Diego Union, the books cover the early years.
The third volume is now being written, and the presentation to the Ocean Beach Historical Society includes the photos and news articles that form the basis for the volume not yet published.
Barbara Houlton has been a resident of Ocean Beach since 1959. She was one of four women engineers who rented Villa Surf from Dan Dixon when he frequented his other residence in Europe. The people who lived at Villa Surf and in the Life Estate Cottages have stayed in touch over the years. They have preserved the history, along with the information found in scrapbooks that Dan Dixon kept. These sources have formed the basis for the narrative. Barbara gave a fascinating OBHS program.
Ocean Beach Historical Society 