Hidden Beauty, The History of the Mason Building (301 North Hill Street aka Coast Hwy)

On the northwest corner of Third and Hill Streets (Pier View Way and North Coast Highway) sits an empty building that has seen better days, with its exterior scraped away, windows broken and metal awning left to rust. No one can remember the building in its glory days but many will remember the H&M Military store owned by Harry and Mary Cathey, a popular destination for Marines needing essential gear. It was the largest of the many military stores that once filled Oceanside’s downtown business district.

But the building pre-dates Oceanside’s relationship with Camp Pendleton and its Marines. Nine decades ago this was once a beautiful art deco style building. Modernization may hide its original exterior but perhaps one day it will be restored.

Prior to the present building, Charles D. Merrill and his brother William owned the property. They were the first licensed Ford dealership in Oceanside and in 1920 built a new building on the prominent corner in downtown Oceanside and further expanded it after 1925.

Paul Beck, co-owner of the Oceanside Blade Tribune newspaper recalled the Merrill’s dealership when he arrived in Oceanside in 1927: “Across the street to the West was the Merrill Brothers Ford Agency.  Having no transportation upon arrival in Oceanside, one of the first deals that the young Becks made was for a Model A Ford.  As I recall, the total price was $475, and we talked the Merrill’s into a “due bill”, which meant $400 cash and $75 in advertising.”

The Merrill building included a storefront that was situated on Third Street (Pier View Way). In 1929 Ed Wolmer leased that space, at 410 Third Street, to open a music store.

The February 5, 1929 Oceanside Blade reported:  Rebuilding of the lower floor of the building at 410 Third Street to be occupied by the Ed Wolmer Music House is well along and Mr. Wolmer states that he is expecting to be in his store by the last of the month.  The front has been modernized and the interior handsomely refinished and when completed the store will be a most attractive salesroom for the display of the extensive line of pianos, radios, panatropes, and musical merchandise which will be carried.

Two years later the Merrill Bros. moved their Ford dealership just to the north, near the center of the block, and sold the property to B. A. and Marian Mason in 1931.  Despite the fact that a Depression was gripping the country, the Masons began construction of a two-story brick building on the property.

The November 19, 1931 Oceanside Blade Tribune reported the following: Operations on the new Mason building, being erected at Third and Hill Streets, will be resumed tomorrow, according to a statement from Omer Nelson, superintendent in charge. Delay in the erection of the building was brought about by negotiations regarding the expansion of the building to take in another story. “We are resuming operations,” said Nelson, “while the parties continue their negotiations toward the expansion of the building.  We are holding things open so that if necessary, we can make a third story to the build.” Work on the building has been at a standstill for the last few days, with part of the brick walls erected.  Nelson is on the job today, preparatory to getting the full construction crew back on the job again tomorrow.

The third story was not added and the building was completed in early 1932. The lessee was Wolmer’s Music House who moved from their former location fronting Third Street into the new Mason building fronting Hill Street.

Oceanside resident Ernest Carpenter remembered in an interview: “It was a music store, sheet music and all that kind of stuff. They had a big statute and I can’t remember, a dog, a big statue of a Dalmatian in the front. When I was a little kid I didn’t want to walk on that side of the street because I was afraid of that dog!” 

Wolmer’s Music Store, remained at 301 North Hill Street for several years, and also sold appliances. In 1946 Bob Shaffer and Gordon Duff purchased the appliance business and moved it to Third and Freeman Streets.

In 1940, Henry and Lina Howe bought the Mason building at 301 North Hill Street and owned it for several years, later deeding the property to their son and his wife, Tracy and Ethel Howe. The Howe’s owned a hardware store on Mission Avenue in downtown Oceanside.

Harold C. Cross, attorney rented an office upstairs in the 1940s, along with a variety of other businesses in the 1950s, including the Merchants Credit Association, and attorneys Daubney & Stevens.

By the mid to late 1940’s the building was divided into three suites fronting Hill Street or Coast Highway, to include 301, 303 and 305. The Fun Shop, a novelty store occupied one suite at 301 North Hill from 1948 to at least 1963, which was operated by T. L. O’Farrell and L. K. Broadman. Swanson’s Service Studio occupied the storefront at 303 North Hill Street from about 1948 to 1959, which was later occupied by Marine Tailors in the 1970s and 1980s. Artcraft Cleaners occupied the third suite at 305 North Hill from the mid 1940’s to about 1981.   

Years before Room 204 was used for polygraph exams (curiously), the office suite was used for a tailor’s shop in the mid 1940s, then rented out to Lorraine Nelson, a public stenographer.

In or about 1965, the owners “modernized” the exterior of the building, placing the metal screening along the upper portion and adding the large awning which changed the whole look of the building. Ceramic tiling was added to the exterior and the beautiful grating above the windows was either removed or covered as well.

In 1973 Harry and Mary Cathey purchased the building at 301 North Hill/Coast Highway. Prior to that they had been tenants operating H&M Military Store which became a very successful business for decades. The Cathey’s and their store were fixtures in downtown Oceanside, supporting the military and their community. They sponsoring the local parades for many years.

Harry Eugene Cathey was born in Arkansas in 1928. He served in the United States Marine Corps and was stationed at Camp Pendleton. After he got out of the service, he and his wife Mary made their home in Oceanside. Harry operated Harry’s Shoe Repair store at 304 Third Street in 1954, and later moved into the Mason Building at 410 Third Street (Pier View Way) opening the Square Deal Shoe Repair store.

In 1954 Jack Noble operated Noble’s Barber Shop at 412 Third Street which later became the Esquire Barber Shop by 1959 and still operates under the same name today and owned by John Gomez.

While the barber shop and another storefront continues to operate at 410 and 412 Pier View, the majority of the building sits empty. Its exterior has been marred by the removal of ceramic tiling (not original to the building) with boarded windows.

There is hope for the building. The large, corrugated metal façade which wraps around the upper portion of the building could be removed and the original exterior on the second story appears largely, if not completely, intact and would reveal its original cement finish in art deco style.

Just what will become of the building is unknown but certainly its history is worth knowing and the building worth preserving. The potential for exposing the beautiful Art Deco façade and beautifying this downtown corner is just waiting to happen.

Historic homes and buildings provide character and a sense of place. “How will we know it’s us without our past?” – John Steinbeck, Grapes of Wrath