Our Story

Carlsbad’s first industry was agriculture, and it soon becomes known as the ‘Home of the Avocado,’ attracting thousands to Carlsbad Village for the annual Avocado festival. At the same time, flower cultivation thrives in Carlsbad, particularly that of the ranunculus rhizomes brought from England that can still be seen today in the Carlsbad Flower Fields.

In the mid 1940s Bing Crosby forms ‘Carlsbad Properties’ and opens a successful restaurant and hotel (today it's the "Norte Mexican Restaurant). This attracts many Hollywood notables to our little corner of the beach. A few years later, the Hollywood commotion about Carlsbad would attract the eye of Henry Mayer, who owned and operated the first advertising agency west of the Mississippi, in Los Angeles.

Henry Mayer purchases the land and it eventually passes to his two daughters, Marge and Joan. Together with their husbands, they build the first building of our complex in the early 1960s as an ‘Apartment Motel’—the building known today as the Ocean Front Building. They add two other buildings in the 70s and 80s as demand grows.

Today, Beach Terrace still retains the original name given her by Marge, Joan, Tony and Bob, our original founders, alongside the same independent spirit. Whether you have been staying with us for decades or a handful of days, we are delighted to have you as part of our Beach Family and our ongoing story.