140 Years Later, the OddFellows Building Still Holds the Unknown History of Half Moon Bay
Hi June-
This is the Odd Fellows Building, 526 Main Street, then & now, top & bottom
(further down) Across from City Hall
next door to the HMB Bakery. M.Coffee and Tokenz are on the ground floor.
The Ocean View Lodge has been active, but many people in town have never seen the upstairs, which remains close to the way it was in 1870.
Before there was a city government, the fraternal organizations ran most towns, including Half Moon Bay. All five of the original city councilmen in HMB were members. The city government was formed right in our hall.
The hall was also the social center of town, hosting dinners, meetings of various groups – Mason, Son of Italy, Scouts, 4-H, etc. I remember quite a lot of activity there as a boy. San Mateo County History Museum Founder Dr. Frank Stanger writes about it in his book, âSouth from San Francisco,â? published in 1963.
The Half Moon Bay lodge was chartered in 1868 (when the town was called Spanishtown), the same year that the first church arrived in town. I have been compiling a lot of information about all of this for some time.. There are meeting minutes
dating back to the beginning- a whole history of Half Moon Bay– still unknown.
Take care, 
Tony
During this month, April 2008, Ocean View Lodge celebrates its 140th anniversary.
(Photo: Tony Pera points out items of historical interest.)