550 Morro Bay Blvd., Morro Bay, CA 93442

For booking the Caccia House call or email Yvonne or Donna
877-772-3330 Toll Free / 805-772-3336 Local
Prices subject to change, call for current prices

Calendar

La Vie Gallery
550 Morro Bay Blvd., Morro Bay
Weddings & Other Events

Located in the center of downtown Morro Bay, La Vie Gallery is home to one of the most unique art galleries on the coast. La Vie Gallery is also perfect for events of many types such as weddings, wine tasting (with proper licensing) and family and other reunions. Built in 1905 out of redwood, the home has been rehabilitated to near original condition and exudes the character of a home that was already 40 years old when William Randolph Hearst and Marion Davies were driven down Morro Bay Blvd. when it was the old HWY 1 on their way to Hearst Castle.

The backyard has a large terraced stone patio that is secluded and has an unbelievably warm microclimate. The interior features the original old growth Douglas Fir six inch planking and you will love the large room that used to be part of the living area of the Caccia family. The room easily seats 50 at six foot rectangular tables which can be set up in a variety of configurations.

The patio has a stage area at each end. On the west end, the 24' x 18' deck can be used as a stage or seating area, depending on your preference. On the east end, an elevated terrace of the stone patio is about 24' x 8' and is perfect for small stage.

A high fence protects the backyard from most wind.

Have your wedding, reception or meeting in one of the few authentic historic buildings available on the Central Coast. You will love the charm and history of this house.

What better place to hold your memorable event than in a memorable house?

The Story of the Historic Caccia Home:
As Told to Dan Reddell by Howard Caccia

“My Grandparents owned a dairy outside of Cayucos in partnership with my mother’s parents, the Stornies. My grandparents sold their interest to my father, Ettore (Ed) and my mother, Rosie Caccia, but after a year or so, around 1911, my father sold out to the Stornies and leased a diary up San Bernardo Creek, now owned by the Dominghini family. I was born there in 1914. He eventually bought the ranch below it from his relatives, the Quintana family.

My parents wanted to move into Morro Bay and found a suitable property at 550 5th Street (now Morro Bay Blvd.) It was comprised of a fine home located on an entire city block which had been built in 1905 by Alva Paul. By 1917 it was the residence of Alva's son and family. The son worked for PG&E and was electrocuted in an accident in Bakersfield. The Paul family sold the property to my father for $2,500.

We moved into the house at 550 5th Street in 1918 when I was four years old. For 30 years, my father served on the Board of Trustees for the old Morro Elementary School which was located on the corner of Beach and Main where the Chevron Service Station stood for many years. Now it is a vacant lot. I remember walking to school when 5th Street was still a dirt road and I also remember teachers walking up to our home where my father had enclosed the porch and made it his office.

The huge backyard was a small farm and I remember my mother having a garden and washing off the vegetables at her outside sink off the kitchen on the back deck. We had one of the few wells in town. It was a three foot diameter circle made of round brick. It was a hand dug well 40 feet deep. My father had it dug another 20 feet and I watched the men as they would dig down the width of the curved bricks, install a layer in a circle, and then dig another layer until they reached the proper depth.

In 1918, my father decided to build a new house for his elderly parents next door to our home. He hired Ted Maino, who constructed the first buildings at Cal Poly, to build it. At a cost of $5,000, the new Craftsman style home featured a concrete foundation, cement siding, asbestos roof tile, a porch, and large yards. I remember, as a five year old boy, watching the men mix up the concrete by hand in a large tub which they then used to stucco the exterior. Construction was completed in 1919.

My grandparents lived in their beautiful home until 1925 when they moved to San Luis Obispo for health reasons.

After my grandparents moved to SLO, my father rented the home out to Jack Van De Venter, who used part of it as a real estate office. Jack lived there until 1941.

When I was a teenager, I got a job at Maston’s General Store and made more money than any of my friends were making at their part-time jobs. I loved cars and was able to buy a Model T Ford with my earnings. Later, I built an auto repair shop behind my parents’ home. For a long time there were only two auto repair shops in town. It was a Quonset hut that is still there.

When I was 24, I married Marianne Pierce. We were living on the ranch at San Bernardo Creek and I was driving into to work in Morro Bay everyday when my father agreed to sell me my grandparents’ home. I wanted to live closer to my work. We raised our three daughters there for fifteen years until 1957 when we decided to move to San Luis Obispo.

In 1941, my father moved his home back about 100 feet from the road, built the Seaside Service Station, and leased it to his friend John Welch.

By 1946, my father sold off the east half of his block to a lumber company. Southern Pacific Milling owned it for many years before selling to Hayward Lumber, who later traded the property to San Luis Savings and Loan for the site on Atascadero Rd. The old Hayward Lumber yard is currently Miner’s Hardware. The saving and loan building is now Old Paris.

After my mother passed away, my father decided he wanted to move into our old home. Marianne and I were living in San Luis Obispo so we sold it back to my father and he moved out of his home of so many years and into the home he built for his parents. He lived there until his death in 1976. He was 87. We sold the building to Ogle, Gallo & Merzon and they remodeled it to be an annex to their law offices across from City Park.

In 1957, we built the building where Village Dry Cleaners is currently. Originally it was a butcher shop and recently I ran into Ray Connolly who worked there as a butcher in the early 1960s.

We built the other structures along Napa Street and rented them out.

Last year, the flower shop that was located in the old Seaside Service Station building moved on after 15 years of doing business there. Marianne and I decided to lease that building and my parents’ old house to Dan Reddell. He had purchased my grandparents’ home from Ogle, Gallo & Merzon in 1997 and remodeled it into offices for his business, Bayshore Realty.

We were very pleased with how he took care of the property and knew that he would improve the rest of the property. We weren’t disappointed. He and Janne’ did a wonderful job restoring my parents’ home into the Historic Caccia House Event Center. We also are pleased with what he did to the old service station building by updating it and turning it into the office for Bayshore Rentals.

I turned 94 this year and Marianne and I are celebrating our 70th wedding anniversary this year. We have so many fond memories of our years in Morro Bay. We hope you enjoy our old family home as much as we did.”

Howard and Marianne Caccia

Read more...

For booking the Caccia House call or email Yvonne or Donna
877-772-3330 Toll Free / 805-772-3336 Local
Prices subject to change, call for current prices