Sunny Jim's Sea Cave is a cave in the La Jolla community of San Diego, California. It is a popular tourist attraction in the area for its resemblance to the British cereal mascot Sunny Jim. The Cave Store, a gift shop above the cave, offers access to it for a fee. It is also the only underwater cave that can be accessed through land in California.[1]
| Sunny Jim's Sea Cave | |
|---|---|
 The cave in 2016 | |
    | |
| Location | San Diego-La Jolla Underwater Park |
| Coordinates | 32°50′57″N 117°16′13″W / 32.8491°N 117.2702°W |
| Discovery | 1902 |
| Visitors | 60,000 (2015)[1] |
| Website | www |
| Designated | April 28, 1999 |
| Reference no. | 380 |
History
editIn 1902, German entrepreneur Gustav Schultz hired two Chinese laborers to dig out a tunnel from the gift shop, then Schultz's residence, to the caves below, one of which being Sunny Jim's Sea Cave.[2][3] Schultz believed that tourists who wanted to access the sea caves below would pay money to use the tunnel. The laborers took two years to dig the entire area out only using a shovel and pickaxe. Schultz began to hold tours in 1905.[4] Originally, the cave was accessed through a rope, but a staircase was created not long after. L. Frank Baum, the author of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, gave the cave its name.[5][6] The cave was rumored to be used to transport whiskey illegally into San Diego during the Prohibition era. Bootleggers additionally used the area to transfer opium. The cave may have been also used to smuggle immigrants into the U.S.[7] Jim Allen bought the store in 1994. Before the acquisition, the business mostly made money only from selling seashells.[1]
The Cave Store
editThe Cave Store was originally the residence of Gustav Schultz. It offers 15 to 20-minute-long group tours to the cave through a 145-step staircase. 90% of the store's revenue comes from entrance fees for the cave.[1] California sea lions can be occasionally heard from the cave.[2] It is possible to access the cave from the ocean, although the store prohibits people from entering the ocean from the viewing platform that visitors reach at the end of the staircase.[5]
References
edit- ^ a b c d Henry, Zoë (June 15, 2015). "This Shop Has Everything, Even a Secret Cave". Inc. Archived from the original on March 19, 2024. Retrieved March 18, 2024.
- ^ a b "Sunny Jim's Sea Cave". La Jolla by the Sea. Archived from the original on March 19, 2024. Retrieved March 18, 2024.
- ^ Bartell, John (June 30, 2022). "This smuggler's cave has a stunning view of the ocean in La Jolla | A Bartell's Backroads Pit Stop". KXTV. Archived from the original on July 8, 2022. Retrieved March 19, 2024.
- ^ "Official website". Archived from the original on March 19, 2024. Retrieved March 17, 2024.
- ^ a b Dillon, Katie (August 3, 2015). "Sunny Jim Sea Cave: What It's Like To Go Inside - La Jolla Mom". La Jolla Mom. Retrieved March 18, 2024.
- ^ "La Jolla Cove's famous caves still an attraction, especially Sunny Jim". SDNews. August 18, 2019. Archived from the original on March 19, 2024. Retrieved March 19, 2024.
- ^ "Visit The Historic Sunny Jim Cave | Hidden San Diego". Hidden San Diego. Archived from the original on March 19, 2024. Retrieved March 18, 2024.