The 1902 roadhouse, a popular saloon during Prohibition, is one of the last wood-frame houses of its era on the Santa Cruz coastline. (Charles Paulden)

A former Santa Cruz speakeasy should be a city landmark, a group of preservationists says.

Built in 1902 as a saloon, the Pleasure Point Roadhouse, whose Prohibition-era brothel inspired the name for its coastal area, became a gas station in 1971. The wood house, its carriage house, and several 90-year-old bungalows are private property now, and owner Leila Naslund, who rents the house out, doesn't want it to be designated.

Nonetheless, the city's board of supervisors added the Pleasure Point Roadhouse to a list of properties they'll consider designating as historic resources at a meeting next month.

"It seems like it means a lot to the community," says Supervisor Jan Beautz, who recommended that the house be considered for designation. "It's been left to go into really bad disrepair. It has a lot of history to it."

A grassroots group has collected hundreds of signatures on a petition in support of the designation of the roadhouse, a two-story wood-frame structure with Craftsman-style influences.

"It's probably the last undeveloped big piece of property on the coast. It's just timeless," says Charles Paulden, leader of a group called People for the Preservation of Pleasure Point. "It's like you're 100 years ago when you step onto that property."

The cottages next to the roadhouse were demolished last year to make way for condos, and Paulden fears the same will happen to the roadhouse if it's not designated.

"Pleasure Point was a beach-cottage community until the last five years. It's not too far gone yet," Paulden says. "I would like all of Pleasure Point to be preserved, but right now I would like to save one little bit of it."

Paulden wants to see the roadhouse restored as a museum or community center.

Although its heyday during Prohibition is long gone, the Pleasure Point Roadhouse remains a popular local icon. "I remember going to parties in that building back in the 70s. I've always thought it was a very cool structure," says Carolyn Swift, director of the nearby Capitola Museum. "For a building of that style to survive, with the carriage house and these little additional 1920s bungalows, that's pretty rare."

Want Today's News headlines delivered to your e-mail box? Sign up for our weekly e-newsletter >>