Swift, Elias J.
Elias J. Swift (1847-1889) was a native of New York who came to Santa Cruz in the later 1870s. Drawing on previous experience running hotels in Gilroy and Salinas, he became proprietor of the Pacific Ocean House on Pacific Ave. in 1878. In 1883, he acquired the Kittredge House on Front Street, leasing its operation to fellow hotelier J. B. Peakes.
- John L. Chase, The Sidewalk Companion to Santa Cruz Architecture (4th ed. 2023), Chapter One, item (15), page 11
In 1887, Swift and his family moved to the Pope House, and he took over management there. Swift bought and sold several trotting horses and had a hand in organizing race meetings at the race track in the Westside neighborhood. That connection may explain why a street out that way was named for him. Swift died suddenly at the age of 42. The symptoms described in the obituary sound like he had a massive stroke. His heirs sold the Kittredge House to J. P. Smith, who converted the hotel to his family's private residence, named Sunshine Villa.
