Manufacturers: Mayer China, Walker China
User: Frank Torres Marine View Hotel, Moss Beach California
Date of Mayer cup: 1930s – 1940s
Date of Walker plate: 1955

Walker China version

Mayer China version

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Hotel on the beach depicted on front, with the hotel name and location included in the logo.

Seal Cove in Moss Beach was a great place to land booze during Prohibition due to its seclusion. Fortunately, a roadhouse had been built on the bluff above it in 1917. Illegal whiskey landed on the beach, was dragged up a steep cliff and placed into the waiting vehicles to be taken to San Francisco. Some of the booze always found its way into the garage beneath "Frank's Place," as it was known in 1917, because Frank Torres owned and ran it.  Torres used his excellent political and social connections to operate a highly successful, if illegal, business. Unlike many of the other speakeasies along the coast, Frank's Place was never raided.

It was a successful speakeasy and became a popular nightspot for silent film stars and politicians from the city. After Prohibition, it continued as the Beach Hotel and Restaurant.

Now called the Moss Beach Distillery (as of 2026), it even boasts its very own ghost! This resident ghost, called the Blue Lady, still haunts the premises trying to recapture the romance and excitement of Frank's speakeasy years.

Contributor:
Liz Vaughn, Walker photos