Shady Beach Hotel was built in 1896 by Warren and Ida Avis Putnam Spencer specifically for the tourist trade. It was located at the west end of The Strip, where the village’s recreation park is now. The only remaining part of the hotel is the annex, which is across the street. The annex, privately owned, provided guests with a beach.
The Bowers family was associated with Shady Beach for most of the resort’s 70-plus years. Arthur B. and Fannie Bowers owned and operated the lodge, followed by Durwood Bowers and his wife, Helen, who were last to operate it.
In this 1944 home movie, we see a family staying at the Shady Beach annex, across the street from the hotel. The annex still stands. The beach is most likely that of the annex, which the Bowers family acquired to give “Shady Beach” guests access to a beach.
Let’s take a tour of Shady Beach, using a brochure from the 1960s:
