I started a fall trip at Commons Beach in Tahoe City. Needing to stretch, I walked around. I saw what I thought was old CCC bathrooms and investigated. I wasn’t expecting to find old jail cells!
In 1901, with an increasing number of visitors and workers on the railroad, Tahoe City required a jail. The original cells were in a windowless concrete bunker on Commons Beach. Thinking that jail was too inhospitable, Constable Watson let prisoners sleep in his kitchen.
In 1935, Constable Johanson took over. He built a new jail on Commons Beach, with a beautiful view of Lake Tahoe.
Today, the jail still stands watch over the lake and beachgoers, a reminder of Tahoe’s past.
Jail with a View!
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