About

We (Jon O'Connor and Amy Cirincione O'Connor) met on the Deschutes River while working for a wilderness therapy company in Oregon. After a few years of living out of backpacks and truck beds, we bought the cheapest commercial building for sale in Eureka and set about gutting it and turning it into a home.  

We discovered Oyster Beach while on a walk. We had been talking about finding another renovation project, this time one with a yard. Oyster Beach's 22 acres of overgrown eucalyptus forest was a little more than we had envisioned. But the place felt magical.

It seemed abandoned, but we found out it had been in foreclosure for years. We bargained with banks and private trusts and the county for a while, and eventually were able to buy it for a sum we could sort-of afford. We've been knee-deep in invasive plant removal and old-growth redwood salvaging ever since.

We originally designed Waterfront #1 for us. When we found out we were pregnant, we decided to renovate Waterfront #2 so we would have room for a baby. When we found out we were having twins, we panicked. Eventually we calmed ourselves down and renovated the Ranch House to fit our rapidly growing family, including an attached Suite 4 designed to entice/beg our faraway family to come help us with the babies.

We loved living in the peace and natural beauty of Oyster Beach, but we missed the walkability of the cities we grew up in, and of Old Town Eureka, where we lived before we were married. We missed having coffee shops, bars, restaurants and shops in the neighborhood.

Across the street from Oyster Beach were a few abandoned buildings clustered around a municipal airfield. We peeked into the windows and started asking around about the property. The more we learned about Samoa Field’s history, the more eager we were to revitalize it. We were lucky to discover that the airfield was owned by the City of Eureka, and that the City was open to letting us renovate the buildings and begin operating a tiny hotel, bar and event event.

We have always been drawn to spaces that are warm and inviting. Sure, we like being in cool spaces filled with beautiful people. But we also wanted to create a vibe that lack pretension. We named our newly expanded business Humboldt Bay Social Club because we wanted to create a place where everyone feels a sense of belongingness.

We never have any idea what we're getting into when we start these projects, and each time they end up better than we could have expected. Thank you for coming along for the ride.