I lived in Jomtien Soi 1 from 1987 until January 2001 Had a house built from scratch
My house was alongside the Royal Jomtien Hotel's rear car park (built after I moved there) which suffered a disastrous fire in July 1997 with dozens of deaths. It was reconstructed and later reopened under a new name . There were reports of ghosts everywhere, and on one occasion when escorting a young lass along the soi leading to my home. she stopped and refused to go any further.
My house was purchased for use as weekend guest house for Bangkok trippers. I heard that after the first guests saw ghosts, word quickly spread, and the house was never rented out again.
In 1987 there were virtually no hotels/guest houses, shops or bars. The beach was deserted except for stray dogs
Baht buses only went to Jomtien if they had a passenger to deliver
In the early 90's a large shopping complex was built half way along Jomtien Beach Road, but despite signs announcing who had rented space, it never opened.
By the early 90's the Thais from Bangkok descended at weekends and hotels and guest houses opened. Then came the foreign tourists followed by a few bars.
When I left in 2001, traffic was heavy. Jomtien 2nd road was partially built and condos were being built everywhere. It was then basically an extension of Pattaya
I recall when Thepprasit Road was just a dirt track from one end to the other