The Orange County Library Association's current newsletter features a little history on the Orange Coast College Library. Their new library (opened in February) replaced the Norman E. Watson Library, which closed over five years ago. The article continues,...For my money, the clock tower building shown in today's photo is still the most attractive of the library's many incarnations."In 1948, OCC's first Library was a converted Santa Ana Army Air Base barracks building. The second library, which opened in 1951, was the graceful clock-tower building that still sits in the quad today. [See photo above.] Later it was the Admissions, Records and Counseling Building, and currently serves as a “surge” structure for campus construction projects.
In 1969, OCC opened its third library facility. The four-story Norman E. Watson Library, located north of the college’s Student Center, closed in 2000. It underwent an extended renovation process and reopened last fall as the Norman E. Watson Enrollment Center.
In 2000, OCC’s library was "temporarily” relocated to a 25,000 square foot facility, consisting of 32 interlocking portable structures, and situated on the northern perimeter of the campus and west of LeBard Stadium. OCC’s fifth and most current library is located on the opposite side of the campus, next to the Arts Center and Doyle Arts Pavilion."
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Bonnie Bennett Hendrie will discuss the history of the Bennett family at Sunday's meeting of the Saddleback Area Historical Society. The meeting will be held at 2pm tomorrow, at the Heritage Hill Historical Park, 25151 Serrano Rd. in what the carpetbaggers call Lake Forest.
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The Amigos de la Colina, the docent group for the Heritage Hill Historical Park in El Toro, celebrated their 25th anniversary on June 21st.
Great Blog. I wish you much success.
ReplyDelete"in what the carpetbaggers call Lake Forest."
ReplyDeleteI love that comment. I can't bring myself to refer to El Toro as Lake Forest, or as I like to call it, Fake Forest.
Just as I refuse to refer to my hometown, Capistrano Beach, as Dana Point. Dana Point was always on the other side of the old 1/101 junction structure, and there it
will stay as long as I'm around.
I'm sure there were people of a similar mindset back in the day when the community of Serra became Capistrano Beach.
It's been called El Toro since at least 1838. In 1991, the residents of the new surrounding housing developments decided (in a narrow vote) to rename the community "Lake Forest" in honor of a late-1960s housing tract. The area lacks both natural lakes and an actual forest.
ReplyDeleteAccording to Phil Brigandi's "Orange County Place Names, A to Z," Capistrano Beach was called San-Juan-by-the-Sea in the 1880s, but the town never really took off. It was given the name Capistrano Beach in 1925, but that didn't move much real estate either. In 1931 it was renamed Doheny Park in honor of Edward Doheny, Jr. - who'd promoted the area. It became Capistrano Beach again in 1948.
As best I can tell, Serra was just the name of the Santa Fe station and the local School District.
Although it became part of Dana Point when that city incorporated in 1989, Capistrano Beach (or "Capo Beach" for short) is still a real place with its own identity.
Except when you come into town from the North, the sign says Dana Point City Limits. That bugs me to no end.
ReplyDeleteI actually attended Serra Elementary School, before it was unceremoniously knocked down for bus parking. The palm trees and Italian Cypress that flanked the main entrance survive to this day.
At least they did the last time I drove by some 5 years ago.