The 1909 postcard above makes me wonder what kind of person schedules a "stag party and smoker" for 10:00 Christmas morning. Out of curiosity, I drove past and photographed 506 S. Sycamore in Santa Ana..
Speaking of scurrilous doings in Santa Ana, here's the latest on the historic Basler-Twist House: The big pieces of the house have been moved to Cabrillo Park, mostly rejoined, and topped with a new roof. Unfortunately, I hear that the contractors didn't follow historical standards, the City didn't pay much attention to the plans, and extended exposure to the elements did the interior no good. I hear there's even a big stained glass window missing.
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Also in Santa Ana, the Centennial Heritage Museum is changing its name to the Heritage Museum of Orange County, which is not to be confused with its earlier name, the Discovery Museum of Orange County.
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On Jan. 3, the Dana Point Historical Society will celebrate the City's 20th Anniversary. The event will begin at 2pm aboard the brig Pilgrim in Dana Point Harbor. Former mayors Judy Curreri and Mike Eggers will speak about the founding of the city. Souvenir city history booklets and a Dana Point 2009 historical calendar will be available. The Historical Society will have a number of displays.
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It comes to my attention that Robert Carvounas' history of Huntington Beach's landmark Golden Bear is almost ready to go to press. Once published, it will be available through the Huntington Beach Art Center on Main St.
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This month's Atlantic Monthly has an article combining four of my favorite things: Disneyland history, Space Age architecture, retro-futurism, and P.J. O'Rourke. Check it out.
Wow, what a great article! Spot on. Thanks for pointing it out.
ReplyDeleteIt's all Mike Harrah's fault. SanTana preservationists should be more outraged than they already are...
ReplyDeleteYes, the developer should have done things right in the first place. But other folks also had the opportunity to resolve the problem and did not. One man can do a lot of damage, but it takes a village to *really* screw things up.
ReplyDeleteThat's part of why educating the public about local history is so important. The people involved in the many stages of this project probably aren't evil or stupid -- Like most Californians, they're probably just ignorant about local history and the importance of thoughtful preservation.
We all need to learn more about our communities' roots. A quick gloss on the subject in third grade is, at most, just a good start.
Stag party and smoker huh? Maybe on the 26th, but Christmas day would be bad form I think...
ReplyDeleteIt's not just Mike Harrah's fault -- blame the people at city hall who grab their ankles whenever he comes into the room. It's amazing the way some of our elected officials promote and protect him. Wonder what they're getting out of it?
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