San Clemente, Museum Day, O.C. Archives, etc

Just for fun, let's take a little tour of 1950s San Clemente, courtesy Tom Pulley's amazing postcard collection. We'll start with a view of Downtown, looking north on Avenida Del Mar. At least some of these buildings are still standing. But there's a lot more clutter on those hills today.

This postcard shows us interior and exterior views of Buddy Cole's Panorama Apartments at 420 Monterey Lane in San Clemente. They were (are?) "luxuriously furnished" for "vacation or permanent living." Those are some nice looking Modern apartments! Style and design really have been all downhill since the mid-'60s, haven't they?

Here's an aerial view of San Clemente from the 1950s, showing how little was inland of Coast Highway. Below is a postcard from a local car dealership, Bowle Stamp Ford, at 535 N. El Camino Real, with their new models on display.

This Saturday is Museum Day, sponsored nationwide by Smithsonian Magazine. Locally, a number of historical institutions will open their doors free to the public, including Mission San Juan Capistrano, the Huntington Beach International Surfing Museum, the Fullerton Museum Center, the Bowers Museum, the Howe-Waffle House & Museum, the Old Courthouse Museum, and of course, the Orange County Archives.

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Some of these locations require you to print free tickets from the Smithsonian's website, so check before you go. The Old Courthouse and County Archives are always free to the public, and Saturday is no exception -- We just usually aren't open on Saturdays. The Archives will be open both for research and for behind-the-scenes tours. Stop by and see us!
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It's been a while since I caught up with the Bowers Museum's blog. A few Orange County items have popped up since I did. These include a painting of Helena Modjeska at Arden, a Maze Stone from Trabuco Canyon, and the business ledger of Don Tomas Yorba.