Knott's Steak House

Since the old Steak House at Knott's Berry Farm recently reopened (under the name "Spurs,") I thought this might be a good time to post some older photos of the place. The image above shows the restaurant's Indian Room in 1958.
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The Steak House originally opened as the Buffalo Steak House in 1946. Much like Mrs. Knott's Chicken Dinner Restaurant, it grew like Topsy over the years. Additions included a new kitchen and the Family and Garden Rooms in 1952, the Walter Knott Room in 1962, and more construction in 1971. The Steak House also shared a kitchen with the Ghost Town Grill, which was (and still is) more of a short order coffee shop.

The Steak House was run for many years by Dwight "Andy" Anderson, Walter Knott's son-in-law. (Not to be confused with the wood carver named Andy Anderson.)

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In 1983, the Steak House was renamed Big Jake's Ranch House. This was likely a reference to the John Wayne movie Big Jake, which held its premiere at Knott's in 1971.

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The name eventually switched to the Family Steak House, but things were about to change.

(Image above is the cover of a Steak House menu from about 1949.)

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When the Ghost Rider rollercoaster was built in the 1990s, it changed the layout of Knott's Berry Farm significantly. Suddenly, the Steak House was inside the gates of the park, and management felt that a high end restaurant couldn't support itself with such limited public access. The restaurant became Auntie Pasta's in 1998, serving Italian family fare such as pasta and (pretty bad) pizza.

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Spurs circumvents the access problem using a system you can read about in a recent Register article.

Another reason for choosing today's topic was Ken Stack's last post on Outside The Berm (which in turn was a response to a post on Gorillas Don't Blog) about the fire at the Steak House. The photo above shows the cleanup effort after the patio area burned on Nov. 15, 1950. Amazingly, that whole section was rebuilt and ready for customers by Thanksgiving. (Is it just me, or does the guy on the roof look like Russell Knott?)

Sunset Beach, HB, Knott's, Shirley de Graaf, etc.

Since they don't want to be part of Huntington Beach and because Seal Beach won't have them, the little unincorporated town of Sunset Beach is now looking into becoming its own city. The community began when lots went up for sale in 1904. The images above and below were part of the marketing effort that year. I particularly like the poem in the L.A. Times ad below.

I love how optimistic these illustrations of the town were. The one below is from a 1913 ad and shows some sort of "alternate universe" version of Sunset Beach. Don't get me wrong,... Sunset Beach definitely has its merits,... but it never looked quite like this.

Diane Ryan is offering a History of Huntington Beach class through the City. "Come join others in learning about the rich history of Huntington Beach, its early residents and landmarks. Included is a walking tour of downtown." The class includes four two-hour sessions (10am to Noon) from Sept. 17 to Oct. 8. It costs $55. See page 31 of the current issue of the Huntington Beach Sands for details.

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Rev. John Taylor recently wrote about a few angry folks who want the statues of Mao Zedong and Zhou Enlai removed from the Nixon Library. We don't like communists either, but they do play a significant role in Nixon's story. And if we sanitize history, we become that much more like the authoritarian regimes we revile.

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Jay Jennings will sign his book, Knott's Berry Farm: The Early Years, this Saturday, Noon-2pm, in the Courtyard Room at Mrs. Knott's Chicken Dinner Restaurant in Buena Park. More details are posted on Viewliner Ltd.

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In case you missed the story in the Register, some cretin has torn up a County Park and an archaeological site for his own enjoyment. According to the paper, he's built, "a 'party house,' walkways, a pond and other structures on top of a centuries-old Native American site at the edge of a county regional park," and is also "accused of constructing at least one outbuilding within the boundaries of Santiago Oaks Regional Park, and illegally modifying a nearby hiking trail and fire road with a bulldozer." I know the Juaneno don't carry tomahawks, but maybe we should give them some.

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Shirley de Graaf, the wife of CSUF Professor Emeritus Larry de Graaf, passed away Aug. 12. A memorial will be held Wed., 2-5 pm, at the Fullerton Arboretum. She was involved in the university's Heritage House and volunteered with COPH's oral history program. More details are available on the Register's website.

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[Ed. - No, I'm not out of the woods on my technical problems yet, but I'm borrowing a computer this evening and posting as much accumulated info as I can.]

Hotel, Laguna Beach, circa 1910s

We're still experiencing technical difficulties. Enjoy a vintage postcard while you wait.

Garden Grove, circa 1930

Here's a great photo of Garden Grove about 1930, provided by Doug McIntosh. We're looking north through downtown in this shot. Note the Pacific Electric tracks running caddy-corner across the photo. The second photo, below, shows roughly the same location today, and was provided by Glenn Frank.
I already mentioned that my schedule would make it hard to post much for the next week or two. Well, it just got even harder. My computer is suddenly struggling to complete even the simplest tasks. This means I either need a new CPU or some kind of major overhaul on the old one. In the meantime, thanks for your patience.

Murals of Anaheim history at GardenWalk

Reader ColonyRabble writes, "This weekend at the GardenWalk, [321 W. Katella Ave., in Anaheim] the public is invited for a family-friendly event, as we unveil 'Anaheim in Motion: History Comes to Life.' Anaheim Planning intern Janet Lee, volunteering her time no less, has created a miracle in coordinating 20 artists, working with hundreds of kids, to produce artistic murals of Anaheim history and culture. Sponsored by the Anaheim Historical Society, Assistance League, YMCA, Boys and Girls Clubs, and the GardenWalk, with assistance from Disney, the murals are amazing, and will be displayed as public art for roughly the next year, in space generously donated by the GardenWalk. The Unveiling event is tomorrow (Saturday) beginning at 6 pm, with magicians, music, and the best view of the Disneyland fireworks outside of 'the Park.'

"The public is invited, and the event is FREE and kid friendly, in the 2nd floor Gala Garden. Murals are framed throughout the center, with most of them in the Gala Garden and upper floor area. "

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Today's photos courtesy the GardenWalk page on Facebook.

Two schools in 1921

Here are two images from Orange County schools in about 1921. The image above shows Fullerton Union High School's buses, bringing in students from surrounding rural areas. The photo below shows the Tustin Grammar School.

It's been a while since my last post, and even this one is just a stop-gap measure. It's been a busy week and things seem likely to stay busy for at least another week or two. However, I will post whenever I can.

Santa Ana Federal Building & Post Office (1931)

Today I'm focusing on another historic Orange County post office: The Santa Ana Federal Building and Post Office, now known as the Spurgeon Station. It is located at 605 Bush St., in Santa Ana and is on the National Register of Historic Places. (#85000134)

In the book, Early Santa Ana, Marge Bitetti writes, "James A. Wetmore and his successor, Louis A. Simon, designed the building in the Mission/Spanish Revival style. Simon worked for the U.S. Treasury for 45 years as supervising architect. He retired in 1941."

Indeed, Wetmore and Simon of the Office of the Supervising Architect are listed as the architects on the building's National Register nomination, and Wetmore's name appears as "Acting Supervising Architect" on the building's corner stone.

But curiously, newspaper coverage during early development of the building mostly cited E. B. Morris of the U.S. Treasury Dept. as the architect in charge. Then, throughout construction, the press repeatedly cites Acting Supervising Architect Von Nerta of the Treasury Dept. as the authority on the project. One wonders just how many architects were involved in creating Spurgeon Station's eclectic mix of styles -- drawing from Spanish Colonial Revival, Federalist, Beaux-Arts, and more.

South portion of Spurgeon Station lobby. (Photo 2023 by author)

The site selection process for the building was underway in Fall 1928 and Spring 1929 and completed plans were delivered in Dec. 1930. Construction began in early Jan. 1931 and continued throughout that year.

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The cornerstone was laid on Aug 18, 1931 by Santa Ana's Masonic Lodges. (Their first official event after the dedication of their new Masonic Temple at 5th & Sycamore.) Congressman Phillip D. Swing delivered the address and praised Postmaster Terry E. Stephenson who'd successfully lobbied to start construction two years earlier than scheduled.

At the dedication, Stephenson said, "The first letter I wrote after learning that I was to be postmaster was a letter to Representative Swing to have a Federal building and that I would direct my efforts toward getting one for Santa Ana. That was in 1923."

Stephenson is also known today for having run (and partly owned) the Santa Ana Register and for being Orange County's first real local historian.

The Federal Building's grand opening was held on Jan. 2, 1932, with an open house and reception for the public the following evening. Thousands attended.

Decades later, the other Federal offices moved out of the building, leaving just the main Santa Ana Post Office. 

It was officially renamed Spurgeon Station on Jan. 1, 1968, in honor of William H. "Uncle Billy" Spurgeon -- the town's founder and its postmaster from 1870 to 1880. A ceremony marking the name change was held in Dec. 1967 with Mrs. William Spurgeon Jr., William Spurgeon III, Santa Ana Postmaster Hector Godinez, and Mayor Tom McMichael. At the same time, the city's main post office moved to a new building at 2201 N. Grand Ave.

Update, 2022: In 2009, Spurgeon Station appeared on a list of twenty post offices under consideration for closure by the USPS. Luckily, it survived that potential purge. But it seems at least one notable alteration will soon be made. On Nov. 21, 2021, Congressman Lou Correa introduced legislation to rename the building yet again -- This time to the "Judge James Perez Post Office." The bill is winding its way through Washington, D.C. without significant opposition. 

On a somewhat related note, Santa Ana's Spurgeon Intermediate School was renamed the Romero-Cruz Academy in 2019. Let's hope the Father of Santa Ana (and Co-Father of Orange County) gets to keep his name on Spurgeon Street and on his own iconic commercial building at 4th and Sycamore.

Update, February 2023: Caught in the act by angry citizens, Rep. Correa now claims that the Post Office will carry both names simultaneously, with signage (which had mysteriously disappeared) returned to the exterior proclaiming the building to be "Spurgeon Station" and a plaque on the inside proclaiming the building to be the "Judge James Perez Post Office." It seems that compromise will please no one, but will approximate "saving face" for a few.

Santa Ana School historical plaque

How about a little something on the history of history? Specifically, this is one of the earliest historical plaques in Orange County. This marker for the old Santa Ana School (1867) was placed in 1929 by the Mojave Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution (D.A.R.) (This chapter was established in 1925 and is still active.)
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"Old Santa Ana" of course, was not where the current City of Santa Ana is now. It was approximately where the community of Olive is today.
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Carrie McFadden Ford, daughter of William McFadden, was Regent of the Mojave Chapter in 1929 when the plaque was placed (as shown above). A.W. Kammerer provided the granite boulder. A number of the school's original students were present, and gave short talks.

Phil Brigandi (who supplied the photos and info for this post) writes, "Originally, the plaque was located at south end of old Yorba Bridge. It was moved when the freeway was built in the 1960s. My recollection is that in the early 1970s, it stood between the trees right along the side of the road, and I believe it was moved again when the area was developed."