Huntington Beach, Yost Theatre, and bye to pie

My computer is still thrashed and awaiting delivery of TWO new harddrives. So the posts are still few and far between here -- using a borrowed computer. Anyway,... Today's photos show one of the most under-appreciated (but very cool) buildings in Downtown Huntington Beach: The deco/moderne Cut-Rate Drug Store, which still stands today at the corner of Main St. and Walnut.

The store was built in 1938 by well-known local oil-tool mogul S. R. Bowen. A number of sources place the construction date earlier, but this photo (below) from the 3-3-1938 issue of The Huntington Beach News settles the issue.

I received the following email about Santa Ana's historic Yost Theatre today, and I thought someone might be able to help:

Hello. I'm working on the Yost Theatre, reconstructing the upper part of the stage area, and I was wondering if you had (or knew of anyone with) photos from say 1940 to 1960. If so, please pass along my email address. ...Thanks. oddjobfortwo@gmail.com

Sad news: Orange County restaurant chain Marie Callender's is in Chapter 11, and many locations are closing. The story is in the Register.

Los Alamitos and technical difficulties

Today's photo shows Downtown Los Alamitos in about 1920. Note the dirt roads, false front Western buildings and the sugar factory in the background. You can see why Hollywood filmmakers used Los Alamitos as a location for shooting westerns. The image comes from the Orange County Archives.

I'm afraid my computer at home is seriously screwed up at the moment. Accordingly, I'm not posting much to this blog or even getting much access to my home email account. My apologies. I hope to get the problems dealt with over the next week or so. Thanks for your patience. (Not that I really gave you a choice.)

From Golden Horseshoe to Pearly Gates

The two biggest stars of Disneyland's record-setting Golden Horseshoe Revue (1955-1986) died only a day apart from each other this past week. The "Clown Prince of Disneyland," Wally Boag, who played Pecos Bill for 39,522 performances between 1955 and 1982, died Friday. His long-time co-star, Betty Taylor, who played the role of Slue-Foot Sue for about 30 years, died Saturday.

The Golden Horseshoe Revue was the longest continually running stage show in history. Both actors and the Revue itself are in the Guiness Book of World Records for their record-setting run. Taylor and Boag also appeared in a made-for-TV movie version of the Revue which also starred Annette Funicello, Ed Wynn, Gene Sheldon, Fulton Burley and Walt Disney. Taylor also performed on stage with well-known Big Bands and performing alongside stars like Frank Sinatra in Las Vegas.

Boag was an inspiration to many comedic performers. Steve Martin, who grew up working at Disneyland, tweeted, "My hero, the first comedian I ever saw live, my influence, a man to whom I aspired, has passed on. Wally Boag."

Speaking of Steve Martin at Disneyland, a rare 1957 photo of a very young Martin selling guidebooks at the Main Gate has surfaced in a recent post on the Daveland Blog. It's definitely one of those "holy grail" photos we never thought we'd see. (Speaking of which, have any of you found a photo of Walter Knott and Walt Disney together yet?)

Silent Movies Shot In Orange County

Today I'm posting a series of photos from the special Saturday open house we held today at the exhibit, "On Location: Orange County in Silent Film," at the Old Orange County Courthouse. This afternoon we screened Buster Keaton's "College," with live accompaniment on the organ by William Campbell. It was a packed house! Today's Register featured a very nice article about the exhibit and this event.

The exhibit, as I mentioned earlier, is about the many movies shot in Orange County during the silent film era. The staff of the Orange County Archives put the exhibit together, with funding and technical help from OC Parks. I know I'm biased, but I think the mix of original props and movie equipment, photos, movie posters, replica costumes and other artifacts is fairly impressive for our first build-it-from-scratch exhibit. And it tells an interesting story that few people know. The exhibit is free to the public and can be viewed on the third floor of the Old Courthouse, 211 W. Santa Ana Blvd., Santa Ana, from 9am to 5pm, Monday through Friday, until Aug. 5th.

I should have posted this earlier. Sometimes I'm so busy prepping for events that I don't realize I haven't blogged about something. But if you missed out on today's event, all is not lost. Not only can you still see the exhibit, but you can also be part of yet another Silent Movies Shot In O.C. screening this Thursday.

The very first movie shot in Orange County, D.W. Griffith's "Two Brothers" will be shown in its entirety -- along with clips of other silent films shot locally -- at this month's meeting of the Orange County Historical Society. The show will begin at 7:30 p.m., Thurs., June 9th, at Trinity Episcopal Church, 2400 N. Canal St., Orange.

"Two Brothers" is a tale set in California's Rancho era, and shows many identifiable scenes of San Juan Capistrano as it appeared in 1910. Long considered lost, a copy of the film was recently found by the Smithsonian. It is essentially a Western, set in the "days of the Dons." Still-unknown talents Mary Pickford, Hoot Gibson and Mack Sennett are featured in bit parts.

This OCHS program is free and open to the public. Popcorn and refreshments will be available in the "lobby," and copies of Jim Sleeper's book, "Great Movies Shot in Orange County" will be available for sale.

But let's go back to the exhibit at the Old Courthouse,... The exhibit (and thus, these accompanying events) couldn't have happened without Jim Sleeper's aforementioned book. Although the artifacts were provided by a variety of generous sources, Jim's thorough research gave us the framework and background to make the exhibit more than just a roomful of interesting stuff.

In the photo above, County Archivist Susan Berumen introduces theater organist, Bill Campbell, of the Orange County Theatre Organ Society. He did an amazing job for us! (See a film clip of his performance here.)

This last photo shows the audience watching "College" in Courtroom 2 of the Old Courthouse. Seeing a big crowd of people laughing loudly at Buster Keaton's inspired hijinks, it's hard to imagine that this is the same room where the nationally infamous Overell murder trial was held in 1947.

Anyway,... Whether you make it to the exhibit in Santa Ana or to the program in Orange, (or hopefully both), please stop by and say hello.

A lonely orange grove

Elaine Cali writes:

"I'm helping get the word out to help save one of the last orange orchards in all of Orange County.

"The Grain Project is the group trying to save it and they have some great creative ideas to turn this orchard into an urban community garden and save the orchard at the same time.

"The land is currently owned by Concordia University and they've turned it over to a developer who plans to bulldoze it and build 24 homes on this 5 acre orchard site. I'm trying to connect them with the foodie community, historic societies and media outlets and any like-minded bloggers. Here is their Facebook for more information: Save the Sexlinger Orange Orchard. They need more awareness and people to sign petitions to Save the Orchard.

"I'm a 7th generation Orange Countian and I would hate to see this piece of our County's history disappear forever. [The Grain Project has] ideas to create a community garden in this location and retain the orchard and are looking for solutions, as the clock is ticking and the city council will soon decide its fate."

Yes, I'd also rather see oranges than more housing. (Don't we have ENOUGH people in Orange County already?) And I like the folks I've met at the Grain Project too. But I still have to point out this picky detail: Aren't they usually called orange "groves?"

Thanks to volunteers!

With a few rare exceptions most local history work is done by volunteers. Come to that, even the few people with jobs in the field tend to spend much of their free time volunteering to do more.

We sometimes hear people complain that nobody's written a book on a particular topic, or that a particular historic site wasn't preserved. Honestly folks,... If you want to see this stuff done, you probably have to do it yourself. YCPLHSOYA: You Can't Promote Local History Sitting On Your Ass.

I can't possibly thank everyone who contributes to the cause -- That kind of thing could easily take over my whole blog. But I do I want to thank some folks who went out of their way to help the Orange County Historical Society in the past few weeks. At the Anaheim Historical Society’s Home Tour, OCHS volunteers included Phil Brigandi, Don Dobmeier, Judy Moore, and Tom Pickett, (all seen in front of the Woelke-Stoffel House in the photo above,) as well as Kevin DeMera, Teri Vaughn, and John Bushman.
Thanks also to Adam England, Daralee Ota (both seen in the photo above) and Don Dobmeier (again), who staffed the OCHS table at Rancho Fiesta Day at Heritage Hill Historical Park in El Toro. (We tend to have at least two people at our booth, so volunteers can spell each other off and go exploring for a while.) Adam even brought rancho “artifacts” to decorate the booth.

Both the Anaheim Historical Society and Heritage Hill were excellent hosts. I thank them for inviting us and hope we’ll get the chance to be involved in their events again in the future.

Big thanks also to the Chris Epting and Maria Hall Brown and the team at KOCE who put together a great segment for Real Orange, letting people know about the exhibit, "On Location: Orange County In Silent Films." (On display at the Old Courthouse Museum through Aug. 5th.) You made me look better than I deserve!

Architectural salvage material available NOW!

As part of a recent settlement agreement with the City of Santa Ana concerning vintage properties in the Lacy neighborhood, the Santa Ana Historical Preservation Society is conducting emergency architectural salvage over the next week. Because of time and storage limitations they are offering cut-rate prices on salvage items to local individuals (no dealers please) who can come to the site and haul away items as they are pulled out. They want to keep these items in the hands of Orange County residents if at all possible.

Their salvage work must be completed by May 30th, so this is a great opportunity for those of you engaged in (or contemplating) remodeling or restoration. The structures being salvaged range from 1890s to 1930s and contain beautiful hardwood. Items are in various condition, some pristine, some with minor damage, and are sold "as-is". Here is only a partial list of vintage items available now:

• doors and surrounds (some gumwood)


• windows (casement and double hung)


• claw foot tubs (with and without feet)


• corner bathroom sinks and full country kitchen sinks


• built in dining room and kitchen cabinets


• Murphy beds (with complete hardware, some with doors)


• California coolers and shelves


• mirrored medicine cabinets


• built in window seats


• picture rail, baseboards, chair rail


• small gas stoves


• mail slots


• Victorian corner fireplace and mantle


• decorative pillars


• full hardwood staircase and banisters


• pocket doors


• pillars

If you're interested, please call Lisa at (714) 788-9148 immediately to arrange to come and view the items and get a price quote. Remember, they must have all salvage completed by May 30, and proceeds will benefit the Santa Ana Historical Preservation Society.

The Devil went down to Buena Park

Today's post is about a place full of fire and lava run by a guy with horns on his head. Naturally, I'm talking about the old volcano at Knott's Berry Farm.

The sign above the infernal little fellow shown above reads, "This is the appratus that controls the volcano. It was made by Henry Legari, and is operated by the gentleman turning the crank. (Sound effect by Bob Hilliard.)" A wide view -- probably around 1950 -- is seen below.
Throughout the 1930s, Mrs. Knott's Chicken Dinner Restaurant had grown in popularity and size. At the end of the 1930s, the latest expansion gave diners an underwhelming view of an irrigation standpipe that was part of Walter Knott's farming operations. Ever the problem-solver, Walter figured out a solution: Turn the standpipe into a 20-foot-tall volcano! In addition to hiding the standpipe, the volcano would also add to the growing list of diversions available to guests waiting for their turn at a chicken dinner.

The volcano was built in 1939 at a cost of $600. The lava rock was hauled in from Pisgah Mountain, near the Knott's old homestead in Newberry Springs. Desert landscaping was added. So were signs, reading, "Danger, keep out!" and "Only active volcano in Southern California. Moved in from the Mojave Desert complete—and has been erupting faithfully ever since." Appropriate noises and steam eminated from the volcano. (The photo below shows the volcano in the 1940s.)

One of the volcano's most peculiar attributes was a strange mechinism of cranks, belts and motors that seemed to be operated by a little articulated devil figure (seen above). Some say the devil was added in the 1950s or 1960s, but historian Phil Brigandi points out an article in the Santa Ana Register from late 1939 that mentions him: "One must stop and read the description of how Mephistopheles does his 'devilish work.' By a little study you can follow the work of the many wheels that 'run' the eruptions. The latest radio amplifying set is used with real sound effects such as one hears in many radio programs... Through all these many turns and twists of the 'devil' the much talked of Inferno turns itself loose on the watching public...."
During World War II, a rumor began to circulate that microphones were hidden under some of the tables at the restaurant, and that an antenna inside the volcano was broadcasting the conversations of visiting servicemen to enemy listening posts. The FBI came out to investigate and peer down into the volcano. They found nothing, of course, but it made for a great newspaper story. (I've often wondered if having his patriotism called into question during the war had any effect on Walter Knott's ultra-patriotic stance in later years.)

In 1952, as the restaurant and surrounding shops continued to expand, the volcano had to be moved. It wound up near Marion and Toni Knott's Sport Shop, not far from the Gold Mine. The new location allowed the volcano to be connected to the Farm's steam plant, which provided an impressive blast of steam with each "eruption."
The color postcard image above shows the relocated volcano as it looked around 1960. Note the added cowboy statue.

The volcano and its diabolical control box were demolished in 1998. I've heard the rumor from numerous people that the devil ended up "going home" with someone who used to work for Knott's. I haven't been able to substantiate this rumor, but the FBI hasn't debunked it yet, either.