How Little Saigon ended up in central Orange County

Asian Garden Mall (1987), 9200 Bolsa Ave., Westminster

This year marks the 40th anniversary of the fall of Saigon and the end of the Vietnam War. From Orange County’s perspective, this was a critical turning point: Not only was it a major moment in world history, it was also the spark that led to the creation and growth of Little Saigon -- now a key part of our cultural landscape.

The Orange County Archives has assembled a display entitled, “Orange County’s Little Saigon: Evolution of a Community,” located in the first floor lobby of the Old Orange County Courthouse, 211 W. Santa Ana Blvd., Santa Ana. (Open Mon-Fri.) It should be up through the end of the year.

The first part of the exhibit uses a selection of photographs to give a brief overview of the subject. A larger case of artifacts then highlights Vietnamese culture, including holidays, folklore, history, and also features one of the first Little Saigon street signs (on loan from the Westminster Historical Society).

"This area along Bolsa was the most economically deprived area in Westminster,” said former mayor Joy Neugebauer. “Within a few years of Vietnamese arriving it became our highest value area, and it remains so today."

An enormous panel centered on two aerial photographs – showing the center of Little Saigon both today and prior to 1975 – depicts in detail the transformation of an underutilized and economically depressed area into the thriving commercial and social center it is today.

The “before” map highlights small communities like Bolsa and Silver Acres, landmarks like the Zenith Aircraft Corp and Post Bros. tractor shop, and everyday roadside scenes. The current map highlights key businesses, temples and other institutions that played a significant role in the development and growth of Little Saigon since the end of the Vietnam War.

Flags of freedom fly over Little Saigon.“The Communists took over South Vietnam in 1975, and that is too long," Soc Nguyen of Garden Grove told the O.C. Register. "A couple of more years and the Communists will fall. The people have no freedom.” (Photo by DHN)

Hanging over the whole exhibit are the flags of the former Republic of Vietnam, now a symbol of ethnic unity and cultural identity; and of the United States, which is proudly displayed in Little Saigon seemingly more than anywhere else in Orange County.

A CIA agent helps evacuees into a helicopter on a Saigon rooftop, hours before the city fell to North Vietnamese troops.

After the fall of Saigon, on April 30, 1975, (a.k.a. “Black April”), several waves of refugees fled Vietnam’s hostile new Communist regime. Those who had supported a free Vietnam feared being sent to “re-education camps,” or worse.

Although a small number of Vietnamese arrived while the war was still ongoing, the vast majority arrived afterward. The first big wave of refugees arrived immediately after Black April. Many more – held up in foreign refugee camps, escaping on small boats, or waiting for other opportunities to flee Vietnam – came in later waves.

“In Saigon,” the saying went, “even the lamppost wants to go to America.”

Refugees at temporary housing facility at Camp Pendleton, May 1, 1975.

In 1975, about 50,400 refugees were brought to Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, abutting the southern end of Orange County. Pendleton was the first and largest “reception center” for refugees seeking to resettle in the United States. It was nicknamed “Little Saigon.”

Orange County families and religious organizations sponsored about 75% of the Vietnamese who came through Camp Pendleton, giving them their first taste of everyday life in Southern California.

Today, our first Vietnam-town is “graced” with an unconvincing statue of President Obama outside a Mexican nightclub.

"Vietnam Town" at 2331 W. First St., in Santa Ana, predated Little Saigon as Orange County’s first Vietnamese business center. As early as 1975, this small Vietnamese-owned shopping center featured the Saigon Market, the Vietnamese Book Exhibition, and a service club for refugees.

Apartment complexes in Garden Grove near the refugee center at St. Anselm Episcopal Church became one of the first identifiable clusters of Vietnamese residents in Orange County. It was well north of what became Little Saigon.

The Vietnam War Memorial (2003) at Sid Goldstein Park in Westminster was designed by sculptor Tuan Nguyen.

A handful of immigrant business owners – most of whom arrived in the earliest waves – began buying affordable under-utilized land along Bolsa Avenue in Westminster for the specific purpose of creating an “Asiantown” or Vietnamese business district.

Among the early businessmen who developed much of Little Saigon’s commercial core was Frank Jao, who created such landmarks as Far East Plaza, Asian Village Center, Bolsa Mini Mall and the iconic Asian Garden Mall. Others included Dr. Co D. Pham, Tony Lam, and Danh Quách. There were thirty Vietnamese-owned businesses in Orange County in 1979. There were 350 by 1981 and about 750 by 1988.

1980s strip malls like this one typify much of Little Saigon’s commercial district.

Initially, the existing population of Orange County seemed uncomfortable with Little Saigon. There were the usual barriers of language and cultural differences that face any new group of immigrants. And in the wake of losing a brutal and controversial war, many Americans also had a negative knee-jerk reaction to any reminder of Vietnam. A few were even openly hostile to the newcomers.

But Little Saigon proved to be a vital part of Orange County, driven by a people who value family, education, hard work and freedom. In very little time, the Vietnamese – many of whom arrived with nothing but the clothes on their backs – have joined the ranks of Orange County’s teachers, entrepreneurs, business leaders, elected officials, doctors and more.

The Communists may have erased the name Saigon from maps of Vietnam, but both the name and the spirit of a free and determined people are alive and well in sunny Orange County. 

Old Courthouse time capsule contents revealed

Evan Krewson gingerly carries the "Japanned" metal box.

An important event in Orange County’s Centennial Celebration took place on the front lawn of the Old Courthouse on the morning of Nov. 10, 1988. The photo above shows a time capsule from 1900 being removed from the cornerstone of the courthouse by Evan Krewson, who’d recently completed overseeing the historic building’s restoration. What treasures would be found inside?

Supervisor Roger Stanton acted as master of ceremonies for the event, O.C. Historical Commission Chair Jane Gerber made some opening remarks, and historian Jim Sleeper oversaw the opening of the time capsule.

An article in the next day’s Orange County Register, by Dawn Bonker, described events as they unfolded. Excerpts follow:

     . . . A lot more than old dust was jostled free in the ceremony to retrieve a time capsule planted July 4, 1900, an open the Orange County Centennial Corporate History Exhibit. Signatures of county supervisors, a blank marriage license and a newspaper advertising daily milk delivery for $1.50 a month were among the historical treasures.
     But the highlight in the eyes of historians and archivists was the 200-year-old Spanish coin from the ruins of Mission San Juan Capistrano.     
     And though some of the documents had disintegrated into a pile of flakes and crumbs, archivists – dressed in white gloves to sift through the trove – were pleased that much of the box’s contents had survived their interment without benefit of hermetic seals or air-tight plastics.
     . . . Several hundred people were interested enough to attend the Orange County Historical Commission’s opening of the time capsule on the grounds of the newly restored Old Orange County Courthouse in downtown Santa Ana. . . . Many boasted an Orange County heritage older than the courthouse.
     Before the capsule was lifted from the granite stone in which it has rested for 88 years, county Supervisor Roger Stanton called for audience members whose families had been in Orange County 100 years or more to stand and say the names of their forebears.
One-by-one, the mostly white-haired children and grandchildren of county pioneers recounted stories of elders who had farmed, homesteaded and worked in Orange County a century ago.
     . . . Masons slid the cornerstone out and a rectangular indentation covered with a scrap of metal and a thin slab of concrete were spotted.
     As for the condition of the documents inside, there was some disappointment. At the time the capsule was buried, the Santa Ana Standard newspaper had reported that the capsule was hermetically sealed. But the newspaper was obviously mistaken, county historian Jim Sleeper said as the decaying box was placed before him. Two holes had rusted through the metal cash box, allowing dampness to enter and destroy some of the papers rolled up inside.    
     “Well, it looks like the county went low bid,” Sleeper quipped.
     The documents were put on temporary display in the courthouse museum and were expected to be removed today so they could be dried out and examined by [County Archivist Gabrielle] Carey and other archivists who will preserve the documents. Once properly preserved, the documents will be displayed publically, she said.
     Meanwhile, the Historical Commission is planning to fill the cavity left by the 1900 time capsule with a state-of-the-art, $1,000 stainless-steel box. Among the items that will go into it are photographs and records related to the courthouse’s restoration, current maps of Orange County and mementos and buttons from the Orange County centennial celebration.

When the Old Courthouse was new.

A more complete listing of the 1900 time capsule’s contents follows:

NEWSPAPERS:

• Anaheim Weekly Gazette (6/30/1900)
• Santa Ana Evening Blade (7/2/1900)
• Orange County Herald (7/4/1900)
• Orange Post (6/30/1900)
• Santa Ana Bulletin (6/26/1900)
• Santa Ana Standard (6/30/1900)

ORANGE COUNTY GREAT REGISTER OF VOTERS:

• Great Register, 1890
• Great Register, 1896
• Supplement to the Great Register, 1898

MAPS:

• Map of the Town of Santa Ana, Los Angeles County, 1887
• Map of Orange County, California by S. H. Finley, C. E.

PAMPHLETS:

• “Orange County, California – Its Progress, Resources, Prosperity”
• “Orange County and the Santa Ana Valley” (Santa Ana Chamber of Commerce, 1900)
• “Orange County, California – History, Soil, Climate, Resources, Advantages” (Santa Ana Board of Trade, 1891)
• “Southern California Paradise” (1887)
• “Orange County and the Santa Ana Valley, Southern California” (Santa Ana Chamber of Commerce, 1887)

LETTERS WRITTEN FOR TIME CAPSULE:

• James H. Hall, County Auditor wrote about the assessed value of real property in O.C., 1890-1900.
• M. A. Forester to F. P. Nickey, explaining the origin of the Spanish coin in the capsule.
• J. P. Greeley, County Superintendent of Schools wrote a summary of the county school system.
• John J. Overton, O.C.’s oldest citizen, 103 years old, of Westminster. Tells of his remarkable health and his extensive military service in three 19th Century wars. (6/26/1900)
• W. A. Beckett, County Clerk, gives a summary of County formation, elections, and the construction of the Courthouse. (7/4/1900)

AUTOGRAPHS:

• Orange County officials (1900)
• Officers of the Santa Ana Chamber of Commerce (1900)

LISTS OF OFFICIALS (& RELATED MATERIAL):

• Santa Ana Chamber of Commerce, list of officers, directors and members (1900)
• Anaheim elected officials (1870-1900) with notes about the city’s incorporation, charter, and city buildings and infrastructure. (1900)
• City of Orange city officials and incorporation date.
• Time capsule ceremony executive committee members and Santa Ana Fire Dept. (7/4/1900)

OTHER MATERIAL:

• Marriage license form (blank)
• Crop and chattel mortgage list (fragment)
• Public School Manual, Orange County, California
• Chamber of Commerce Minutes of Annual Meeting (fragment, from unknown city)
• Silver Spanish 1788 coin found in the rubble of the Great Stone Church at Mission San Juan Capistrano

A visit to the Fountain Valley Historical Society

New officers sworn in at Fountain Valley Historical Society.

 I spoke today at the Fountain Valley Historical Society (17641 Los Alamos St.). They were a fun audience and very gracious hosts. I must admit that I've never been over there when the clubhouse was open, so I was very pleased to find some interesting artifacts and collections. But naturally, my eye always goes to the "fun stuff " first, like this (possibly circa 1950s?) hand-lettered poster, donated by the Courreges family:

Talbert Whiskerino Contest /P.T.A. fundraiser poster

Like all historical societies, they have some items that they can't identify. Perhaps you can help by identifying one or both of the people in the following pastel portraits:

These are believed to be Fountain Valley residents, and both portraits are dated 1970.

The image below -- which hangs in a frame on the clubhouse wall -- depicts the "world's champion draft stallion 1902-1906." I can't quite make out the rest of the faint pencil notes written on the upper left of the photo. But on the lower right, the following is written in what appears to be Thomas B. Talbert's scrawl: "Owners Fred H. Bixby, W. J. Newland, S. E. Talbert, T. B. Talbert." Of course, these are all familiar pioneer names, but what's the story on this fat, bob-tailed horse?

 I'm pretty sure he's related to the horse (shown below) in "What's Opera, Doc?"

"Oh Bwunhilda, you're so wuv-wee..."

In his memoir, My Sixty Years In California, Tom Talbert wrote about various horses he owned, traded, sold and even raced. But I can't find a mention of this Rubenesque equine.

Speaking of horses, the exhibit shown below is a rather unique approach to displaying a historic saddle.

The panel attached to the plywood horse reads, "History from Eddie Booth. Story of the Silver Saddle. This famous saddle was owned by the Gisler  family. It was shown and enjoyed in many parades. The family donated it to the Fountain Valley Historical Society. It was displayed in the old barber shop building. Next, it was moved to Knott's Berry Farm for a few years. I was retiring from the Farm and the President of the Historical Society requested [that it] be returned. In the meantime, the Knott family sold the farm. I was told by the new owners that they purchased everything. A secretary discovered a letter stating the saddle was on loan. The owners honored the letter and I was able to return [it] back to Fountain Valley. It was placed on display in the lobby of the City Hall. It [has] now found its home in the Historical Society Building. Enjoy!!!!  Ed Booth"

Yet another Knott connection! (They're everywhere!)

Anyway, my thanks again to FVHS for having me over for lunch, conversation and a tour!

Abe Lincoln, Steve Martin and Knott's Berry Farm

Steve Martin as Asa Trenchard in Our American Cousin, 1965.

A couple days ago, Janet Whitcomb, who usually writes about South O.C. history, emailed me a great North O.C. story taken from her own childhood memories. It was so interesting, in fact, that I asked if she'd let me share it here. So without further ado,...

Wednesday, April 15, 2015
From: Janet Whitcomb:
Subject: With apologies to Sgt. Pepper: It was 150 years ago today...

This morning I suddenly realized, while listening to my car's radio on my way to work, that I knew exactly where I was 50 years ago.

Knott's Berry Farm!

More specifically, my mother and grandmother took me to see an abridged production of Our American Cousin at Knott's Berry Farm's Birdcage Theater. And it may well have been that we attended on April 14th instead of the 15th . . . but read on, and I’ll go into that issue a bit later.

Our American Cousin was the play President and Mrs. Lincoln attended the evening of April 14, 1865. And as anyone who has studied American history knows, during the play's performance—halfway through Act III, Scene 2, to be a bit more exact—John Wilkes Booth gained access to the theater box where the Lincolns and their guests were seated and assassinated President Lincoln.

Martin's rustic character proves out-of-place in Victorian England.

As for our presence at Knott's Berry Farm's Birdcage Theater . . . We arrived in the afternoon (it was a school day, after all) with the express purpose of attending the play. (These were the days when both entrance to and parking at Knott's were free of charge.) Soon we'd found seats in the theater and, once the lights went down, saw to our immediate right—where a "box seat" would've been located—the silhouetted figure of Lincoln. This silhouette remained lit until the third act, when immediately after the following line:

"Don't know the manners of good society, eh? Well, I guess I know enough to turn you inside out, old gal — you sockdologizing old man-trap."

—a single shot rang out and the entire theater went dark. Then the lights came up, one of the play's actors rushed out and very nervously announced: "On this day, one hundred years ago, the sixteenth president of the United States, Abraham Lincoln, was shot."[Or died, depending on which day we were there, as Lincoln was shot on April 14th and died April 15th. I simply remember my mom made sure I was aware that we were attending on a Very Important Anniversary.] The actor then added a few other words to the effect that Lincoln would live forever in the hearts of Americans, and that the play would now resume.

Which it did . . . minus the illuminated silhouette.

Obviously all of this made an impression on me, for as I was driving to school this morning I heard about commemoration ceremonies at Ford's Theater in Washington, D.C. At which point I recalled that my mother and grandmother were thoughtful enough to give me a Lincoln memory of my own.

And here’s a postscript to this “memory play”: Upon looking up the Birdcage Theater’s production of Our American Cousin online, I found information  indicating that actor/comedian Steve Martin may well have been in the production we saw. This link takes you to [Dave DeCaro's website], Daveland, which displays a very young Steve Martin, in photos from the production dated June 1965. So perhaps Steve was on stage in April as well.  I certainly remember the barn backdrop with the exaggerated perspective. At the time, however, I was far more interested in animals and drawing than I was in actors!

Discovering Bunnyhenge

In early 2013, while grading land for the new Newport Beach Civic Center Park, backhoe operator Greg Oswald uncovered an amazing relic of Orange County’s prehistoric past. “The side of the area I was digging caved in a little, and suddenly I was looking at a huge pair of bunny ears!”

Those ears turned out to be part of the first of two ancient eight-foot-tall stone figures on the site depicting Desert Cottontail Rabbits (Sylvilagus audubonii). Then, something even more astonishing was found: A large circle of sixteen, four-foot-tall stone rabbits on top of a hill.

“We were shocked,” said Jack O’Hare of the project’s landscape architecture firm, Peter Walter Partners. “But the archaeologist monitoring the dig, Hazel Lepus, told us that native rock art is often found near water, and this is right next to a small wetland habitat.”

Archaeologists estimated that this “Bunnyhenge” was built anywhere from 3000 BC to 2000 BC. “Radiocarbon dating suggests that the bunnies were carved between 2400 and 2200 BC,” said Lepus. “Based on protein residue sampling, it appears the rabbits were originally brightly colored with ochre pigment. A variety of other natural colors were used to highlight the eyes.”

These sorts of monolithic stone animal effigies are extremely rare, but not unheard of. Similar sites have been discovered from the Conejo Valley to Caerbannog, Wales. In fact, at roughly the same time as the Newport Bunnyhenge discovery, a large figure of a dog relieving himself was found only a mile away, near the Orange County Museum of Art.

“These ‘rabbit rings’ had ceremonial or religious significance, and were probably used in puberty or fertility rights,” said Dr. Peter Binkenstein, who teaches anthropology and Native American Folklore at South Dakota State University. “But bunnyhenges were also used as calendars. By observing the alignment of the stars, sun, moon and planets in relationship to their floppy ears, one could mark the passing of the seasons.”

Further excavation showed that the center of the Bunnyhenge circle was used as some sort of fire pit. This led the City Council to briefly propose a ban on the site.

Local Juaneño and Gabrieleno Indian leaders are baffled by the stone rabbits. But the site is drawing people with neopagan and new age beliefs. In the wee small hours of Feb. 20th, reports of strange goings-on and possible fire at the park brought the Newport Beach Police to investigate. All they found was a smoldering bunch of white sage and a bag of Purina Rabbit Chow (Garden Recipe) – its contents scattered across the circle.

“Something was definitely going on up there,” said NBPD Lieutenant Frank Harvey. “This is one of the most culturally sensitive places in our city and as a resident myself, it makes me hopping mad to think of someone messing it up.”

The Mystery of the Sunshine Lodge

The Dana Point Historical Society was recently given fragments of an old sign (or two) from the "Sunshine Lodge." (See photo above.) The fragments were incorporated into the walls of the "Doheny House" (1928) in Capistrano Beach. That doesn’t mean the sign is from 1928, of course. It could have been added later, during repairs or renovations. In fact, based on the look of the sign, I wouldn’t be surprised if this was from the 1930s or 1940s.

So, what and where was the Sunshine Lodge?

Wherever it was, it had an “unequaled ocean view.” That lets out the old Sunshine Hotel in Orange, which is the only place with a similar name I can find in the South Orange County directories between 1899 and 1953. (Yes, I said "south." For most of our history, everything below Katella Ave. was considered "South Orange County.")

There was a Sunshine Lodge at 215 Wavecrest Ave. in Venice/Santa Monica from about 1903 through at least 1959. It was the headquarters for the local branch of the International Sunshine Society. But the sign in Dana Point seems to go with a hotel of some kind – not with the clubhouse of a social/charitable organization.

There was a hotel called the Sunshine Lodge at Coney Island in New York City around 1920. But that seems a little far to haul scrap lumber.

Do you have any thoughts on the origins of this sign? The Dana Point Historical Society and I would both appreciate any light you can shed in the comments section for this post.

[Note: Due to conflicting information from multiple sources, I initially cited the Dolph House as the source of this artifact. That information has now been corrected. My apologies for the confusion.]

The Original Villages of Irvine

A preview brochure for Woodbridge Village, 1970s.

Historian Ellen Bell will discuss “The Original Villages of Irvine, 1960-1980” at the next meeting of the Orange County Historical Society, on March 12th, 2015, 7:00 p.m. (program begins at 7:30 p.m.) at Trinity Episcopal Church, 2400 N. Canal St., in Orange. This program is open to the public at no charge.

The City of Irvine did not appear by accident. The modern day metropolis, with more than 200,000 residents, was the result of well-designed Master Plan. Citrus groves and cattle grazing land became a collection of individual Villages, including the Village of Woodbridge, a model for urban planning nationwide. Ellen Bell will discuss the transition of Irvine, from a 100,000-acre blank slate to California's 15th largest city.

Orange groves are cleared at Jeffrey Rd. and Irvine Center Dr. during the construction of Woodbridge Village, 1975.

Ellen Bell’s father was a history teacher and she spent her childhood summer vacations riding in the back of the family’s Country Squire Station wagon, stopping at every historical marker or Civil War battlefield that they passed along the way. Her father had a great ability to make history come alive by making it vibrant and compelling. She grew up with a hunger for history and a passion for sharing what she learned.

30 years later, she moved to Irvine, traded the station wagon for a minivan, and began taking her own two kids on fun field trips all over her adopted home of Orange County. California provided a whole new landscape to explore and a whole new history to learn.

Ellen is the author of Irvine: Images of America, and is a member of the Irvine Historical Society. She writes about local history for the Orange County Register and Destination Irvine.com.  Her website, OC Day Tripper, is filled with field trip suggestions for exploring Orange County’s historic treasures. Currently, she is producing a series of videos for the City of Irvine, entitled “Hidden Histories.”

The Irvine Dream, 1972: Cycling from home to office through a greenbelt.

I apologize for not consistently posting OCHS programs on this blog over the past six months or so. I'll try to get back to a regular schedule of doing that.

Ben Grabiel

"Long time preservation supporter and Santa Ana Historical Preservation Society Associate Director Ben Grabiel has passed away," writes SAHPS president Alison Young. "I communicated with him recently by email and knew of his two strokes, but he indicated that he was doing well and recovering.  This is sad news.

"Ben was an SAHPS Board Director from 2002 through 2007.  In 2013 when we implemented the Associate program, he came back as an Associate Director.  Ben was part of the Friends of Lacy group that successfully worked to save a number of vintage homes from demolition in the Lacy Neighborhood.  His enthusiasm and sense of humor will be missed."

A memorial is planned for March 14th (details to follow).
SAHPS member Jeff Dickman adds, "Ben was a long-time friend and dedicated preservationist. I came to know Ben during the fight against One Broadway Plaza and later against the City's Station District project and its destruction of historic houses in the Lacy neighborhood."

Ben -- standing behind the SAHPS booth at a Floral Park home tour in the early 2000s (well before I started working in Santa Ana) -- was the first person to introduce me and welcome me to Santa Ana's historical community. At the time, I'd never given much thought to Santa Ana at all. But that friendly and informative welcome was the first in a series of events that led to becoming a SAHPS Associate Director myself. Thanks for making the new kid feel at home, Ben. Godspeed.