Monday, April 24, 2023

JoAn Burdick Gottlieb (1934-2023)

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JoAn Burdick at the Calico Saloon, Knott's Berry Farm, June 1954 My introduction to JoAn Burdick Gottlieb was a single remarkable photog...
Wednesday, April 12, 2023

A Bit of Hawaii and Financial Skulduggery on Clay Ave.

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I stumbled across this row of Hawaiian-themed apartment buildings last week while taking a walk north of Yorktown Ave. and west of Beach Blv...
Friday, March 31, 2023

Solve the Mystery of Henry Serrano's Door

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Do you have information about this door, which was given by Henry Serrano (of the pioneer Serrano family) to a respected historian and archa...
Monday, March 27, 2023

"Only a Nobody Walks in O.C."

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Portrait of José Andrés Sepúlveda, circa 1856 by Henri Joseph Penelon (Courtesy Bowers Museum, via Santa Ana Public Library) The modern obse...
Friday, March 24, 2023

A Few Notes About the Irvine Bowl, Laguna Beach

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The Irvine Bowl and the adjoining festival grounds weren’t the original home of The Festival of Arts and Pageant of the Masters, but they h...
Thursday, March 23, 2023

Orange County's unromantic mustard

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Mustard at Crystal Cove State Park, Laguna Beach (Photo by author) Mustard plants are a non-native invader in California and didn’t arrive i...
Wednesday, March 22, 2023

Orange County Speedway, Laguna Hills

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Ad for the Orange County Speedway, L.A. Times, June 20, 1963 The following blurb about the Orange County Speedway in Laguna Hills (not to be...
Sunday, March 19, 2023

When Al Capone Tried to Buy the Rancho Santa Margarita

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Map with photo from Liberty Magazine, May 1931. How different would South Orange County and North San Diego County be today if Al Capone had...