Santa Ana, El Toro, Costa Mesa, etc.

Here's a photo of a Santa Ana breadline from the real Great Depression. Things may look bad now, but we've got a long way to go before we match the economy of the 1930s.
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Heritage Hill Historical Park in El Toro will host their annual Pioneer Roundup on Oct. 26th, 2-4pm. Members of local pioneer families will attend the Saddleback Area Historical Society meeting to greet old friends and reminisce. Come meet them and hear their stories.
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Saturday's Daily Pilot featured an article about the late great movie theaters of Costa Mesa, including the Paulo Drive-In, and the Mesa Theater. I never went to the Paulo, but I remember the long-neglected Mesa as a building with lots of potential for restoration. However, the Mesa is now gone, replaced by the Borders Books at Newport Blvd and 19th. (I posted another photo of the Paulo here.)

Disneyland, Willard Smith, old newspapers, etc.

Norman Smith, grandson of the late Orange County Supervisor Willard Smith, recently donated boxes of wonderful photos, news clippings, documents and ephemera to the Orange County Archives. We've only begun to look at this stuff, but I thought I'd share these photos that were near the top of the stack. Both were taken in December 1954 at Disney Studios in Burbank, seven months before the opening of Disneyland. Walt Disney himself is clearly schmoozing the local politicos and giving them a sneak peak at his plans for the park.

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In the first photo (top), Willard Smith is on the far left and fellow Supervisor Willis Warner is in the center, sticking his elbow out the stagecoach window. The lineup in the front row of the second photo (left to right) is longtime Anaheim Mayor Charlie Pearson, Willis Warner, Walt Disney, Willard Smith, and Orange County Planning Commission Chairman Dr. W.L. Bigham. I'm not sure who the other folks are, but I'll work on it.

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Are the old newspapers grandpa gave you worth a lot of money? Sharon Clairemont helps you find out in her latest ASK post.

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I hope to see you at tomorrow night's Orange County Historical Society meeting, 7:30pm, at Trinity Episcopal Church, 2400 N. Canal St., in Orange. Lou Carlson of Fairhaven will discuss the history of the old Santa Ana Cemetery, including its connections to the Civil War.

Holly Sugar, Julius Schulman, Anaheim, etc.

The photos above show the Holly Sugar plant in South Santa Ana being torn down in 1983. The sugar plant went into production around 1910. These images come from a large set of 1970s-1980s photos recently donated to the Orange County Historical Society.

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Julius Schulman, the father of architectural photography, will be the guest speaker at Casa Romantica, 415 Avenida Granada, San Clemente, on Wed., Oct. 8, at 7pm (tomorrow or today, depending on when you read this). Schulman's first assignment in Orange County was to photograph the Lovell Beach House in Newport Beach for architect Rudolph M. Schindler. He went on to become one of the most iconic photographers of the 20th Century. Tickets: $35. Students with ID $18. Casa Romantica Members $25.

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On Monday, thousands of Anaheim 3rd graders were brought to the "Gift of History" program at the Anaheim Convention Center. Mayor Curt Pringle, State Sen. Lou Correa, and Angels baseball announcer Steve Physioc each told the children about the importance of understanding history, regardless of what profession they choose to pursue. Each student received a free backpack that included school supplies and a copy of "Anna's Home by the River."

Endangered historic sites and landmarks

In March 2007 I posted a list of endangered sites of historic interest in Orange County. Since then, we’ve lost a number of landmarks, (including the Reuben E. Lee,) and still more landmarks have become endangered. Here’s an updated list:

• Wintersburg Japanese Presbyterian Mission/Church/Rectory and the Furuta House, Huntington Beach (1910 & 1934) - One of the most important threatened sites in Orange County. I've written a lot about this already.
• Mariner's Medical Arts complex (Richard Neutra, 1963) on Westcliff Dr. in Newport Beach. One of the high-water marks for architecture in Orange County. There are plans to demolish it and replace it with a larger building.
• Ghost Town (1941) at Knott's Berry Farm - The south side of Main Street is still original to 1941. Several other structures are also historically significant. The north side of Main has already been torn down and rebuilt.
• Lighter Than Air Hangars (1942) at MCAS Tustin - One is already slated for demolition. The other appears saved for now, but should be watched.
• Miramar Theater (1937), S. El Camino Real, San Clemente - The theater is on a prime bit of real estate, and developers keep eyeing it and hatching plans for it. (See image above).
• Casino building, Avenida Pico, San Clemente - Recent plans have called for moving, destroying or substantially changing this iconic building.
• Villa Park Elementary School (1919 & 1924) - Still in immediate danger.
• Downtown Yorba Linda - There's not much of a downtown there to begin with. How hard can it be to preserve a couple blocks? Maybe they could just add to what's already there.
• Sam's Seafood (now Kona), Pacific Coast Highway, Huntington Beach - This is one of the last authentic Mid-Century tiki bars and shrines to Polynesian Pop in the country. The land owners (as opposed to the restaurant owners) discussed bulldozing it when the real estate market was hot. That talk has fizzled out, but keep an eye on this place when the market warms up.
• Hobby City (1955-1980s), Beach Blvd., Stanton/Anaheim - Again, it seems the slumping market has delayed demolition - but for how long? This may or may not be considered historic yet - but I have a warm spot in my heart for mom and pop roadside attractions, and this landmark is one of the last ones in Southern California.
• Basler-Twist House (1914), Santa Ana - There's been an effort to save and move it, but it's been executed so badly that I wonder if it will actually survive to see a full restoration.
• Orange County Hospital building (1914), at the UCI Medical Center, Orange - I haven't heard that this will be demolished, but with all the recent expansion, I wouldn't be surprised. This is probably one of the least-known historic buildings on this list.
• San Juan Creek Bridge (1930s), Ortega Highway, just above San Juan Hot Springs - Again, I haven't heard that this is going away, but with all the changes to the highway, it's worth watching.
• Port Theater (circa 1948), Pacific Coast Highway, Corona del Mar - Although the owners seem to have backed away from the idea of demolishing it (which is great news,) their remodelling plan didn't sound like it preserved the historic integrity of the structure. Let's keep our fingers crossed.
• Movieland Wax Museum (1962), Beach Blvd., Buena Park - Less a historic site than a colorful landmark, the museum is now closed and empty. I hope the site's best remaining elements can be worked into whatever replaces it. It wouldn't be hard to save the footprints of the stars in the front courtyard. The same goes for the replicas of Michelangelo’s David (actually a remnant of the Palace of Living Art) and the façade of Mann’s Chinese Theater.

I'm sure I'm forgetting some important sites and buildings, but this is a start. Please post additions to the list by clicking the “comments” link at the bottom of this post.

Anaheim, Las Flores, Sharon Clairemont, Shirley Babashoff, etc.

Today we have a 1961 view looking east on Katella Ave. in Anaheim, near the Santa Ana River. It's amazing how recently this part of Orange County was still "out in the boonies."

A "Western Hoedown," with music, dancing and barbecue, will be held Oct. 11, 4-9pm, at the Las Flores Adobe to raise funds for the Camp Pendleton Historical Society. For more information, visit the CPHS website or call Gwen at (949) 493-8444.

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Sharon Clairemont's "ASK" blog is still fairly new, but already has a lot of interesting posts, including entries about the opening of the James A. Musick Facility, about a historic home in Anaheim Hills, and about Saddleback Plaza.

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For you sports history fans, Chris Epting has an interesting article in the current edition of Orange Coast magazine about Olympic swimmer (and Orange County mail carrier) Shirley Babashoff. The October issue also includes short articles about historic homes in Orange County, and about the statue of John Wayne at John Wayne Airport.

Fashion Island (Part II)

Here are the 1977 images of Fashion Island that I mentioned on Wednesday. The first image (top) shows The Broadway, and the central courtyard with its acrobat sculptures. The black and white photo shows the cool Modern display wall of a store called Apropos. And the third image shows the rather unique playground that once stood in the middle of the shopping center.

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Except for a couple stores and the koi pond, most of the old Fashion Island is gone. When I was a kid, I'd visit Carl's Toys and the playground and snag a paper pirate hat from the Jolly Roger restaurant. And I'd wait (not so) patiently while Dad picked out a jacket at Silverwoods or while Mom shopped at The Broadway.

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We'd usually have lunch in Robinson's cafeteria-style lunch room, which had a view of the ocean and excellent tostadas. The exterior of the old Robinson's building (now Macy's) still features the largest windchimes in the world - an enormous hanging bronze sculpture by artist Tom Van Sant.

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Thanks for bearing with me as I drifted out of the realm of history and into the realm of nostagia. The two sometimes overlap.

Anaheim events update

Today's photo shows street paving in Anaheim in 1910. The photo is marked "Fairchild-Gilmore-Wilton."

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The O.C. Mexican American Historical Society's next event is tied to a photo exhibit about Anaheim's Mexican community, hosted by the Anaheim Public Library. The program will be held in the Library, 500 W. Broadway, Oct. 11, 10am-Noon. Author Marcelino Saucedo will discuss "Mexican Heritage on Catalina Island." Angelina Veyna, Prof. of History & Chicano Studies at Santa Ana College, will discuss the history of Mexicans in Anaheim. Ms. Saucedo's book and the 2009 OCMAHS Images of Orange County Calendar will be available for sale.

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Don't forget the Anaheim Historical Society's 2008 Historic Home Tour on Oct. 11 & 12, 10am-4pm. This tour is only held every other year, so sign up now or feel bad about missing it until 2010. See the AHS website for details.

Fashion Island, Newport Beach, SAHS, etc.

I was skimming a 1977 issue of Orange County Illustrated magazine today when I stumbled across an ad supplement for Fashion Island shopping center in Newport Beach. It inspired today's post. (In a day or two, I'll actually post some of the images from the OCI ad itself.)

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Today's first image (top) shows the Fashion Island area in 1965, prior to development. Note the great view of Newport Harbor in the background. The second photo shows Fashion Island's grand opening on Sept. 9, 1967. Notice the Santa Ana High School Saints Marching Band waiting to play.

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Fashion Island was built on part of the Irvine Ranch, and is still owned by the Irvine Company. In fact, the site (along with much of the surrounding land) was home to the national Boy Scout Jamboree in 1953.

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Originally, Fashion Island had 52 specialty shops, two restaurants, and four anchor stores: The Broadway, Robinson's, Buffum’s, and J.C. Penney's. The four buildings housing the big department stores were designed by William Pereira and Welton Becket.

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Over the years, stores came and went and parts of the shopping center were expanded and redesigned. The largest makeover came in 1988/1989, when the Modern buildings (with a Spanish Revival twist) were morphed by architect Jon Jerde into a quasi-Italian/Mediterranean style. Suddenly, it seemed like a whole new place.

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Lord knows why old shopping malls make me nostalgic, but seeing the original incarnation of Fashion Island definitely does.

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Both of today's photos come from the Cye Featherly Collection at the Orange County Archives.