Champions of O.C. history: Phil Brigandi and Ilse Byrnes

Phil Brigandi has a new book out! Orange County Chronicles includes ten essays that cover a pretty wide span of our local history, from the Portolá expedition of 1769 to our post-WWII boom years. Chapters include:

• The March of Portolá
• Drought, Debt & Development: The Story of the Stearns Ranchos
• The Birth of Orange County
• Chinese Pioneers in Early Orange County
• Red Cars in an Orange County
• King Citrus & Queen Valencia
• The Good Roads Movement
• The Great Depression in Orange County
• Breaking New Ground: The Early Years of Knott’s Berry Farm
• Boundary Battles of the Post-War Boom

You can order the book via The History Press or look for it in your local bookstore (assuming you still have one).

This Wednesday, historical preservation superstar Ilse Byrnes will speak at the Dana Point Historical Society, Oct. 23, 6:30pm, at the Dana Point City Council Chambers. The public is welcome to attend. If you didn't see the article about Ilse in the L.A. Times last month, do take a look!

Last of the Old West

The forgotten tale of the 1907 shooting of Los Alamitos Deputy Constable Juan Orosco will be told by historian Phil Brigandi at the Orange County Historical Society’s general meeting, Oct. 10, 7:30 pm, at Trinity Episcopal Church, 2400 N. Canal St., in Orange. The program is entitled, "Last of the Old West: Los Alamitos Lawman Gunned Down and Forgotten." Over the course of two years, Brigandi has uncovered the details of this intriguing story from the waning days of Orange County’s wild and woolly pioneer era.

Surrounded by freeways, condos and strip malls, it’s easy to forget that Orange County was once part of the Wild West, complete with bandits and horse thieves, tough lawmen, Indians, cathouses, rough-and-tumble saloons, false-front stores, blacksmiths, shoot-outs, cattle round-ups, prospectors, and nearly any other “Old West” cliché you’d care to conjure up. Los Alamitos was such a stereotypically tough and rugged Western town that movie directors would later use it as a location set for their “oaters.” (The movie still above is not actually from Los Alamitos, but you get the idea.)

Rustic downtown Los Alamitos, 1910. Note the sugar factory in the background.

“Orosco seems to have been the first Orange County law enforcement officer killed in the line of duty,” says Brigandi. “The story has been forgotten mostly because we don’t have constables anymore -- or any successor agency to keep a list of their own fallen officers. This is a story I ran across a couple years ago, and there are still some questions to unravel. But the basic facts are clear.”

Brigandi, a longtime local historian, has written more than 20 books, thousands of articles, and a website: So Cal Historyland. His resume of historical bona fides is too long to list here, but I'll point out that I was lucky enough to work with him and learn from him for five years while he was Orange County's Archivist. His new book, Orange County Chronicles should be available later this autumn.

This will be the first time Brigandi has spoken about the story of Deputy Constable Orosco. An article about his research on this subject appeared in the May 28, 2013 issue of the Orange County Register. The OCHS program is free to the public.

Your photographic time machine awaits!

The 72nd anniversary of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows in 1891 was marked by their Santa Ana Lodge with a parade. This is a view of W. 4th St, looking northeast from Broadway.

If you read this blog, you almost certainly dig cool old images of Orange County. In that case, BOY are you in luck! Long hidden away in the recesses of the Archives & Special Collections at Cal State Fullerton's Pollak Library, the Smart Studio Collection is getting a chance to shine! An exhibit entitled "An Orange County Portrait:  The Smart Studio Collection," just opened in the Salz-Pollak Atrium Gallery, (just off the main lobby of the Pollak Library at CSUF), and will run through Dec. 20, 2013.

Judge James W. Towner (1823-1913) in his bathing suit at Newport Beach, circa 1890.

This unique collection of more than seventy-five black-and-white photographs selected from the Smart Studio Collection examines a fascinating cross-section of American life as seen through the lenses of prominent Orange County landscape and portrait photographers Benjamin F. Conaway, Lou Hickox, and Mary Smart. This exhibit chronicles the transformation of Orange County and its people from before the establishment of the county through the mid-twentieth century.  People depicted in the photos include such notables as aviation pioneer Glenn Martin,  Orange County’s first judge, J. W. Towner,  and President Benjamin Harrison during a visit to Santa Ana. 

Each summer, local apricots were harvested, halved, sun dried, and treated with sulfur before shipment. This photo shows an apricot drying crew in Tustin, circa 1890.

Sponsored by the Pollak Library, this exhibit of previously hidden gems is produced by Stephanie George, archivist at the Center for Oral and Public History; Phil Brigandi, Orange County historian; and Gail Griswold, graphic designer, all of whom will be available to discuss the project at a special Open House—to which the public is invited—on Thursday, Oct. 10, noon to 3pm in the gallery.

It's really bothering me that I can't figure out how to get out of work to go to the grand opening, but I will definitely be going to see the exhibit ASAP.

Carlota Haider hard at work, helping install the exhibit at CSUF.

Go and see this exhibit! Yes, I know you can look at photos online, but there's nothing quite like looking at a large quality print of a photo to appreciate the details that can otherwise be lost.

For more information about the exhibit, contact Trish Campbell.

O.C. agriculture in 40 words

Upon learning that I'm writing a brief sketch of Orange County's agricultural history for a talk on Saturday, historian/archivist Stephanie George tells me, "Oh, that's easy: They grew things, but then there was a blight. So then they grew something else, but that got wiped out by another blight. Then they grew different things, but we bulldozed all that and covered it with houses. The end!"

Do I have great friends, or what?

More of Alan Hess on Dana Point

If you missed Alan Hess' outstanding lecture about the design of Dana Point Harbor at the Orange County Historical Society's last meeting, you still have a chance! First, check out his excellent article, "The Beauty of Authenticity" either online, or in the pages of Orange Coast Magazine. Then, on Oct. 5th, the new Southern California Chapter of DOCOMOMO will host Alan for a similar lecture (along with some additional speakers), and a self-guided walking tour of Dana Point Harbor. See docomomo-socal.org for information and to get tickets.

Design and Dana Point Harbor

A view of the north turning basin at Dana Point Harbor today.

Architect and historian Alan Hess will discuss Dana Point Harbor's architectural design and development at the Orange County Historical Society's season kick-off meeting, Sept. 12, 2013, at the Sherman Library & Gardens, 2647 E. Coast Highway, in Corona del Mar. The event will begin at 6:30 p.m. with an optional appetizer and dessert potluck, followed by the program at 7:30 p.m. (Everyone participating in the potluck is asked to bring a dessert or appetizer for six people.) The program is free to the public. Additional program details and updates will be posted to OrangeCountyHistory.org.

Dana Point Harbor is one of the most successful mid-century master-planned developments on the West Coast. Alan Hess will speak on "why it is such an important example of 1970s architecture, how it captures a unique time in Orange County history, and why its integrity is worth preserving."

Dana Point Harbor on its dedication day, July 31, 1971.

Hess is the architecture critic of the San Jose Mercury News and a contributor to the Architect’s Newspaper. He has written nineteen books on Modern architecture and urbanism in the mid-twentieth century, the most recent being, Frank Lloyd Wright: Natural Design, Organic Architecture. Hess was a National Arts Journalism Program Fellow at Columbia University and has a M.Arch degree from the Graduate School of Architecture and Urban Planning, UCLA.

(On a personal note, let me say that I've never heard Alan give anything less than a fascinating talk. And it's no exaggeration to say that his books about Googie Architecture changed my life in very positive ways.)

Jetty construction, Dana Point Harbor, Jan. 1967.

This program will be followed with a related lectures and a self-guided tour of Dana Point Harbor on Oct. 5th, sponsored by Docomomo SoCal. (See their website for details.) This will be the inaugural event for this new chapter of Docomomo, an international organization dedicated to the "documentation and conservation of buildings, sites and neighborhoods of the Modern movement."

I hope to see you at BOTH events!

Dana Point Harbor, seen from the Doris Walker Overlook at Heritage Park.

Santa Ana, history classes, and mystery signs

The photo above was taken near the corner of Broadway and Fourth Street in Santa Ana, probably around the late 1910s. Can you tell which direction we're looking or recognize any landmarks that still stand? The photo comes from the Santa Ana Historical Preservation Society and is indicative of some of the cool stuff on display in their Howe-Waffle House Museum.

Diane Ryan is again teaching a class on the "History of Orange County." Topics include "early occupants of this territory, Spanish and Mexican influences and the development of some of our cities. ... There will be a field trip to a local historic site." The class will include 8 meetings, on Tuesdays, Sept. 24 to Nov. 12, 2013, 12:30 to 2:30pm, at the Huntington Beach Adult Education District Campus, 17231 Gothard St., Room A103. To sign up, call 714-842-4227 or visit hbas.edu and register for course #088133. ( Early bird $49,  After Sept. 16 $59.)

Diane will also teach a class on "Historic Southern California Landmarks & Early Pioneers" at the OASIS Senior Center, 801 Narcissus Ave. (Room 2B), Corona del Mar, Thursdays, from Sept. 26 to Oct. 31, 2013, 1:30-3:30pm. Sign up online newportbeachca.gov (click on Recreation Classes) or call 949-644-3244 for course #684042. The Landmarks and Pioneers class will meet six times, and the cost is $55 plus $2 material fee.

Recently, I was walking in a coastal O.C. neighborhood and noticed these signs decorating someone's front yard. I'm curious about where these originated. (Click image to enlarge -- as always.) My first thought was Knott's Berry Farm, but my usual Knott's contacts seem to think otherwise. So I put the ball in your court, dear readers. Any guesses?

Fires in Santa Ana

The fire that wiped out Santa Ana Lanes.

In case you weren't convinced by my last post that the Santa Ana Fire Museum has some cool stuff, here are a few photos from their displays. Consider this the "sampler platter."

A fire near the historic Yost Theatre in E. Main Street, Santa Ana.

I think the photo above was taken from the fire escape of the old First National Bank building at 4th St. and Main.

Parade of emergency vehicles heading down Main Street at Santa Ana Blvd.

Some of these photos are interesting not only for the events they show, but also for what appears in the backgrounds. Note the old hotel in the photo above, for instance, which stood where the Presbyterian Church's parking lot is today.

Bad things happening at the Thrifty Drug shopping center.

If you know more about the stories behind any of these photos, please post in the "Comments" section, below.

S.A.F.D. Training Center & Engine Co No. 4 (Burrows & Allen Architects)

Okay,... That's enough Fire Museum posts for a while.