Upcoming events and the wreck at Yorba Station

I figured I'd do one more post before my weeklong break. The photo above shows the aftermath of the great train wreck of Aug. 4, 1915, at Yorba Station on the Atchison Topeak & Santa Fe Railroad. (The illustration of the accident that follows the photo comes from the L.A. Times published the following day.) A runaway tank car, carrying 10,000 gallons of oil, came down a steep siding at 60 mph, running into a passenger train heading the opposite direction at 40 mph. The tank car exploded, spraying oil over the train which was immediately engulfed in an enourmous fire. Three crewmen died and 31 passengers were seriously injured. In modern terms, the site of the wreck would be along Orangethorpe Ave., between the Atwood area and Imperial Highway.

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The next Orange County Historical Society meeting will be held Thurs., Sept. 11, 6:30-9:00pm, at the Sherman Library & Gardens, 2647 E. PCH, in Corona del Mar. Iris Cummings Critchell will discuss her experiences as an aviatrix in Orange County from the 1930s to the 21st Century. The event will include a dessert and appetizer potluck, so bring a dessert for six, ready to serve.

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California State Parks' Senior State Archaeologist, Richard Fitzgerald, will speak at the Bolsa Chica Land Trust on Thurs., Oct 2, 7pm, at the Huntington Beach Public Library, 7111 Talbert Ave, Room C/D. He will discuss archaeological sites of Bolsa Chica, (in Huntington Beach,) including ORA-83. The event is free. For more information visit http://www.bolsachicalandtrust.org/.

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The Costa Mesa Historical Society will present a Pioneer Day on Sat., Sept. 20, 10am-3pm, in Estancia Park, 1900 Adams Ave. The day's programs will include a talk at noon by Anna Angell-Neustat, great-granddaughter of Gabriel Allen, who owned the "Estancia" adobe from 1870 to 1887. See the CMHS website for details.

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The Bowers' blog recently featured a photo of the Santa Ana Women's Marching Club, circa 1900. The entry explains that marching clubs were trained drill teams for political and social demonstrations. You'll see the modern equivalent (with less fancy uniforms) outside the political conventions over the next couple of weeks.

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See you in a week.

Huntington Beach and summer vacation

As the long, hot, holiday weekend approaches, I thought I'd post a 1950s photo of the strand at Huntington Beach. [Update: The second color photo I previously posted here was Oceanside. See what happens when you're getting ready for a trip and not paying attention?]

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While cruising YouTube, I discovered an old documentary by Bill Miller, entitled Hopeful Journeys. It covers the history of the Huntington Beach Public Library from the viewpoint of the Johnson/White family, and also includes some general history about the community. It is posted in five parts: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5.

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For the record, I'm taking a week's vacation from blogging. I should be back around Sept. 5th. In the interim, I refer you to the many excellent links on the right-hand side of this page.

Buena Park, Huntington Beach & Lost Valley

Today's photo shows Buena Park Center in 1976. The architectural style clearly harkens back at least a decade earlier.
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Chris Epting's latest "In The Pipeline" column discusses actress Jean Harlow's connection to Huntington Beach. Chris also has a new ongoing "Then & Now" feature in the Huntington Beach Independent, based on his recent book.
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Today on "Notes From A Lost Valley," Phil Brigandi shows us how the Orange County Council of the Boy Scouts came to own their Lost Valley camp in San Diego County.

Mariner's Medical Arts and Mission SJC updates

Architect John Linnert sends an update on the endangered Mariners Medical Arts building (1963, Richard Neutra). Here are some excerpts:

"The City of Newport Beach and its politicians... believe that tax dollars generated from a new building are more valuable to the community than saving an internationally significant historical and cultural icon. Therefore, even when the EIR (Environmental Impact Report) comes back and says to 'save' the... complex, [they] will find a way around it and let the present owner, John Bral, demo the building or at the very least approve some sort of catastrophic addition as a "compromise." ...[At the moment,] Bral is not interested in selling... A couple of parties have expressed an acute interest in purchasing and maintaining/restoring the property. John Bral needs to be persuaded/convinced to sell..."

The rectory garden magilla at Mission San Juan Capistrano reached another stage this week, with the City telling the Mission to leave the unpermitted patio garden as-is. The Council's argument was that removal of the patio would further damage the early Indian cemetery that lies beneath it. Appeals are already in the works. An article in today's Register provides more details.

Santa Ana, COPH & more Disneyland Hotel info

"CoxPilot" read my Mystery Photo post last Sunday and responded with the photo that heads today's entry. This is another image of the same auto dealership I posted on Sunday. It was even taken at the same time: Just after the 1933 earthquake. It turns out the place was Santa Ana's local Dodge dealer, L.D. Coffing Co., at 311 E. 5th St. Oddly, the Santa Ana Public Library (who owns the photo CoxPilot found) identifies it as "Haley's Dodge Garage." Today, the building is gone, replaced by the entrance to the parking garage at the Ronald Reagan Federal Building and Courthouse. (See today's second photo, above - which was taken yesterday at the same spot, from roughly the same angle.)

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Details are shaping up for the aforementioned Disneyland Hotel historical tour with Don Ballard. The free tour will begin Friday, Aug. 29, 6pm, under the giant Sorcerer's Hat (near Downtown Disney) at the Hotel. Click on over to the Anaheim Life blog to find out how to RSVP.

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The Center for Oral and Public History (COPH) at Cal State Fullerton will celebrate its 40th anniversary next month, and in honor of this milestone, they’re inviting the public – FOR FREE – to the inaugural Hansen Lecture Series. (Yes, it's named for Art Hansen, COPH's recently retired director.) The lectures will be held Sat., Sept. 6, 1pm-4:30pm at the Titan Student Union at CSUF. See COPH's website for details and a list of their expert panelists from all over the nation.

Presidents in O.C., the Disneyland Hotel, etc.

Does anyone know who posted the large series of "U.S. Presidents in O.C." photos along the east side of the Orange County Building at this year's O.C. Fair? I'm presenting a few of the images here as a sample. The first (top) image shows Ronald Reagan kicking off his 1980 presidential campaign at Mile Square Park in Fountain Valley (and yes, that's Pat Boone next to him). The second image shows Lyndon B. Johnson at (or just before) what was probably the 1964 groundbreaking for UCI. The last photo shows what I believe is Richard Nixon's return home to Orange County at MCAS El Toro after resigning from office. As I said, these are just a few excerpts from a much larger collection, and I'd love to know who's doing the collecting. I believe there were images of all the presidents from LBJ through Clinton.

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Want to attend a free tour of the Disneyland Hotel as a historic site, hosted by author Don Ballard? Click on over to the Anaheim Life blog for details.
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Donations of historical documents, photographs and whole collections to the Orange County Archives (my day job) have really been pouring in this year. I probably can't say anything officially on behalf of the Archives. But as an individual local historian, I want to thank the people and organizations who decided to put these valuable materials someplace where they'll be cared for and shared with the public. I try hard to be a sharer (as opposed to a hoarder), and I'm genuinely heartened when others do the same. Many, many thanks.

Edison Miller, C.S. Crookshank & Garden Grove

Monday's edition of Martin Wisckol's excellent Register column, "The Buzz," was particularly intresting. A long-lost face from O.C.'s semi-recent history, former County Supervisor Edison Miller, has popped back onto the radar screen. Marty provides all the background in his column, so I won't repeat it here. (The photo above shows him at a Board of Supervisors meeting in 1979 or 1980.)

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Although it was mainly about gardening, another recent Register article provided some background on early Santa Ana banker Clarence S. Crookshank and his 1921 home in Lemon Heights.

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The Garden Grove Historical Society will hold their next "Book and Barn Sale," October 9th to 11th, 8:30am-4:30pm, at the Stanley Ranch Museum, 12174 Euclid Ave. They also offer tours of the museum and surrounding historic structures at 1:30pm on Sept 7th and 21st, and Oct 5th and 19th. Contact them at gardengrovehistsoc@att.net or (714) 530-8871 for more information.

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Just for fun, I'm throwing in a bonus postcard (below) of the TrAtel Travel Trailer Park in Garden Grove (at 13190 Harbor Blvd), which probably was printed in the 1960s. More details about this card are posted on the Flickr page where I stumbled across it.

Another helping of Anaheim & a dash of Torrance

I'm continuing the Anaheim theme today, beginning with another photo of Downtown Anaheim from June 1956. Again, click on the smaller inset image to zoom in on the details.

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Recently, Anaheim's historical folks were responsible for another preservation victory -- And this time it didn't even take place in Anaheim. Cynthia Ward writes,

"Another victory, sort of Anaheim related, comes from Torrance. Some preservationists who live in the Old Olmstead Districts of Torrance contacted [the Anaheim Historical Society] a few years back, asking how Anaheim had stopped the bulldozers and developed [historical] districts. While that was done before my time, I met with them, and plugged them in with some of the people who had been involved. These poor people were literally where Anaheim was 20 years ago. The properties not being scraped by their redevelopment agency were upzoned to encourage private development. A driving tour of Torrance showed condo construction everywhere, with signs on the jobs saying, 'We buy empty lots and old houses' ...makes the blood boil. Anyway, thanks to all those folks who have given [Save Historic Old Torrance] some advice, because they are beginning to win the fight for preservation. They recently won the life of a little Spanish casita kit house at the Planning Commission level, and last night their City Council voted to not rehear the case. This in an environment where preservation was a joke for years!"

Term limits force preservationists to constantly educate new city officials. And it's no small victory when you discover that one or more of the bigwigs finally "get it." Recently, on the Anaheim Colony listserv, local realtor Barbara Gonzalez praised Anaheim's mayor, Curt Pringle for having a clue:

"He elaborated (off the cuff)... on the success of the Mills Act and Historic Preservation Programs in Anaheim and even asked Lisa Stipkovich when we would be moving from 3rd to 2nd place in California with the number of Mills Act Agreements. He is becoming very conversant about preservation and restoration efforts in Anaheim. When the Lemon/Water Phase 3 Project came up for approval, he described in detail the significance of these kinds of projects to our neighborhoods."

Tim at Vintage Disneyland Tickets just posted the entire Summer 1966 issue of Vacationland magazine (including a nice cover image of it's a small world). Go and bask in its Mid-Century Anaheim-y goodness.