Pacific Beach Club, Trabuco General Store, etc.

Next week I'm giving a talk about the rise and fall of the Pacific Beach Club, which once stood between Huntington Beach and Newport Beach. It's a tale of the early civil rights movement in Southern California. It's also a mystery involving Roaring '20s con-men, the KKK, towering Egyptian architecture, bathing beauties, and arson.  This program will be the Orange County Historical Society's "season kick-off" program, held at Sherman Gardens, 2647 E. Pacific Coast Hwy, Corona del Mar, Sept. 8, 6:30pm.

The program is free and open to the public. The event will begin at 6:30pm with an appetizer/dessert potluck (bring enough of something for six people if you'd like to participate). The program will begin at 7:30pm. Hope to see you there!

Want to own your own piece of back-country charm? The Trabuco General Store (1940) is now up for sale. Details appear in the Register.

Casa Romantica's aforementioned "Salute To Hollywood" exhibit opened this evening. Admission is $5. As I mentioned before, it will include some materials and artifacts of movies shot in Orange County from the recent O.C. Archives exhibit.

Marine One, Diedrich Coffee, First American, etc.

One of the more interesting things to see at the Nixon Library in Yorba Linda is the presidential helicopter, Marine One, used by Kennedy, Johnson, Nixon and Ford. It's the same copter Nixon left the White House in the day he resigned. For a vehicle that size, the interior feels surprisingly cramped. But from the limed oak paneling to the retro carpeting to the ashtrays and Modern seats, it really feels like you're visiting the 1960s. The Heritage Museum of Orange County (remember our friends at the Kellogg House?) are now sponsoring a Speakers Series, and some of the talks sound pretty interesting. For starters, on Sept. 11th, Martin Diedrich will talk about the history of coffeehouses in Orange County, and on Oct. 9th, Parker S. Kennedy, Executive Chairman of First American Financial Corp. will talk about his company's long history and its dedication to preserving Orange County's heritage. I'm interested to hear both!

Been to check out the photos on the Orange County History Flickr group lately? (With over 4,000 images!) What could it hurt?

Bozo's Birthday at Knott's Berry Farm

No, there's no excuse for this post, except that I'm tired. And at some point I was bound to post this stupid image I saved from an eBay auction. Warning: Creepy clown in Buena Park!

I believe this is Vance Colvig, Jr. appearing as KTLA's version of Bozo the Clown. He was the son of the original Bozo, Pinto Colvig. (Insert your own joke about your least favorite politician being "the original Bozo *HERE*.)

Orange book, Gordie Duane, Civil War roots, etc.

Phil Brigandi's brand new book, A Brief History of Orange, California: The Plaza City, is now available for preorder from The History Press' website. The Chamber of Commerce should buy a big stack and give one to everybody who moves to town.

Today's photo shows Orange City Hall in 1921. The current City Hall is at the same location, on Chapman Ave. Boy, if I had a nickel for every time somebody told me how much more they liked the old city hall...

News from Sunset Beach: Famed local surfer and surfboard maker Gordie Duane just passed away. Barbara Haynes of the Huntington Beach Historic Resources Board writes, "he had the first surfbord shop under the Huntington Beach Pier. Then, after a fire, it was moved to the corner of 13th and PCH." Read more in the Surfers Journal.

Want to help with a Civil War genealogy project? Hal Horrocks of the Orange County California Genealogical Society (OCCGS) writes, "We have taken it upon ourselves to do the genealogies of all 500+ civil war vets buried in O.C. The project will probably take from 2 to 4 years to complete. Would it be possible to make an announcement ...about what we are doing and see if anyone might be interested in helping?" Contact Hal via email if you'd like to lend a hand. (Note: This project builds on the great work already done by Charles Beal, Gordon Bricken and their associates.)

Thanks to my readers for all the comments, suggestions and information you send along -- both digitally and in person. Writing this blog is fun, but it's a lot more fun with your input. As our attentive reader (spammer), Cheap Louis Vitton Bags put it recently, "We would find much happiness in reviewing the past."

Home Savings of America

I hear there's an effort underway to have ALL the old Home Savings buildings in Southern California -- as a group -- declared historical landmarks. I've never heard of a group classification like this, but I think these buildings are quite deserving. Why? Mainly because of the work Millard Sheets and the artists working under him applied to these buildings, both inside and out. Sheets was one of California's most important artists, and these buildings remain an amazing way to share art (and often history) with the people of this sprawling Southern California metropolis.

Adam Arenson runs a fascinating blog on this subject. Go and spend a couple hours reading.

Closer to home, artist Kevin Kidney of the Anaheim Historical Society is promoting the restoration of the fountain and John Edward Svenson sculpture, "Child on Dolphin," in front of the old Home Savings (now Chase Bank) at Harbor and Lincoln in Anaheim. The work was commissioned in 1970. The photo at the top of today's post shows the whole facade of the building shortly after it opened.

When Kevin says something should be restored, it's not just a passing thought. He and the also-enormously-talented Jody Daily have restored more than a few works of public art including the beloved Mr. Bali Hai statue at the Bali Hai Restaurant in San Diego.

I love the fact that these buildings and their art are finally getting the recognition they deserve. How refreshing and surprising, considering our reputation in Southern California, that they haven't been torn down already.

Fox Fullerton, Disneyland Hotel, and Bowers

The still-under-renovation Fox Theatre in Downtown Fullerton recently took on a whole new look when the distinctive triangular marquee and the ticket booth were removed from the front. They've both been there for almost 60 years. However, the plan is to replace them with a 2-dimensional marquee like the one that was in use in the 1930s. See the Fox Theatre's website for more information.

I hear the D23 (read Disney fanatic) Convention in Anaheim this weekend was a bit toned-down from earlier years. Still, I hear there was some sort of ceremony for recently inducted "Disney Legends," including the late Jack and Bonita Wrather, who created the Disneyland Hotel. Our pal Werner Weiss recently wrote about their induction on his Yesterland site.

On a related note, Don Ballard's second book on the history of the Disneyland Hotel is now available for order. His first book was a beauty. I expect no less from this one.

Catching up: I missed this post on the Bowers Museum blog about Mrs. Ada E. Bowers and her memorial fountain. (The one in need of repair.) They mention how the Bowers left their land and money for the purposes of building a museum. Can you guess what details of the Bowers bequest are not mentioned in the article? Drop us a note in the "Comments" section if you know the answer.

Fatty Arbuckle and O.C. Archives film exhibit

Roscoe C. "Fatty" Arbuckle (1887-1933) was one of the silver screen's first big comic stars. Best known as an actor, he also worked as a screenwriter and director. Raised in Santa Ana, he got the nickname "Fatty" from his school mates. (Aren't the little nippers charming?). In 1921, he was accused of raping and killing a girl. He was acquitted of these crimes, but his career was ruined. The still above shows Arbuckle wielding a mallet in the 1915 film, "Fickle Fatty's Fall," which was at least partially shot at the Joy Zone in Seal Beach. (Arbuckle's cousin, Santa Ana native Al St. John also appeared in this Mack Sennett film.)

It looks like many of the contents of the recent exhibit about silent films shot in Orange County, (assembled by the Orange County Archives, with funding from OC Parks) will reappear soon as part of a film exhibit at Casa Romantica in San Clemente. There's a possibility that it will also move on to the Fullerton Museum at a later date. Who knew we'd get this much mileage out of it?

The Enchanted Tiki Library

Since they've been desperately trying to pitch themselves as "Surf City" for the past decade or so, you'd think Huntington Beach would be more proud of what may be the world's only "Enchanted Tiki Library." The photo above shows the 2,400-square-foot Banning Branch Library, which began life in 1962 as the tract office for the housing developments being built all around it. Several of those tracts, including Newport West, featured some Polynesian-themed roof lines and street names, and the tract office was built to echo that theme. It was located at 22171 Bushard Ave.

On March 26, 1968 the whole building was moved just down the road and around the corner to 9281 Banning Ave., and was turned into a neighborhood branch of the Huntington Beach Public Library. In 2007, the City hired an architectural firm to draw up plans for a new 12,500 square-foot building to replace the current one. The economy has stalled this plan for the time being, but the intent is still there.

I'm all in favor of libraries, and certainly I'm in favor of bigger, better libraries in my own backyard. But I do hope the new building pays some homage to the old one. It's a great example of 1960s Polynesian Pop Architecture and an extremely rare remaining example of the offices that were once such a central part of Orange County's historically important boom years. Maybe they could even find a way to incorporate some of the old building into the new one. I could definitely see playing up the theme more, with interiors by Oceanic Arts and subtropical plants for landscaping.

"Surf City" indeed!