San Clemente, Modjeska, Dana Point Harbor

Here's another circa 1940 postcard from Tom Pulley; this time showing Coast Highway (Route 101) in San Clemente. Click to enlarge and see glimpses of the Miramar Theater, the Casino San Clemente, (both from 1937,) and the Aquarium Cafe.

The Helena Modjeska Society and Polmar Travel are presenting a play entitled "Modjeska: The Artist's Dream" at the Capistrano Center for the Performing Arts, 31776 El Camino Real, San Juan Capistrano, 8pm, Aug. 13 & 14. Actress Ewa Boryczko will portray the "famous Polish actress Helena Modjeska, who comes to America in 1876 with the dream of performing on the American stage." Modjeska lived locally in Anaheim, Modjeska Canyon, Tustin, and on Bay Island in Newport Harbor. Tickets are $25 each. See their website for details and tickets.

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Tomorrow (Saturday) is the 39th anniversary of the dedication of Dana Point Harbor. We'd like to believe that our friend Doris Walker built it herself, using her backyard rock collection and a shovel. It is, however, possible that the County of Orange and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers were somehow involved as well.

Orange, Carey Baughman, and Escape from L.A.

Today's image is a view up N. Glassell St. in Downtown Orange. It comes from a postcard in Tom Pulley's collection that was postmarked 1940.
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Carey Baughman, the Education & Programs Coordinator at the Old Courthouse Museum is transferring to Heritage Hill historical park in El Toro starting tomorrow. She'll be the new Historic Resources person down there. It's a step up for her, I think, but it's the Old Courthouse's loss. We wish her all the best.
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This Sunday, Aug. 1, will be the 121st birthday of the County of Orange. What are you doing to celebrate our escape from the clutches of Los Angeles?

Civil War, using cameras for research, Katella, etc

Another historic point of interest at Irvine Park is the Civil War cannon in front of the Spanish-American War monument on the lake's edge. An adjacent plaque reads:

"Cast in 1853 by the Ames Co. Foundry of Chicopee, Mass., this howitzer was brought to California during the Civil War and assigned to the garrison of California Volunteers at Drum Barracks, Wilmington. Secured from the State Armory in Los Angeles, it was installed on June 20, 1908, as Orange County's first courthouse cannon -- 'a symbol of peace.' Replaced in 1925 by a captured World War I field cannon, the old brass 'seven pounder' was brought to Irvine Park to guard this Spanish-American War Memorial which was dedicated November 11, 1926."

In his book, Bears to Briquets: A History of Irvine Park, 1897-1997, historian Jim Sleeper says the gun is "properly a twelve-pound brass howitzer," and tells us that

"...The gun worked its way west through the Indian campaigns, arriving in California sometime during the Civil War. Here it was assigned to ...Wilmington to defend the coast against Confederate privateers. Later, one story holds, the cannon was sold to Cuba, then captured back during our war with Spain."

Do you find yourself shooting digital photos of documents in archives (or other historical collections) while doing research? I'm helping gather information for an article on this growing phenomenon, and any information or anecdotes you can share (in the comments below) would be appreciated. I started shooting photos of documents myself about five or six years ago, and have noticed a lot more people doing the same recently. Thanks in advance for your two cents.

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Old house restorers take note: Pasadena Architectural Salvage will hold a sale, Sat., July 31 & Sun., Aug.1, to celebrate their recent move to our new location. Everything will be at least 20% off the marked price.

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Our pal Werner Weiss at Yesterland has posted an article about Katella Ave. and how it got its name.

Irvine Park, Knott's, Huntington Center, and books

Here's an interior view of the 1914 boathouse at Irvine Park. You can see where the rowboat-shaped slips have been modified to fit the peddle-car-raft-thingies. Most of the structure and concrete seems to be original, as do the rings used to tie down the boats -- one of which is shown below. For exterior before-and-after views of the boathouse, see my related post from 2008.

Some time ago, I posted links to video and photos of the historical tour of Knott's Berry Farm that I helped Phil Brigandi conduct back in April. Another video (this time from Mark Eades at the Register) has just turned up online, in case you missed the others.
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Pleasant Family Shopping recently covered the 1966 Montgomery Ward store at Huntington Center. I understand that Costco may be coming to that location soon, so if you want photos of the Wards ruins, go now.
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O.C. has a new used book store: Copper Penny Books is at 649 W. Imperial Highway Suite J., in Brea. They moved here from Diamond Bar. For information, call 714-990-2033. Here's hoping they have a local history section.

Irvine Park, cemetery book, tourist traps & Googie

Here's a postcard from Tom Pulley's collection, depicting Irvine Park (originally called Orange County Park) in the early 1920s. We spent some more time at Irvine Park this weekend and I may be posting more about its history soon.
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Patty Boardman had just finished a small book for the Orange County Cemetery District entitled A Walk To Remember: Mini-biographies of Pioneers Buried in the Santa Ana Cemetery. It's available at Santa Ana and Anaheim Cemeteries and during tours at the historic Howe-Waffle House in Santa Ana. Only about 100 copies were printed, so move fast if you're interested. More information is available at www.occd.gov.
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Stuff From The Park just posted some great material on the Palace of Living Art and the Japanese Village & Deer Park in Buena Park.
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Ken at OutsideTheBerm has a great post about the Knott's-inspired Tinker Town in New Mexico. My pal Mike Tucker tipped me off to this cool roadside attraction years ago, but I've never had the chance to visit. Ken's virtual tour will have to do for now. (I'm particularly fond of the sign there that reads, "Yet there are souless men who would destroy what time and man will never build again.")
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On a marginally-relevant note, I'm happy to see that I've been quoted in the same article with MODCOM's Chris Nichols in a Whittier Daily News article about preserving Googie architecture. Good company indeed.

Laguna's Gate

I was in Laguna Beach for the Festival of Arts this weekend and noticed this gate-shaped sign, hanging high above the intersection of Park Avenue, Forest Avenue, and S. Coast Highway. It reads,

"This gate hangs well, and hinders none. Refresh and rest, then travel on."

Naturally, I had to research the story behind it. The short version is that there was once a combination drug store and ice cream/refreshments shop near that site which put that gate there. But of course there's a longer version of the story too...

In her book, Images of America: Laguna Beach, Claire Marie Vogel writes,

"In 1915, Carl Hofer opened [his store] on Forest Avenue. As a prize to the person who could suggest an adequate name for the store, he offered a leather pillow. A little girl stopped in and proposed to name it "The Gate," because her father had seen a pub in England with a gate sign that had poetry written on it. The girl won the pillow, and the now-historic hanging gate was made."

It seems unlikely that a little girl would remember the name of a bar. Presumably, her father was there, coaching her and offering his memory of the English pub's sign. . Many pubs throughout England, and later in America, had similar signs. In the July 1800 edition of The Gentleman's Magazine, published in London, the following appeared:

"In traveling through an inland county this summer, I remember to have seen... a small public-house, adjoining to the road. A gate was suspended aloft to a post, for a sign; and underneath was written this... 'This gate hangs well, and hinders none, who chuse to drink, and so pass on.'"

The gate-shaped sign and its poem were pervasive. An 1819 edition of The Gentleman's Magazine (which certainly seemed to take great interest in pub-lore), featured an essay entitled, "Remarks on the Signs of Inns, etc.," which included the following:

"...A little gate itself is a common sign at small public houses by the road side, and on it is generally written, 'This gate hangs well, and hinders none, Refresh, and pay; And travel on.'"

Note the more mercenary tone of the second line. There were variations on the poem, but this "pay and travel on" version was the most popular. . 

 300 block of S. Coast Highway, circa 1920s. Photo by Ed Cochems courtesy UCI Library.

In short, this kind of sign was very common. Unless someone has access to Laguna Beach newspapers from 1915, we may never know which English pub inspired Laguna's gate. 

In a 1996 Coast Magazine article, historian Jim Sleeper noted that while Hofer did indeed first display the sign/gate in Laguna Beach in 1915, he initially did so up the street a bit from it's current spot. 

S. Coast Highway at Forest Ave. (gate visible), Fall 1921 (Photo by Ernest F. Caldwell)

"It was located up Forest Avenue at Carl E. Hofer's confectionery," Jim wrote. "A year or two later, Hofer acquired the Forest and Park corner and installed the gate, but his stay was brief. he sold to Warren & Warren, who removed the gate, when they occupied the site as a drug store. In 1921 the Warrens sold to D. L. Rankin, who resurrected the gate and Hofer's old 'Soda Pop and Cigars' banner."

There are claims that the current iteration of the gate dates to 1935, although it's likely -- considering what damp salt air does to wood -- that some, if not all of the gate has been replaced over the years.

The gate in the 1930s.

Disneyland's 55th Anniversary

Depending on how you count it, either Saturday or Sunday will be the 55th anniversary of the opening of Disneyland in Anaheim. On July 17th, 1955, the press, dignitaries, and Walt Disney's Hollywood friends saw the park for the first time. That was also the day that the big Dateline: Disneyland TV special gave the whole country its first look at the (almost) completed theme park.
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The following day, July 18th, 1955, was the first day the park was open to the public.
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Which anniversary date you think of as the actual opening is up to you.
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The photo at the top of today's post comes from a 1957 issue of Holiday Magazine. The early concept art for the Mad Hatter's Tea Party (a.k.a. "the Teacups"), shown below, comes from a 1955 issue of McCall's magazine. I found both on a neat blog called Gold Country Girls.
Notice how the characters of Alice In Wonderland were to play a much more central role in this early version of the attraction.
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Artists Kevin Kidney and Jody Daily of Anaheim have come up with some totally outstanding merchandise in honor of Disneyland's 55th. (And what could be more appropriate than celebrating a Disney milestone with merchandise?!?) Check it out on Kevin's blog and the Disney Gallery's website. Jody and Kevin will be inside the park, at the Disney Gallery (the old bank on Main Street), signing their work on Saturday, the 17th, from 9am to 11am.

Laguna Beach, A&P, candy, and robot gorillas

With all the artsy stuff bringing tourists to Laguna Beach this time of year, I thought I'd post a couple shots of an iconic Laguna tourist attraction. Here are two views of The Pottery Shack on Coast Highway. In 1936, the Childs family opened The Pottery Shack in what had previously been the unfortunately named Yum-Yum Tea Room. The business operated in that location until 2004. Two years later the place reopened as a collection of shops and restaurants called "The Old Pottery Place." According to their website, the whole complex has been "renovated in compliance with The Secretary of Interior’s specifications for historical structures and under the auspices of the Laguna Beach Heritage Committee."
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The image above is probably from the 1960s, and the postcard below appears to be from the 1950s. Both images feature statues of Laguna's "Greeter," Eiler Larsen. The UCI Special Collections' blog, "Anteater Antics," recently featured an interesting post about Larsen.

Update, 7-18-2010: In response to this post, alert reader Matterhorn1959 (of Stuff From The Park fame,) writes, "I always enjoyed the greeter. Is the other statue still by the hotel?"

Statue at Greeter's Corner Restaurant. (Photo by author)

Well, the statue isn't exactly next to the hotel, but it's about a block away, in front of Greeter's Corner Restaurant. In fact, it's just across the street from the gate sign. Except for a missing thumb, it's in good condition.

Yesterday's Register featured an article about A&P Collectibles' "30th anniversary that almost wasn't." This well-loved fixture of Old Towne Orange lost its lease recently but at the last minute landed a new space right across the street. May A&P continue to provide for O.C.'s antique china and silver needs for yet another 30 years! (By the way, their handsome new shop is in the Christopher Building (1931), on N. Glassell, which was built by the same Christopher who invented such candies as Big Cherry and Sunkist Fruit Gems.
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This blog generates quite a bit of email. But this message from "K.C." is probably the strangest email I received this month:

"I am inquiring about your animatronic gorilla for rent. Do you have pictures and pricing?"