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Tag: 1944

  • August 10th in Seal Beach History

     On this date in 1944, a car crash fatality at Main Street and Bolsa Avenue in Seal Beach occurred, according to the Long Beach Independent. An unnamed reporter wrote the next day that “Claud Roland, 23, of the San Diego naval base, was killed at 7:27 last night.”

    12-17-1936 aerial shot of Main Street as it turns into Bolsa Avenue right after crossing PCH

    Roland had been turning on to Bolsa Avenue from Main Street when his tire blew. The car flipped over and skidded almost 30 feet, throwing passengers USMC Sergeant James Johnson of the Corona Navy Hospital and Mrs. June Blackman of Fullerton from the car. Blackman and Johnson suffered some bruises and lacerations, and pedestrians Edward Booker and Joe Jackman, both of the Naval Weapons Depot, couldn’t avoid being hit by the car, but were only slightly injured. The injured were taken to the Long Beach Naval Hospital, according to Seal Beach Police Sergeant Charles Irvine.

    Police Chief Lee Howard, Captain James Morousek, and Sergeant Jack Whittington rushed to the accident scene and struggled to remove Roland from the overturned car wreckage, only to discover his head had been crushed and young Claud Roland was dead.

    A 5/23/1931 aerial shot showing how Bolsa Avenue curved into Main Street at PCH and how Main Street continue up into the farmland on Landing Hill.

    – Michael Dobkins

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  • May 16th in Seal Beach History

    On this date in 1969, this Long Beach Independent ad offered sport fishing from the G.W., the Valencia, and an offshore barge from the Seal Beach pier.

    The ad also featured a crude rendition of Solly the Seal (he may have been known as Salty originally), a Walt Disney designed mascot that had been adopted by Seal Beach in 1944 and used on city stationery and other promotional materials.

     – Michael Dobkins

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  • March 21st in Seal Beach History

    On this date in 1944, The U.S. Navy formally established an ordnance depot at Anaheim Landing.

    The Orange County war housing commission chairman, Philip Norton (who also had a real estate office at 710 Ocean Ave), announced the seizure of thirty-five thousand acres of beach and tidelands in January of 1944 for the construction of the twenty million dollar ordnance depot. Real estate would be purchased, bridges would be demolished, Anaheim Bay would be dredged to a depth of fifteen feet, and the Pacific Electric line that crossed Anaheim Bay into Surfside would be rerouted.

    The decision meant approximately 2,000 people living in Anaheim Landing would need to vacate by March 21st. The housing commission helped residents relocate, and many Anaheim Landing homes were moved to lots in Westminster and Seal Beach. The popular Glide ‘Er Inn would move a few blocks east to 14th Street. The Seal Beach Airport would be permanently abandoned.

    The speed and urgency applied to the project is understandable considering that the United States military was engaged in a worldwide conflict. Today the outcome of World War II seems inevitable, but in 1944 the future was uncertain, and wartime efforts required full commitment. For most of 1944, the Navy would be transforming what had been a casual small boat harbor into an efficient first class naval installation.

    And Anaheim Landing’s time as a civilian port and recreational attraction came to an ended. The seventy-five year history of what is now known as the Seal Beach Weapons Station was just beginning.

    – Michael Dobkins

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  • March 13th in Seal Beach History

    On this date in 1957, Los Angles auctioneer Ted Gustafson was in Seal Beach to sell the 9-unit motel at 257 Bay Boulevard (Seal Beach Boulevard today) to the highest bidder.

    Not described in the Los Angeles Times ad was how the south building of the motel had been built at an angle to the boulevard to accommodate the adjacent Pacific Electric right of way.  When the U.S. Navy took possession of Anaheim Landing in 1944, the red car tracks were rerouted from Electric Avenue at Fifteenth Street to meet Pacific Coast Highway past Bay Boulevard. By 1957, the Pacific Electric red cars were no longer running on the track, but the supply trains used the track as a spur for loading well into the sixties.

    There are no details to share of how the auction went, but someone must have won because the motel is still there, converted into apartments under the cozy and inviting name of Snug Harbor.

    – Michael Dobkins

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