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Tag: Glider Inn

  • July 2nd in Seal Beach History

    July_2_1935_Glide_Er_Inn_AdOn this date in 1935, the Santa Ana Register ran this ad for the Glide’er Inn restaurant. We ran an 1975 for the Glide’er Inn here, but this ad is for the  original location at Coast Highway and Bay Boulevard (now Pacific Coast Highway and Seal Beach Boulevard). In 1944, the Navy took over Anaheim Landing, and the Glide’er Inn relocated to 14th Street and Pacific Coast Highway, the current location of Mahé, You can see a 1943 aerial photo of the Glide’er Inn at its original location across from the Seal Beach Airport here.

    – 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

    Have you enjoyed this and other This Date in Seal Beach History posts?

    If so, please consider making a small donation of a dollar or more to help defray the online subscriptions and other research costs that make this blog possible.

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    This Date in Seal Beach History also has an online store hosted at Cafepress where you can order shirts, tote bags, stationery, and other gift items imprinted with vintage Seal Beach images. Visit the online store by clicking here.

  • February 19th In Seal Beach History

    On this date in 1969, Don Kirkland of The Long Beach Independent wrote about a sad letter Navy Maintenance Controlman Daniel Sundquist wrote to his parents. “We had another tragedy a few days ago. A great pilot we will all miss,” Sundquist wrote.

    The pilot Sundquist was missing was Lieutenant Junior Grade Paul Swigart Jr., son of Paul Swigart, co-owner of the Glide ‘er Inn. Paul Eugene Swigart, Jr. had died on February 5th when his jet fighter slammed into the deck of the USS Hancock and then crashed into the sea off Vietnam. Swigart was 25, a prep-medical student, married three years to his wife Kathryn, and father to 2-year-old Brant Paul. 

    Daniel Sundquist’s parents contacted Paul Swigart Sr. at the Glide ‘er Inn. The elder Swigart had received a telegram with news of his son’s death. “Paul loved flying, the Navy, and his country. He didn’t expect to give his life, but we knew if he had to, he would.”

    Paul Swigart Jr. joined the Naval Reserve in 1965 and saw plenty of action in Southeast Asia. Once he ran out of fuel while pursuing two MIGs and had to eject into the sea where he was rescued fifteen minutes later.

    According to his father, Paul Jr. was looking forward to the end of his tour of duty. His enlistment would have ended five days after the fatal crash. Paul’s body was never recovered, and his name is inscribed on the Courts of the Missing at the Honolulu Memorial.

    Four years later, Paul’s father would passed away at the age of fifty-eight.

    – Michael Dobkins

    Have you enjoyed this and other This Date in Seal Beach History posts?

    If so, please consider making a small donation of a dollar or more to help defray the online subscriptions and other research costs that make this blog possible.

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    This Date in Seal Beach History also has an online store hosted at Cafepress where you can order shirts, tote bags, stationery, and other gift items imprinted with vintage Seal Beach images. Visit the online store by clicking here.

  • January 17th in Seal Beach History

    On this date in 1975, if you and a friend felt a tad peckish while driving down Pacific Coast Highway through Seal Beach, you could pull into the Glide ‘er Inn and be proudly served bouillabaisse Marseillaise for two, according to this ad from the Long Beach Independent.Jan_17_1975_Glide_er_Inn_Ad– Michael Dobkins

    Have you enjoyed this and other This Date in Seal Beach History posts?

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  • Flying Down to Seal

    Aerial Seal Beach

    Seal Beach Airport (Crawford Air Field) – January 11, 1943

    Today’s image is taken from an aerial survey of the Southern California coast from Long Beach to Seal Beach done by the Navy’s Bureau of Aeronautics.

    click on the image for a larger view

    Not many people today realize that Seal Beach once had its own airport.  Some locals still remember the air field personally, but, for the few Seal Beach residents who have only heard about it, the exact location of the airport seems to be a confusing mystery.  Some mistakenly believe the airport was located close to First Street and Pacific Coast Highway, probably because The Airport Club (later known as The Marina Palace) once stood at that intersection.   At first glance, this photograph adds to the confusion because none of the buildings in its 1943 landscape survives today to offer familiar landmarks for reference.

    click on the image for a larger view

    With a little labeling, it’s a now a little easier to place the airport’s location into our modern landscape.  The airport once stood at the corner of Seal Beach Boulevard (which was known as Bay Boulevard until 1970) and Pacific Coast Highway.  This is the same corner that was highlighted in our earlier post, Where The Buoys Are.

    To put the photo into a wider historical context, the United States was at war, and the attack on Pearl Harbor was still a current event, having taken place a mere thirteen months earlier.  By November of the year after this photo was taken, The Naval Ammunition and Net Depot at Seal Beach would be commissioned at this location.  I don’t have any hard proof that this aerial survey was a factor in Anaheim Landing being chosen for the depot, but it’s a likely possibility.

    click on the image for a larger view

    A closer look at the airport reveals a small lone figure standing at the edge of the landing strip and a vehicle parked next to one of the airport buildings.

    click on the image for a larger view

    It’s impossible to pick up the writing and symbols on this enclosure.  Perhaps some advertising for travelers motoring down the Southern California coast?  As for the enclosure itself, it might be a fuel dump.  Is there anyone out there from this era who can confirm this?

    click on the image for a larger view

    By magnifying the details in the original photo, we get a rare glimpse at The Glide ‘er Inn at its original location.  When the Navy took over Anaheim Landing in 1944, The Glide ‘er Inn moved to Pacific Coast Highway at 14th Street in the building where the Mahe seafood restaurant is today.  A small airplane from The Glide ‘er Inn days is still suspended above the building, a memento of the building’s historic past.

    click on the image for a larger view

    Here’s more detailed view of the businesses and buildings along Pacific Coast Highway between Bay Boulevard and 16th Street, including a gas station where Bay Liquor stands today on Seal Beach Boulevard and Pacific Coast Highway.

    For more pictures and anecdotes about the Seal Beach airport, take a look at Libby Appelgate’s History of The Seal Beach Airport at The Sun News web site.

    Be sure to check back each week for more historical photos and stories of Seal Beach.

    – Michael Dobkins

    Have you enjoyed this and other This Date in Seal Beach History posts?

    If so, please consider making a small donation of a dollar or more to help defray the online subscriptions and other research costs that make this blog possible.

    Donations can be made securely with most major credit cards directly through PayPal. Just click on paypal.me/MichaelDobkins to go to PayPal. Thank you. 

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