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Tag: Pacific Coast Highway

  • May 6th in Seal Beach History

    On this date in 1975, the Ranch House Restaurant at 1600 Pacific Coast Highway advertised their Mother’s Day menu specials in the Long Beach Independent.

    May_6_1975_101_Ranch_House_AdWe had to balance out yesterday’s Mother’s Day post with something absolutely non-ironic.

    Now I’m hungry.

    – Michael Dobkins

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  • May 2nd in Seal Beach History

    On this date in 1968, the Tastee-Freez chain published the following ad for its Tastee Two Fer promotion in the Long Beach Independent. For years the Tastee-Freez in the Seal Beach Shopping Center (listed as Pacific Coast Highway on Main St. in the ad) was a popular hang-out for teenagers, youngsters, and fans of affordable soft serv ice cream cones.

    Three prizes were awarded on June 2nd at each Tastee-Freez location. Does anyone remember who won in Seal Beach?May_2_1968_Tastee_freez_contest_ad– Michael Dobkins

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  • April 14th in Seal Beach History

    On this date in 1953, Seal Beach citizens voted to ban gambling in the city by a narrow margin. The votes against gambling tallied at 848 against 811 for legalizing gambling.

    The city had previously voted 761 to 661 in October 1952 to scrap an ordinance that allowed the Airport Club, a poker and bingo establishment to operate. The April 14th election had been initiated and funded by Airport Club owner William Robertson to prevent the club from closing on May 20.

    Airport Club

    This would not be William Robertson’s final attempt to keep the Airport Club from closing permanently. The Long Beach Independent estimated that the around-the-clock 24/7 gambling club was racking in a million dollars in revenues annually, a cash flow anyone would be reluctant to see go away forever. Many colorful strategies were concocted to revive the Airport Club, but local anti-gambling forces ultimately prevailed in keeping gambling dead in Seal Beach.

    The Airport Club remained closed until Robertson revived the location as a teen dancing club in the sixties, The Marina Palace. 

    – Michael Dobkins

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  • April 9th in Seal Beach History

    On this date in 1971, John Shelby Burrows, fifty-eight, of 1201 Marlin Avenue, was sentenced to 5-to-15 years in prison after pleading guilty for the murder of Claude LaBean, thirty-nine, of 459 Galleon Way.

    The murder occurred on October 22, 1970 at the Red Candle in the Seal Beach Shopping Center on Pacific Coast Highway. Burrows had been escorted out of the restaurant’s bar by LaBean and another man after a barroom brawl. Burrows returned twenty minutes later after retrieving a .38 pistol from home and shot LaBean three times in the chest as LaBean was leaving through the rear exit. Burrows re-entered the Red Candle where bar patron disarmed him. Burrows then fled the scene and was arrested a short time later a block from his home by Seal Beach Police.

    Karen Russell commented on the original version of this post in 2015:

    “…I lived across the street from Mr. Burrows and still live at the same address. He had a political argument in the bar with someone and went home and got a gun, went back and found the bartender in the parking lot that broke up the fight between him and the individual who he had the argument with. He shot the bartender in the parking lot.”

    The murder wasn’t the only source of notoriety for the Red Candle Bar. A month before the murder, a two-week investigation into a prostitution operation at the Red Candle Bar resulted in the arrest of three women and a man.

    Perhaps this notoriety motivated Joseph M. Beard, the new owner of the Red Candle Inn, to rename it The Red Velvet Inn in February 1971. The only crime on record for the Red Velvet Inn was how tempting chef Ernesto Brock’s new menu was — offering New York steak superba, abalone stuffed with crab, and pan-fried abalone with a choice of soup or salad, hot garlic toast, baked potato or potatos au gratin.

    One oddity to this story is that Mr. Beard had represented the previous owner, Peter Trama, in a dispute with the city over a variance to serve liquor that lasted throughout 1970 and into early 1971. It appears that the change of ownership (and chef) resolved the liquor issue, but the Red Velvet Inn didn’t last far into 1971. By late October, the address was occupied by Pat’s Electric and Lighting.

    John Shelby Burrows was out of jail and living in Huntington Beach by 1977. He died on March 6, 1990 at the age of seventy-six.

    – Michael Dobkins

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  • April 5th in Seal Beach History

    On this date in 1958, the first Miss Seal Beach was crowned.

    Nitpickers could argue that she was not the first Miss Seal Beach, and technically there’s some truth to that.

    On June 5, 1924, a grunion festival featuring open air dancing on Seal Way to a 45-piece band, bon fires and marshmallows, and a grunion hunt, was held. Also listed for the grunion festival was an event billed as a wedding ceremony of Miss Seal Beach and Mr. Long Beach. No other details were given, but I assume the marriage was purely symbolic civic boosterism.

    In 1926, twelve year old Norma Barraclough of 148 Seventh Street portrayed “Miss Seal Beach” as part of an elaborate celebration of the opening of the state highway from Huntington Beach to Laguna Beach. Starting in Long Beach, a “Miss Long Beach” boarded a boat on motorized wheels that journeyed down the coast to Laguna, stopping at each city along the highway to pick up a young girl, ages ranging from eight to twelve, representing that locale. (Coletta Dean portrayed “Miss Sunset Beach.”)

    In 1930, an unnamed “Miss Seal Beach” garnered at least 18,300 votes in a county-wide popularity contest to decide who would be queen at the American Legion celebration in Brea on Labor Day, but Lucille Brawley of Brea was crowned queen with 55,300 votes.

    It’s worth mentioning those previous Miss Seal Beaches of yesteryear in passing, but the one true first Miss Seal Beach, a local girl chosen in a local contest to represent the city for a year, was crowned in 1958 on April 5th.

    I’ll share that first Miss Seal Beach’s name in a bit, but first let’s cover some details of the build-up to her crowning. It’s also important to note that in 1958, there wasn’t even a hint that Miss Seal Beach would become an annual tradition with some breaks in between) that continues to this very day. It’s doubtful that the event would have continued if she hadn’t fulfilled the role so well.

    On March 21, 1958, the Long Beach Independent reported that an event billed as a “Glamourama” was to open the Seal Beach season that year. B.C. (Jimmy) Phelan, chairman of the event shared that the program would include a boat parade, a dance, and an art exhibit. The highlight of the event would be a contest in which a “Seal Beach Beauty Queen” would be selected. The winner would received a sportswear wardrobe, a trophy, and a modeling course. Two runner-ups would also receive trophies.

    Two days later, the Sunday Los Angeles Times ran a photo of eight contestants and shared more details about the event.

    It named the ten contestants vying for the title of Miss Seal Beach of 1958: Mary Jo McKee (16), Sharon Pearsall (16), Rozalind Madick (16), Chantal Moschella (19), Barbara Calkins (19), Madeline Keller (19), Sally Harper (16), Bonnie Sharp (16), Christie Sexton (17), and Vickie Larrain (16).

    The ten contestants were paraded on trailer-mounted boats “through the principal streets of Seal Beach” at 12:30 p.m., and the contest would be held at the entrance to the Seal Beach pier at 2 p.m. Mayor Paul Calvo would welcome the contestants, and Harvey Wagner would act as MC for the entertainment and also perform as a singer.

    The judges were Oscar Meinhardt, executive producer of the Long Beach Miss Universe contest, Mrs. Carlin Drake, Miss United States of 1955 under her maiden name of Carlin King Johnson, Dr. Lois J. Swanson, Associate Dean of Students at Long Beach State College, and Assemblyman Richard Hanna of Westminster.

    The article also listed the Seal Beach Chamber of Commerce’s committee for the event: Jim Phelan, Beverly Cole, Frank Finch, Harry Rose, and Ben Jones.

    So who was the first Miss Seal Beach? Meet Christie Sexton.

    Ms. Sexton shared the following personal account with me in an 2015 e-mail:

    It was a big deal at the time; with parade down Main St., etc.. As a side note, I happened to win the contest, much to my surprise, and it really helped form who I became as an adult; giving me much more confidence, etc. I went on to model for a short time, thanks to one of the prizes being a modeling course at Elda Berry Modeling School in Long Beach, and the Miss Orange County Fair contest, 1958. I did not win that contest (won by Miss Brea).

    My interests were mainly on swimming and tanning with the gang at our 10th Street beach hangout and my part-time job at the café at end of the pier…The pageant frowned on getting tan, and it was difficult to drag me away from the beach for photo shoots, promotional events, etc.

    One highlight of that year was representing Seal Beach on the Dude Martin TV show. My escort was Alan Harbour. We had to both leave our respective girl/boyfriends, and travel in, I believe, Alan’s Corvette, to Hollywood. We had a great dinner after the show at Diamond Jim’s on Hollywood Blvd. Both Doug Buell (my boyfriend) and Pauline DeSadeleer were not too happy about Alan and me spending the day in Hollywood without them. LOL.

    After the year as reigning queen, I was happy to give up my crown at the 1959 pageant held at McGaugh Elementary School to a beautiful girl named Vickie.

    I did not pursue modeling or the “phoniness” of pageants and went on to have a rewarding career in the executive secretarial and marketing/sales fields, in addition to raising two daughters. After over 50 years of working I finally retired this past January from Pima Community College in Tucson, AZ. I have fond memories of my Seal Beach days and I guess, in my heart, I will always be a Seal Beacher!

    Thanks for listening!

    Christie Sexton
    Miss Seal Beach 1958

    Ms. Sexton later clarified that Alan Harbour was a city employee at the time, and the city had requested that he accompany her to the Dude Martin show.

    She was also kind enough to share a clipping from the April 6, 1958 Long Beach Independent that showed her holding the very first Miss Seal Beach trophy (it was made of brass!) and a photo of her crowning the second Miss Seal Beach, Vickie Larrain, in 1959. (It’s an oddity that the only two contestants missing from the Los Angeles Times photo in 1958 went on to become the first two Miss Seal Beaches.)

    On a personal note, I’d like to thank Ms. Sexton for her generosity in sharing her memories of the event and her years as Miss Seal Beach. I had wanted to cover this event back in 2015 for the centennial, but I couldn’t find any clear images in the newspaper archives.

    It’s been four years and Ms. Sexton has been very patient, but with her images and the one I found from the Los Angeles Times, Christie Sexton’s Date with Seal Beach History can finally be shared.

    – Michael Dobkins

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  • March 1st in Seal Beach History

    On this date in 1959, the Seal Beach Lumber and Supply Co. ran this ad in the Long Beach Independent Press-Telegram, hoping, no doubt, to attract some trade from boaters using the Long Beach Marina.

    Those of us with fond memories of the lumberyard will confirm that it seemed to have “Everything to Build Anything.”

    – Michael Dobkins

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  • February 26th in Seal Beach History

    On this date in 1976, the Long Independent Press-Telegram ran the following ad for the Tiny Naylors restaurant in the Seal Beach Shopping Center, featuring a STEAK BONANZA” of daily steak specials.

    The Tiny Naylors (also once known as the Wooden Shoe) building was demolished a few years ago, so you’ll have to look elsewhere for “”A Mighty Meat at a Mini Price.”

    feb_26_1976_tiny_naylors_ad– Michael Dobkins

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  • February 7th in Seal Beach History

    On this date in 1954, the Lakewood Park Corporation, a developer of a major share of the Lakewood residential area, announced the purchase of one hundred eighty-three acres of the Hellman Ranch. The land was north of Pacific Coast Highway and bordered by Bolsa Avenue, Bay Boulevard (now Seal Beach Boulevard, and Landing Hill. The purchase price was $4,000 an acre for a total of $732,00.

    Here’s an aerial view from fifteen years earlier that includes the acreage purchased.

    The highlighted area is the approximate location of the land purchased.This purchase did not include the future site of J. H. McGaugh Intermediate School. That lot was purchased in 1952, and construction of the new school began in 1954 and completed in time to open for the fall 1955 school year.

    Here’s another Seal Beach aerial photo from nine years after the purchase.

    The tract has been divided into lots, homes have been built and sold, and families have moved in. J. H. McGaugh Intermediate School had been open for eight years, and there’s a large vacant lot that will become the Seal Beach Shopping Center in 1966.

    – Michael Dobkins

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  • February 6th In Seal Beach History

    On this date in 1937, the Seal Beach city council considered a number of matters in a long session, according to the Santa Ana Register.

    The first item considered was a petition with one hundred sixty-eight signers declaring an oil refinery operating at Fifth Street and Coast Highway a public nuisance and asking for the refinery’s removal. The refinery was owned by the California Refining Company and was leased to F. B. Cole Refining, plaintiffs in a $110,000 suit against the city. According to the petition, the refinery had a negative impact of the health and property of nearby residents.

    Another issue discussed was the installation of an additional power line from the steam plant operated by the Los Angeles Gas and Electrical Corporation to its new owner, the bureau of water and power (Today’s Department of Water and Power, also known as the DWP). The issue was ultimately tabled, but not before City Attorney B. B. Brown expressed concerns about the impact water outfall from the plant preventing build-up of sands on the west beach.  

    Representatives from Los Angeles expressed a willingness to work out a solution to the beach problem with the help of the Los Angeles county flood control district, but that would depend on the new owners. It was also mentioned that the Seal Beach steam plant would soon become a stand-by power plant as soon as the Boulder Dam plant went online, and that would probably diminish the water outfall from the Seal Beach plant.

    City Engineer Victor W. Hayes was instructed to remove old poles along East Ocean Avenue that had been abandoned for years by an amusement company. Hayes also reported that, after consulting the Coast Guard, removal of pilings from a collapsed section of the pier must be requested from the war department.

    The Pacific Electric Company reported that materials for work on the Twelfth Street grade crossing had been ordered and that the city could  begin paving between the tracks after the track and signal work was complete. Hayes submitted plans and an estimate for the city’s share of the costs for the project.

    Finally, a third reading of a “Walkathon” ordinance was made that would clear the way for an event to be held after the rainy season. The ordinance required a deposit of $500.

    Walkathons were dancing endurance contests that were both popular and controversial during the Great Depression. Read “They Shoot Horses, Don’t They?” by Horace McCoy or watch the film to get a flavor of what these events were like.

    This ordinance and the event it allowed would cause conflict and controversy in August and September of 1937. Watch this space.

    – Michael Dobkins

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  • February 2nd In Seal Beach History

    On this date in 1954, two Marines, Leroy Grant and Sgt. Jack Yasser, entered the Motorome motel office at Twelfth Street and Pacific Coast Highway and demanded money from owner Luke W. Purdue at gunpoint. When they forced him into a second room where the money was kept, Purdue’s wife, Bertha ran from the room.

    Motorome MotelOne of the gunmen started after her, but Purdue blocked their way. “You’ve gone far enough,” he said.

    The two would-be robbers turned and fled. Purdue grabbed his .38 revolver and shot four times. Yasser fell and dropped his .45 automatic before getting to his feet to escape with his partner.

    Hours later, Grant and Yasser were arrested at the Santa Ana Lighter-Than-Air Base after Yasser visited the base dispensary for treatment of bullet wounds to his right elbow and hip.

    – Michael Dobkins

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