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Tag: Pacific Coast Highway

  • January 21st In Seal Beach History

    On this date in 1913, the South Coast Improvement Association met, President Philip Stanton presiding.

    It was announced that Pacific Electric Railway President Shoup had arranged for hourly “Flyer” service on the Newport line, meaning that there would be no way stops between Los Angeles and the Willowville Junction (where the Blue Line meets Long Beach Boulevard at Willow Street today) in either direction. This meant a faster schedule for travelers to and from Bay City, Sunset Beach, Huntington Beach, Newport Beach, and Balboa.

    The Roads committee reported that it had met with the Orange County Board of Supervisors to request the building of a county road to commence no later than  February 1913 with working commencing at Anaheim Landing or Bay City and then proceeding south along the coast until completed.

    The South Coast Improvement Association  formed in 1912 and was comprised of the movers and shakers of Orange County real estate along the coast. Philip Stanton was its first president.

    These men saw better roads and infrastructure improvements as key selling features for their individual communities and promoted a regional inter-connectivity and ease of travel to attract homeowners and tourists into the area. They advocated for extended Pacific Electric red car services along the coast and are largely responsible for the Coast Highway that we still enjoy (and sometimes curse) today.

    – Michael Dobkins

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  • 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

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  • January 4th in Seal Beach History

    On This Date in 1957, The Long Beach Independent reported that:

    Master Chef Walter Wyly serves diversified international cuisine at the newly reopened Garden of Allah, 8th and Coast Hwy. in Seal Beach. Dinners start at $1.95.

    It must have seemed like 1957 was going to be a good year for the Garden of Allah, but it was not meant to be. In May, the Long Beach Bunco squad arrested Garden of Allah owner Robert W. Holstun for running a “B” girl drunk-roll racket at his Long Beach bar, The Gyro Room. By June, the Garden of Allah was closed and up for sale. Two months later, Reverend Guy Newton planned to buy and convert the night club into the new location for the Seal Beach First Baptist Church, but those plans fell through. The church would find a more modest location on Bay Boulevard.

    This was not the end of The Garden of Allah. A new owner re-opened the nightclub in July 1958, but it never reclaimed the popularity it enjoyed under the original owner, Vivian Laird. The Garden of Allah was briefly renamed The Nile Restaurant and even spent a scant time in the sixties as a topless go-go bar before being demolished and replaced by a Jack in The Box.

    Which was replaced decades later by a Fresh and Easy market. Which then closed a few years later. So it goes.

    – Michael Dobkins

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  • January 3rd In Seal Beach History

    On this date in 1945, The Long Beach Independent reports that a thirteen-year old Surfside resident, Rodney Middleworth, fell off the old 101 Highway bridge into the water. When Seal Beach Fire Chief Sperry Knighton and Seal Beach police officers arrived with lifesaving equipment, they discovered that he had already been rescued by Lester Buchalz of Santa Paula and an unidentified fourteen-year old boy who had already left the scene. The two had heard Rodney’s cries for help and saved him.

    – Michael Dobkins

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  • East Side, Before and After

    Aerial Seal Beach – 1936 and 1947

    We’re doing things a little different in today’s aerial photos.  Instead of presenting just one aerial photo,  we’d like to highlight the contrast between two similar shots taken eleven years apart.

    May 23rd, 1936

    This is what The area on the beach side of Electric Avenue and East of Thirteenth Street looked like almost eighty-five years ago.  Considering how jam-packed Seal Way and Dolphin Avenue is today, it’s startling to see so many empty lots.  The Pacific Electric line still runs to the end of Electric Avenue and crosses Anaheim Bay past Anaheim Landing and Surfside homes.

    July 27th, 1947

    Eleven years later, the Navy has transformed Anaheim Landing into a military harbor and almost all the homes that were there in 1936 have been relocated or demolished.  The Pacific Electric line has be re-routed at 15th Street to meet and follow the coast highway.  There are fewer vacant lots as the post-war economic and California real estate boom hits full stride.

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

    – Michael Dobkins

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  • Somber Seal Beach

    Aerial Seal Beach – 1920s

    click on the image for a larger view

    This photo is listed as being from the twenties, but I wouldn’t be surprised if it was actually taken in the early thirties.  Except for a few cars driving through past on highway along the top of the photo, Seal Beach is empty of any signs of life. The pier, Main Street, the roller coaster and Joy Zone all seem deserted.  Maybe this was a chilly winter morning during the off-season, but this image seems to capture Seal Beach in a moment when it was well past its heyday as an amusement park attraction.

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

    – Michael Dobkins

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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.

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  • Broken Highways, Gun Clubs and Mud Volcanoes

    Bonus Images of The Week

    Bolsa Chica Gun Club and Mud Volcanoes – March 11, 1933

    Today is the 77th anniversary of the Long Beach Earthquake, and I’m tossing up a few more bonus images of earthquake damage.

    The Bolsa Chica Gun Club off Pacific Coast Highway in the Bolsa Chica marshes is long gone, but it did survive the 1933 Long Beach Earthquake as shown in these photographs taken the day after the quake.

    Road between Seal Beach and the Bolsa Chica Gun Club. Pacific Electric Red Car tracks can be seen in the upper left corner.  Photo by W.W. Bradley.

    Bolsa Chica Gun Club bridge. Photo by W.W. Bradley.

    Bolsa Chica Gun Club. Photo from Mr. Merritt.

    Bolsa Chica Gun Club. Photo from Mr. Merritt.

    Mud volcano on the North end of Seal Beach. Photo by W.W. Bradley.

    You can see these and other photos of damage from the March 10, 1933 Long Beach Earthquake at the U.S. Geologic Survey photographic library by clicking here.

    Time permitting, I’ll share some more photos of earthquake destruction in Seal Beach (and perhaps an ironic tale of Seal Beach’s sinful past) later this week.

    We’ll share more historical pictures and photos of Seal Beach as the year progresses.   Be sure to check back every Monday for a new Seal Beach image.

    Bookmark and Share– Michael Dobkins

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    .

  • Where The Buoys Are

    Image of The Week

    Seal Beach Naval Weapons Station – 1955

    Bonus ImageBonus Image

    These stacked buoys (without the guards) were once a familiar sight to motorists traveling on Pacific Coast Highway between Anaheim Landing and the Seal Beach Naval Weapons Station.

    See the buoys?

    Eleven years later buoys are still being stacked in the same spot as shown in this aerial photograph taken on October 14th, 1966.

    We’ll share more historical pictures and photos of Seal Beach as the year progresses.   Be sure to check back every Monday for a new Seal Beach image.

    – 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.