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Tag: Twelfth Street

  • June 9th in Seal Beach History (7 of 8)

    On this date in 1916, this article and these ads ran on the seventh page of a Seal Beach promotional section in the Santa Ana Register. This was on the Friday of the first opening summer weekend under the Seal Beach name, and this was the newly incorporated city at its most ambitious and confident.

    The copy, ads, and illustrations are formatted below for easier reading and a larger view of the graphics.

    HUGE BEACH JOY ZONE IS LINED BY UNIQUE SEAL WAY

    Cement Walk Stretches From Alamitos to Anaheim Bay

    “Seal Way” is the name given to the cement promenade on the ocean front at Seal Beach. It is thirty-five feet wide and 4000 feet long, illuminated by a row of beautiful ornamental lights—lamps which did service at the San Francisco exposition. The bases of the posts are of concrete, mounted with a seal head, the light radiating from the head.

    The posts are conveniently and harmoniously located to the ocean side of the walk, the beach side being lined with pleasure palaces. Most of the concessionaires have taken charge of their respective locations, and are ready for business. The others will follow as speedily as the various exhibits are completed, which will probably be within thirty days, the management asserts.

    Pleasure seekers starting for inspection at the north end of Seal Way will come first to the “Hangars,” and in succession will pass the Picnic Gardens, Rathskellers, Cafe Chantant, a number of small concessions under the wharf; then the enlarged bath house, the Merry-Go-Round, candy and ice cream factory, palmistry, jesters’ palace, shooting gallery, boxball alley, Kelly game, Ahern’s nifty shop, a series of small concessions; a public convenience station, small circus, roller skating, and other concessions, details of which are not wholly complete at this writing. The general architectural scheme throughout is Gothic and Spanish.

    “Seal Way” ball room will be of sufficient capacity to permit several hundred couples on the floor at one time. Directly underneath the ball room is the bath house. It has been extended about two hundred feet and will accommodate some three thousand bathers. The plunge to be built later will cover the entire block between Twelfth and Thirteenth Streets and will take care of many bathers. It is to be replete with conveniences and apparatus.

    ——————–

    LARGE SUMMER CROWDS EXPECTED

    It is estimated that from 3000 to 5000 people will summer at Seal Beach this season. Recent Sunday crowds have been very large, anywhere from 10,000 to 25,000 visiting the resort. Last Sunday over 1000 automobiles lined the avenues, and a traffic policeman had to be stationed at the corner of Main and Ocean.

    Already many of the cottages have been leased for the season, and apartment houses likewise are being reserved. Every preparation has been made to accommodate a large summer population, expected as a result of the recently completed amusement exhibits and those still in process of construction.

    Check out the other seven June 9th This Date in Seal Beach history post. There are more ads, photos, and illustrations to enjoy.

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    Page Eight

    – Michael Dobkins

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    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.

    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 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

    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.

    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 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

    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.

    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.