Food, The Sea & Some History

Wanting to embrace the sun in various parts of SoCal, we did a mini road trip. Wow!

First stop was in San Juan Capistrano for treats at Ellie's Table at Judge Egan's House (circa 1883).

This 1.5 story Renaissance Revival Building served as the town courthouse as well as Judge Richard Egan's private residence.

The Judge wore many hats during his time here and was routinely re-elected as Justice of the Peace from 1870 to 1890. In 1896, he initiated critical repairs to save Mission San Juan Capistrano.

The house now serves delicious pastries. I know we'll be back. Who doesn't love dining in history?!

Just next door is the Esslinger Building (1939). It was constructed by Dr. Paul Esslinger after he was inspired by a trip to Buenos Aires. The medical building was constructed using poured-in-place concrete and is one of the best examples of Streamline Moderne Architecture in Orange County.

This medical practice building was considered one of the most advanced of its time, offering services such as eye, nose, and ear treatments, operations, x-rays, laboratory work, and dental in its 23 rooms.

Next stop: Balboa Island. I have blogged about this childhood stomping ground a few times.

We got our historical bearings at the Balboa Island Museum Newport Beach. Its mission is to document, preserve and promote the history and culture of Balboa Island, Newport Beach, and Orange County. It is the only historical museum devoted to collecting, conserving, and presenting this local history and culture.

We got a more thorough glimpse of local legend, John Wayne- the man. In Hollywood, he was a movie star, an Academy Award winner and a figure larger than life. In Newport Beach, he was a friend, a neighbor, a club member, a boater, a bridge player, a fisherman and first and foremost a father.

He gave his children wonderful memories in Newport Beach. They speak fondly of piling into his oversized station wagon for trips to the Fun Zone and Orange Julius on the Peninsula, walking Balboa Island, eating at the Galley Café, and playing tennis at the John Wayne Tennis Club (where I had my first real job). There were simple days too: running errands to the hardware store and supermarket, family dinners at home, chores schoolwork, lots of board games, chess and card playing.

But their best memories were from days on Wayne's 136-foot yacht. Whether cruising in Newport Harbor, anchored off Catalina, Mexico or Alaska, or simply docked in front of their home, everyone agreed that John Wayne was most at home on the Wild Goose (something we ogled often as children).

We also met another Duke, Duke Kahanamoku, the most influential surfer of all time. Mr. Kahanamoku was a regular figure in Newport Beach during the 1920s and 30s. Born and raised in Honolulu, Duke, a full-blooded Hawaiian, was a first rate swimmer and paddler. After surfing, and other forms of native culture had been oppressed by missionary influence, Duke, his five brothers and friends reinvented the sport at the turn of the century. While winning five Olympic swimming medals from 1912 to 1932 (in Stockholm, Antwerp, Paris and Los Angeles) Duke captivated crowds in Australia, New Zealand and the United States, standing tall atop his ten-foot, redwood board. Usually posed in a elegant, straight backed stance, it was not unknown for him to play to the crowd by ending his rides balancing on his head.

How awesome that the two Dukes knew one another!

We also learned about the history of lifeguards here. In 1913, the first group to perform lifesaving work in Newport Beach was formed and named for Lowell C. Frost, who lost his wife and son in a Newport Bay drowning accident. Dr. Frost presented the Fire Department with a Pulmotor Resuscitator in their memory. Through the 1920s, dories, buoys and resuscitation were the primary tools of lifeguards. While preferred, the ability to swim was not a requirement for early guards. Things certainly have changed!

Prior to lifeguards, swimmers had to hold onto a rope to stay safe.

I was surprised to read about the wild kids who were here before us. From the 1940s through the 1960s, Fort Lauderdale, Palm Springs and Balboa/Balboa Island were the hot spots for Spring Break. College and high school students flocked here for boy-watching, girl-watching, sun-soaking and dancing the Balboa Hop at the Rendezvous Ballroom. Houses were rented or borrowed and stuffed to the gills with hijinks seeking teens, ready to blow off steam after school midterms. City workers prepared for the annual migration by removing or locking down any moveable objects, including the benches on Marine Ave. The fun fizzled in 1966, when the Rendezvous burned to the ground and full-time residents urged the new police chief to crack down on the shenanigans. Hysterical!

As we left the museum, we got our final history lesson, which should have been our first. At the end of World War I, Newport Beach realtors had a problem. They had an excess of lots to sell in an area that was isolated from the big cities and the big buyers. How were they going to entice men to even look at the lots they needed to sell? Bathing Beauties to the rescue! The Chamber of Commerce and Balboa Theater owner, Madame La Rue Osgood, began sponsoring annual bathing beauty contests in Balboa Village. It has been stated that Madame Osgood had to import girls from Los Angeles for the early contests, because the costumes worn were too revealing for local girls. The contests did the trick. Each year, on Bathing Beauty Day, more than 25,000 visitors arrived by Red Car, over the course of several years. All were met by local realtors offering free lunches and boat rides to view available lots. Sales were made and prices began to rise.

This is one of the most unique homes on the island. Late philanthropists Robert and Marjorie Rawlins commissioned architect John Lautner to design this 2,100 square foot home for them in the late 1970s.

The owners had moved from their Joseph Eichler-developed house in Palo Alto and wanted another modern home that they could manage without a lot of fuss. They also asked for a place where entertaining could extend outdoors and one that framed the bay view and drew in sunlight. Architectural writer Alan Hess call it "the most urban of Lautner's houses".