Two antique postcards of the Balboa area. One depicts the bridge to get onto Balboa Island circa 1930’s and the other shows a gondola and dates back to the the early 1900’s. The Gondola was a popular way to travel the back bay in the early years of Newport due to the shallow and marshy conditions. Also, interesting to note that the card only shows 7 homes that are on bay front lots compared to the 1000’s that line the bay’s edge today.
New postcard to my collection, postmarked on the back from 1908. It shows a gathering at the Balboa Pavilion under flags that are raised at half staff. This could be a funeral procession or other day of morning.
With Spring Break time of the year approaching, I’m posting this amazing postcard from what I believe to be Bal-Week(spring break) in the early 1920’s on the Balboa Peninsula. The photo shows people packed into the intersection of Main St. and E. Bay St. just in front of the Balboa Pavilion. Perhaps this is the parade of “Beach Beauties”…..not too certain. Besides the massive crowd, if you look closely you can see several things including signs displaying Kodak Supplies, Ice Cream and the Balboa Apartments. I can’t make out what it says on the back of the vehicles and any help deciphering it would be appreciated.
This is a real photo postcard of Mariner’s Mile circa 1941. On the bottom left you can see the Arches restaurant which opened in 1926 and PCH running south under the classic arched bridge. This postcard intrigues me so much due to the lack of development depicted. Definitely before Newport’s boom with very few homes on Lido Isle, no homes on the hills overlooking the bay and very few buildings on Mariner’s Mile itself.
Here are two antique postcards, both with postmarks from 1905. The pier would have been called McFadden Wharf at that time. Back in the day, the railroad ran all the way to the end of the pier where ships would dock and unload their building materials and reload with southern Californian produce.
This building still stands today at the corner of Palm and Balboa Blvd and has significant interest to the GoodieGoodieGoodie.com IT Director! He used to live upstairs in this building. I just added this postcard to my collection and it was mailed in 1939 to Ann Arbor, Michigan.
Below is a front cover of an envelope commemorating the 25th anniversary of Newport/Balboa Tournament of Lights on July 22nd, 1933. What now is the Newport Beach Christmas Boat Parade originally took place in the peak weeks of summer. For more history on it you can click here.
Here is another vintage Newport Beach image from my collection. It features what appears to be the American Legion’s boat-car and most likely dates back to the earlier days of the Legion in the mid 30’s to 40’s. I wish I had this vehicle to cruise around in for the 4th of July this weekend. Wonder if this vehicle/boat still exists to this day?
The week before July 4th…… Here is a vintage postcard of the Balboa Pier lined with American flags, circa 1908…. Interesting that it will be the year 2020 before we see July 4th fall on a Saturday again. Ya its gonna be a good one this year!
This postcard is over a 100 years old dating back to 1908. The card depicts youth of the time in bathing gowns at Newport Beach, CA. Check out the expressions on their faces as they wade into the pacific.
Yup, that’s the Wedge over there across the harbor mouth. This early 1920’s photograph was taken from the bluff of Big Corona state beach looking north west. Look closely and you can see beach goers as well as boats entering and exiting the harbor. The photo appears to be taken prior to 1927 when the east jetty was added and the west jetty(pictured) was extended. I bought the photo on eBay.
Below is a new addition to my Newport Beach collection. It’s a 16mm film of a family’s 1962 Newport Beach vacation.
Will the Corona Del Mar lifeguard patrol be the next item outsourced by the City of Newport Beach? If it happens, will the future see other Newport Beach lifeguard positions outsourced? Time will tell….Check out the 1908 postcard below that depicts a time before Newport lifeguards. A safety line would be strung out thru the surf zone and you would hold on for your life.
note the Victorian swimwear