Newport Beach Chronological Timeline
1776 Franciscan fathers of San Juan Capistrano Mission began
administration of Newport Bay area.
1810 Spanish land grant of Rancho Santiago de
Santa Ana (including the Newport mesa and western mainland shoreline
of Newport Bay) made to Jose Antonio Yorba and Juan Pablo Peralta.
1842 Mexican land grant of Rancho San Joaquin
(including the Newport Upper Bay and most of the mainland shoreline
of lower bay) made to Jose Andres Sepulveda.
1860 First attempt by U.S. Coast Survey to make
a preliminary examination of the Santa Ana River estuary (lower
bay).
1864 Newport Bay holdings of Joss Sepulveda are
sold to Flint, Bixby, and Irvine. James Irvine obtains partners’
interests in 1876.
1868 Rancho Santiago de Santa Ana partitioned,
its holdings bordering Newport Bay going to Flint, Bixby, and
Irvine, and to attorneys Andrew Classell and Albert B. Chapman.
1870 The steamer
Vaquero enters Newport Bay; Newport Landing established on the inner
shores. "The name 'Newport' was suggested by a Mrs. Perkins,'
according to Ellen Lee.
1870 Vaquero is sold; little if any activity on
Newport Bay for three years.
1878 Steamer Newport sold to Pacific Coast
Steamship Co., but continues on San Francisco-Newport run until
1889.
1887 Survey made by W.H.H. Benyuard of U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to determine feasibility of U.S. government-financed improvements to Newport Bay. Estimated cost: $1.2 million. Failing to get a federal appropriation for this work, the McFaddens build an ocean wharf in the summer and fall of 1888.
1889 McFadden brothers move their shipping business from inside
the bay to new "outside landing" on peninsula oceanfront.
1891 Completion of the Santa Ana and Newport Railway. Wharf damaged when outer 600 feet are washed away by storm on Feb. 22, but repairs soon made.
1892 James McFadden receives title to
peninsula from 40th St. to 9th St., purchased for a dollar an acre
as government swamp and overflow land. McFadden has town site laid
out near the wharf, where lots are leased by the year.
1896 James McFadden buys marsh island in the
bay (later dredged) and filled to create Balboa, Lido, and Harbor
islands.
1899 Santa Ana and Newport Railroad and wharf sold to the Southern Pacific.
1902 Remaining McFadden Newport Bay
holdings sold to W.S. Collins and A.C. Hanson.
1903-07 Establishment of subdivisions of West
Newport, East Newport, Bay Island, Balboa, Corona del Mar, Balboa
Islands, and Port Orange.
1904 Pacific Electric trolley lines reach Orange County, first at Seal Beach.
1905 Pacific Electric Railroad reaches
Newport in 1905, connecting city by rail with Los Angeles - the
start of rapid transit.
1906 Pacific Electric rails extended to Balboa. Balboa Pavilion completed at cost of $15,000. Newport Beach becomes a city. Newport annexes Balboa. Balboa Ferry starts.
1907 West Newport canals dredged, creating
Newport Island.
1908 Gondolier G. Scarpa launches idea for
Tournament of Lights.
1909 Famed actress and cosmopolite Madame
Helena Modjeska dies at her home on Bay Island.
1910 McFadden brothers sell Newport, Lido, and
Balboa Island for $35,000.
1911 Glenn Martin flies from Newport Bay to
Catalina in 37 minutes setting longest over-water record in aviation
history Newport Harbor lines established, ratified by Congress in
1917.
1914 County Hospital opens in Orange. Storm
inundates Newport.
1915 Bond issue brings 108 miles of good roads
to county, including Newport Beach.
1916 Balboa Island annexed to city of Newport
Beach. Flood inundates county when Santa Ana River and Santiago
Creek burst banks.
1917-21 Harbor work done by city of Newport
Beach and Orange County, including construction of 1,900-foot-long
west jetty, construction of Bitter Point Dam, diversion of Santa Ana
River from bay, and dredging of city and county channels. Cost to
city: $290,000; to county, $500,000.
1917 Barge scene for silent movie spectacle,
Cleopatra, starring Theda Bara, filmed in Newport Harbor. Newporters
register for draft as war is declared on Germany.
1918 Spanish influenza hits county. 12 dead in
one day at Delhi.
1919 City of
Newport Beach receives title to tidelands adjacent to its
boundaries. First Tournament of Lights.
1920 Santa Ana River rechanneled by building Bitter Point dam.
1921 Santa Ana
River rechanneled from Newport Bay, to the sea. Madam Larue, The
Green Dragon, and Soto's curio shop thrive in Balboa.
1923 Corona del
Mar annexed to city of Newport Beach. The Eddie Martin Airport
opens, later to become Orange County Airport, the nation's second
busiest. Old McFadden area cleaned up. First public restrooms built
at McFadden place.
1924 General
Lansing Beach, retired chief of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers,
conducts survey and recommends expenditure of $1.2 million for
Newport Harbor improvements. Eight drown at Newport when launch
Adieu capsizes. Balboa Yacht Club founded.
1925 Dr. Albert
A. Michelson establishes speed of light with mile-long experimental
tube on Irvine Beach.
1926 County
voters defeat bond issues to finance $1.2 million in Harbor
improvements. Coast Highway opened by Douglas Fairbanks and Mary
Pickford.
1927 City of
Newport Beach votes $500,000 to extend west jetty and build new east
jetty. Metropolitan Water District organized, eventually to bring
Colorado River water to Southern California. Typhoid epidemic hits
area.
1928 Emergency
dredging of harbor entrance by Citizens' Harbor Committee.
Rendezvous Ballroom opens at Balboa. First Transpacific Yacht Race
to Hawaii leaves Newport Bay.
1929 Beginning
of the Great Depression. City of Newport Beach votes $200,000 for
harbor entrance dredging and construction of rock groins. Academy
Award winner All Quiet On The Western Front is filmed above
Corona del Mar.
1930 Lido
Island dredging and filling completed.
1932 South of
Newport Beach, the largest capture of contraband whisky of
Prohibition period occurs when the ship Daylight is seized off Salt
Creek in South Laguna.
1933 Federal
government allocates $1.14 million and Orange County voters endorse
bond issue of $640,000 to finance final harbor reclamation projects
of 1934-35. Epic earthquake causes $8 million in damages, takes
12 lives in county; epicenter off Newport Beach. An indication that
there was human habitation in the area 15,000 to 18,000 years ago
comes with the discovery in Laguna Beach of the skull now known as
'Laguna Woman.'
1934 Irvine Co.
salt works established at head of Newport Back Bay.
1935 Newport
Harbor dredged and jetties extended. First 'Flight of Snowbirds.”
Howard Hughes sets new speed record at Martin's Airport with 351
M.P.H. flight. First Rendezvous Ballroom fire.
1936 Dedication
of Newport Harbor; FDR opens the $4 million harbor by telegraph key
from Washington, D.C. Total expenditure on Newport Harbor
improvements by private, city, county, and federal agencies between
1906 and 1936: $3,956,800. Senate appropriates $13 million for
Orange County flood projects.
1938 Devastating storm pounds county and harbor leaving 119 dead, 68,400
acres flooded, 2,000 homeless.
1939 Mercury
hits 108 degrees during eight-day heat wave, brings droves to
Newport Beach. High winds, riptides destroy county piers; numerous
drownings and small craft losses in harbor.
1941 First
blackout (Dec.10). MWD water arrives from Colorado River. World
War II is on, and Newport Beach shipbuilders are destined to play an
important role in helping with the country's defense.
1942 Santa Ana
Army Air Base opens along with Army Air Force West Coast Training
Center, attracting servicemen to Newport Beach for rest and
relaxation when time allows.
1943 El Toro
Marine Base opens on 4,000 acres of Irvine Ranch, attracting
thousands of recruits to Orange County, many of whom finally settled
in Newport Beach. Lighter-Than-Air Station south of Tustin gets
1,600 acres to house blimps on coastal submarine patrol, making
sure the Pacific Coast - and Newport Beach - are safe from Japanese
invasion.
1944 Newport Beach businesses enjoy prosperity from the patronage of military stationed nearby. New restaurants and watering holes spring up to meet the demand.
1945 War
ends, thank God.
1946 Santa Ana
Army Air Base closes. Real estate begins to boom.
1947 James
Irvine, 80, dies in Montana. Sensational Overell trial, longest in
county history, results in acquittal for Bud Gollum and Beulah
Overell on charge of dynamiting her parents to death aboard Newport
yacht.
1948 First Newport-Ensenada Yacht Race. Big election, new city government takes over. Balboa, Corona del Mar, Balboa Island Improvement Associations start.
1950 A
$500,000 gift from Hoag Foundation assures construction of a
hospital for Newport; flying saucers reported over the city.
1951 Orange
Coast YMCA organized; oil found on city property.
1952 W.C.
Collins, developer of Balboa Island, dies; City Council votes to
keep dogs off Balboa Island beaches; king of Iraq visits the harbor;
first baby is born at Hoag Hospital.
1953 Newport
Beach City Council bans poker parlors, tables; 50,000 boys at
international Boy Scout jamboree held on Irvine land.
1954 Dora Hill
elected as first woman mayor; new city charter drafted.
1955 County
takes over administration and operation of harbor.
1956 Castaways
restaurant landmark above Dover Dr. burns; freeways proposed for
Orange County; official city flower, Barbara Karste Bougainvillea,
is dedicated on Arbor Day.
1957 Influx of
new residents causes prices of oceanfront lots to rise to $15,000.
1958 Big
industry comes to Newport when Hughes' semiconductor plant and Aeronutronics
opens; Newport Dunes opens with plans to rival
Disneyland.
1959 Star class
world championships are held; Newporter Inn opens; Boy Scout house
on Cliff Dr. is donated to the city.
1960 U.S.
destroyers collide off Newport, killing 11 men; 3-ton shark is
netted by fishing boat; first high-rise building appears - Vista del
Lido apartments; snow falls on the, harbor.
1961 Newport
Harbor Art Museum opens.
1962 Pacific
Electric trains along the ocean are used for the last time to
deliver boats to Newport.
1963 Official
Newport Beach city flag adopted, designed by 11-year-old Jeff
Wilcox; Corona del Mar Chamber of Commerce opposes 5th Avenue
freeway; Mariners Library dedicated.
1964 Reuben E.
Lee floating restaurant opens; city council passes "bed"
tax for visitors of fewer than 15 days; aircraft carrier Bennington
anchors at harbor entrance for public visiting; Paddleboarder Larry
Capune becomes first Newporter Inn guest to register at sea.
1965 A.J.
McFadden places historical marker at McFadden (Newport) Pier; Prince
Takahito Mikasa of Japan visits harbor; UCI opens with 1,600
students; city council okays horse corral at Irvine Coast Country
Club.
1966 Citizens'
group forms to fight airport expansion; Bicycle trails master plan
is proposed; West Newport gets streetlights; Rendezvous Ballroom
burns and is demolished.
1967 West
Newport Beach homes periled by storm surf; emergency sand haul
started; Fashion Island opens.
1968 Army Corps
of Engineers begins construction of rock groins along West Newport
oceanfront.
1969 Western Salt Works in Back Bay demolished
by floods; Ensign newspaper wins top award in the nation for weekly
reporting.
1970 Police helicopter patrols begin;
Balboa
Ferry gets historic plaque; Intrepid, with Skipper Bill Ficker, wins
America's Cup.
1971 Newport voters overwhelmingly reject
freeway through city, earthquake shakes homes and rattles nerves;
Fun Zone saved from becoming condominiums.
1972 Voters reject police facility and city
hall at Newport Center; City Council passes restrictive height limit
law; Newport Harbor High School band plays in the Rose Parade.
1973 Orange County bus lines extend to Newport;
Christmas Festival of Lights canceled due to energy crisis.
1974 Police department moves to new facility in
Newport Center; South Coast Shipyard declared an historical
landmark.
1975 The largest fire in Newport history
destroys a block of commercial property on Mariner's Mile; fire
department adds paramedic unit; Upper Bay becomes a marine preserve and wildlife refuge under the California Fish & Game
Department.
1976 Sheraton Hotel builds 300-room complex on
Emkay Development Company Tract on Birch Street, near orange County
Airport.
1977 Newport Harbor Art Museum moves into
elegant, new, 21,000-square- foot home in Newport Center. Irvine
Company sold to consortium consisting of A.A. Taubman, Charles
Allen, Donald Bren, Henry Ford II, and Joan Irvine Smith. Price:
$337.4 million.
1978 Peter Kremer named president. South Coast
Repertory occupies new Fourth Step Theater complex in Segerstrom
South Coast center.
1979 O.W. "Dick" Richard dies. John
Wayne dies. Orange County Airport renamed John Wayne Airport.
1980 Slow-growth members of City Council - Paul
Ryckoff and Ray Williams - defeated by 3-to-I margin. Newport Center
Public Library opens.
1981 Balboa island bridge reconstructed. Master
Plan for John Wayne Orange County Airport approved.
1982 $15 million renovation and dredging of
Upper Bay through joint efforts of Newport Beach, Irvine, Tustin,
and state, county, and federal agencies.
1983 Donald Bren becomes sole owner of The
Irvine Company.
1984 City Council incumbents Phil Maurer, John
Cox, and Ruthelyn Plummer easily reelected.
1985 Federal court approves John Wayne Orange
County Airport expansion plans and agreement with Newport Beach.
1986 Voters reject expansion and total build
out plans for Newport Center, in special election resulting from
referendum.
1987 Joan Irvine Smith's suit against Donald
Bren and The Irvine Company goes to trial. The Irvine Company gives
$10.5 million tract to Newport Harbor Art Museum for new $50-million
building at the corner of Coast Highway and MacArthur Boulevard. Prominent builders and community activists Jim
Ray and T. Duncan Stewart die.
1988 Death claims prominent community leaders Dorothy Hardcastle, A. Vincent Jorgensen, John Macnab, and Ladislaw "Laddie" Reday. City council sponsors history of Newport Beach's 'First Century.'
1989 The Newport Beach Public Library Foundation is incorporated.
1990 Development of the Newport Coast area begins.
1993 Military base closures announced by federal government. El Toro Marine Corps Air Station makes the list, sparking controversy about its potential reuse as commercial airport.
1994 Dedication ceremony held for new Central Library. Initiative designating El Toro as future commercial airport passes.
1995 Orange County Board of Supervisors becomes the reuse authority for the El Toro air station.
1996 Inaugural Newport Beach International Film Festival held.
1999 El Toro base is closed.
2000 The Greenlight Initiative requiring voter approval of major development projects passes in Newport Beach. Countywide measure passes requiring approval of airport and other large public works projects by two-thirds of voters.
2001 County supervisors adopt plan to convert El Toro into commercial airport. Opponents place initiative on ballot to overturn earlier measure and rezone El Toro as a park.
2002 Newport Coast and Santa Ana Heights annexation as part of Newport Beach is completed. County voters approve measure changing designation of El Toro from future airport to park and other uses. FAA approves agreement restricting noise levels and airport operating hours at John Wayne Airport. State grant awarded for the Donna & John Crean Mariners Branch Library.
2003 Orange County ’s reputation as a high-end tourist destination is given a boost by the opening of three new luxury hotels, including the Balboa Bay Club Resort and Spa.
2004 U.S. Army Corps of Engineers agrees to dispose offshore 400,000 cubic yards of dredged Santa Ana River sand in response to residents’ complaints about initial plan that would have spread this sand on Newport’s beaches. Cast members and producers of the Fox network hit series “The OC” visit Newport Beach and are given keys to the city.
Sources:
1776-1988:
James P. Felton. Newport Beach: The First Century, 1888-1988. Newport Beach Historical Society, 1988.
1989-2004:
Compiled from various sources including the Daily Pilot archives, ProQuest database (for articles from the Los Angeles Times and Orange County Register), County of Orange website at www.ocgov.com.