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Irvine Regional Park: James H. Irvine’s “Gift Munificent”

June 7, 2017 by admin Leave a Comment

It all started because James Irvine wanted to save the trees.

James Harvey Irvine, also known as “J.I.”, was an avid outdoorsman who loved the wide open spaces of his ranch. One of his favorite spots was in the northern portion of the property; a grove of old live oak trees at the mouth of Santiago Canyon.

The Irvine Children, James Jr. and Kathryn Helena, at the park

When J.I.’s father bought the land in 1864, the grove was already a popular recreational destination with members of the Anaheim Colony who called the shady retreat The Picnic Grounds.

The 1872 Fourth of July Celebration was attended by over 500 citizens who gathered for a reading of the Declaration of Independence and a luncheon under the trees

The popularity of The Picnic Grounds brought challenges for the old oak grove. Unregulated traffic and camping in the area was beginning to endanger the trees. James Irvine worried that the historic oaks and sycamores would become fuel for a campfire and decided to take action.

In 1897, Irvine gave what was described as a “Gift Munificent,” setting aside 160 acres of oak grove to the County of Orange. On October 5th, the County treasury paid $1 to J.I. and the Orange County Park was born.

Irvine had a few requirements for the new park. He insisted that a full-time caretaker be hired to monitor activities in the park. He also made sure that a fence be built around the perimeter to keep out sheepherders and woodcutters. There would be absolutely no harvesting of the trees and the park was to be kept in as natural state as possible. He also requested that the park remain open to the public free of charge.

A devout teetotaler, Irvine also insisted that there would be absolutely no liquor sales within the park. The first summer after the park opened, the German colonists of Anaheim showed up for their annual picnic with a wagonload of beer. The party was almost cancelled until the bartenders figured out a way around the rule and began giving away the beer for free.

On June, 1 1926, Orange County supervisors passed a resolution changing the name to
Irvine Regional Park. It was the first regional park in the State of California.

Today, visitors to Irvine Regional Park can still enjoy the natural setting that James Irvine loved. An 8 foot, bronze statue of Irvine stands guard near the ancient oak trees that he sought to protect over 100 years ago.

Then and Now: Blacksmith Shop and Garage

March 28, 2017 by admin 3 Comments

The intersection of Burt Road and Sand Canyon Ave was once “downtown” on the old Irvine Ranch. The little town of Irvine was originally named Myford after James H. Irvine’s youngest son. Businesses sprang up around the warehouses and the Santa Fe Railroad line, serving the farmers and ranch employees that worked the fields.

In 1909, Frederick Mead Culver leased the most acreage on the Irvine Ranch. Present day Culver Drive was named in his honor. Culver asked James Irvine for permission build a blacksmith shop near the warehouses. He intended to provide a business for his brother, Willard, who was raising a large family of ten children. Permission was granted and Frederick Culver built the blacksmith shop facing Central Ave, which is now Sand Canyon Ave.

The blacksmith shop was key to keeping farm and warehouse machinery in good repair. It was imperative that all machinery was kept in working order, especially during the busy harvest season. Willard Culver also made wagon wheels, fixed buggies, and fitted horseshoes at his shop. In 1925, Gene Thomas took over the operation of the Blacksmith Shop, a job he held until 1978.

The building was placed on the National Register of Historic Places because it was where hydraulics where developed for farm equipment during World War II. The crops of the Irvine Ranch were an important source of food for the troops, but field workers were needed for the war effort. New equipment was designed to automate the harvest. Next to the Armed Forces, the Irvine Blacksmith Shop had the highest priority in the area to obtain metal during World War II.

Adjacent to the Blacksmith shop was the Irvine Garage. Built before 1929, it was one of the earliest Ford dealerships in Orange County. About 1926, a man started a small auto repair business under a pepper tree across the street. He was so successful that he built a mechanics garage which was eventually moved across the street and attached to the east end of the Ford dealership. The building still stands and is home to a Denny’s restaurant.

The old Blacksmith Shop was converted into a restaurant during the Old Town restoration project. Today, it is the home of Knollwood Restaurant.

The Blacksmith Shop was also converted into a restaurant during the Old Town Irvine restoration project. Today, it is the home of Knollwood Restaurant. Inside, diners can still find the old, gas-fired forge and see marks from branding irons that are burned into the north wall. The lathe belts are still hanging on the long drive near the Tool Room.

La Quinta Inn – Irvine’s Historic Hotel

January 23, 2017 by admin Leave a Comment

Irvine is home to one of California’s most unusual hotels. Travelers come from all over the country to spend the night inside the La Quinta Inn at Old Town Irvine, where the guest rooms provide a unique look into Irvine Ranch history.

101 rooms of the La Quinta Inn were once the grain silos of Irvine’s former bean and grain warehouse, making it the most creative re-adaptive use of a building in the historic district. As Anne Davis-Johnson of the Irvine Historical Museum likes to say, “Where lima beans used to sleep, now human beings sleep.”

The bulk processing facility was built in 1949 to make warehousing, cleaning and shipping more efficient. James Irvine had resisted the switch from manual processing because he felt that he would be taking jobs away from ranch workers. But after Irvine’s death in 1947, plans for the new warehouse were given the green light.

The facility was part of a 50 member farmer’s co-op, known as the Irvine Bean and Grain Grower’s Association. All members shared expenses shared expenses and profit, based on the amount of produce they delivered. It cost $300,000 to build and an additional $50,000 for the machinery to clean and move the crops.

The new warehouse could hold up to sixteen million pounds of beans and barley in thirty-two concrete silos. The old method of hand-loading 100 pound sacks for transport could take hours. With bulk storage, a twenty ton truck could be loaded from the silo in five minutes and a railroad car in ten.

When Old Town Irvine preservation efforts began in the mid-1980’s, the old 1949 silos were listed on the National Register of Historic Places. La Quinta Inn, based in San Antonio, Texas, spent millions converting the building into a hotel. All changes had to conform with strict preservation guidelines.

Major design decisions included keeping an agricultural/industrial look to the granary. This involved using metal windows, keeping the original concrete surfaces visible wherever possible, and keeping the original tin at the top floor “Head House.” The silos were converted into hotel rooms and the center bays of the hexagonal silos became an interior corridor serving the rooms. More than 180 panels of concrete were saw cut out of the silo walls to provide openings for doors, window, and passageways.

The original tin shed at the west end was kept intact as a lobby. Today, it is where guests enjoy their breakfast. The lobby has a collection of historic images and an original man-lift on display.

Guests at the La Quinta Inn receive a hotel history guide when they check in, as well as a map of Old Town Irvine sites.
“It is very important to maintain the Old Silos because these are the roots that began Irvine’s growth into the great city it now is.” said Shane Herholtz, La Quinta Inn’s General Manager. “Sometimes we forget where we come from, and the Silos are great reminders in a world of cookie cutter houses.”

Old Town Irvine Walking Tours

The Irvine Historical Society leads walking tours of Old Town Irvine which include an inside view of the La Quinta Inn.

When: Second Sunday of each month 12-1pm

Where: Meet in La Quinta Inn Lobby

How: Sign up on the Irvine Historical Society website

The First Flight on The Irvine Ranch

January 15, 2017 by admin 3 Comments

Glenn Martin (left) gives James H. Irvine (right) a ride in his "flying birdcage" over the Irvine Ranch in 1913 — Glenn Martin (right) gives James H. Irvine (left) a ride in his “flying birdcage” over the Irvine Ranch in 1913

It began in the dead of night on August 1, 1909. 23 year-old Glenn Martin had intentionally chosen the time to transport his self-made plane from an old Methodist Church in Santa Ana in order to avoid attention from the locals who thought he was crazy.

Carefully, Martin and his assistants moved the fragile biplane down dirt roads towards a flat bean field on the Irvine Ranch. James H. Irvine had granted Martin permission to test his plane, and after months of research and construction, the time had come to give it a try.

After previous failed attempts, Martin had changed his plane to match the successful design of Orville and Wilbur Wright. The new ‘pusher’ biplane, had propellers located behind the wings so that the plane would be pushed through the air. This revamped craft worked well, and Glenn Martin piloted his plane over 100 feet of the Irvine Ranch field, reaching an altitude of 8 feet. It was the first successful flight in California.

This brief, 12 second flight redefined Glenn Martin. He changed from a “Flying Fool” to one of the pioneers of American aviation. He continued to refine his airplane design, studying literature about flying in the Santa Ana Library. On May 1, 1912, Glenn Martin made history once again.

Martin flew his “flying bird cage” from Newport Harbor to Catalina Island. The 37 minute trip broke the record for an over-water flight. Fog and overcast skies made navigation difficult and Martin was forced to rely solely on his compass and barometer. After landing amid crowds near Avalon Pier, the Santa Ana Register headline read: “Greatest of Overwater Flights: Glenn L. Martin Yesterday Became World Famous.”

A year later, Martin gave one of his earliest supporters the thrill of a lifetime. James H. Irvine was the passenger on a flight over the vast acreage of his ranch. The 20 minute flight impressed Irvine who said he had “never seen so much of his land at one time before.” Later, Martin tried to impress James Irvine’s beautiful daughter Kathryn by dropping bouquets of carnations from his plane as he flew over the Irvine family home. According to Orange County historian Jim Sleeper, Miss Irvine was not impressed with the famous aviator and pronounced that Martin was “some kind of nut.”

Throughout his lifetime, Glenn Martin continued to make advances in the field of aviation. He eventually founded the Martin-Marietta Corporation.