HomeMy WebLinkAboutCity Arts Commission 12-11-2025 Meeting - Item III. Presentation Slideshow - Newport Beach HistoryA Brief History of
Newport Beach
1870-1954
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ITEM III. HISTORIAN LAUREATE
WILLIAM LOBDELL - PRESENTATION SLIDESHOW
1. A mayor of Newport Beach in 1916 called this
community “a dump. It was sold by a lot of damn crooks to
a lot of damn fools.”
A) Corona del Mar
B) Newport Shores
C) Balboa Island
D) Lido Isle
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2. In the early 1900s, CdM’s developers
promoted the community by:
A) Building two piers, one on the ocean and one on the bay.
B) Building a two-story, 30-room hotel on the bluffs.
C) Promising that the Red Car Trolley line would be extended from
Balboa to Corona del Mar via a bridge over the bay.
D) Changing its name to Balboa Palisades to ride the coattails of the
popular Balboa area of town.
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3. Bay Island was originally:
A) A duck hunting club
B) A naval installation
C) A Native American village
D) The site of the city’s first water tower
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4. In the 17th and 18th centuries, European
explorers did not entered Newport Bay. Why?
A) The bay’s entrance was too dangerous
B)Rocks blocked the entrance
C) Superstitious sailors thought all the mosquitos translated to
bad luck
D) Newport Bay didn’t exist
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Capt. Samuel Dunnells
Discover a “New Port” in 1870
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A dangerous harbor entrance
Circa 1912
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Newport Landing (Lower Castaways)
Circa 1875
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Newport Landing
Loading “The Newport”
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Newport Landing (Upper Castaways)
Circa 1880
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Newport Wharf
Circa 1895
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Newport Wharf
Circa 1895
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Newport Wharf
Circa 1895
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Newport Beachgoers
Circa 1890
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Beachgoers at Black's
1903
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Minutes from first Newport
Beach
City Council meeting
Sept. 3, 1906
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Balboa Pavilion
1906
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Red Car Trolley
Service started in 1906
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