FULLERTON'S OLD BUILDINGS

Don Raupe (FUHS '51) sent this hot link to me with this message:
Friends, I checked out most of the 'Links' listed below & found most of them very interesting & hope you do too!
http://www.fullertonheritage.org/Views_Tours/National_Register/nr_buildings.htm

(If the hot link above doesn't work, copy the address and paste it instead.)

WAYNE DANIELS' TULIPS

BRUCE CHAMBERS, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
http://www.ocregister.com/articles/-238791--.html?pic=1
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Wayne Daniels was a teacher at Fullerton Union High School in the 80's and 90's. See the post on the following blog for more information:

http://fuhs-all-alumni.blogspot.com/2010/03/wayne-daniels-fuhs-teacher.html

ROBERT ROOT OBITUARY- involved "Fullertonian"

Root, Robert E., 88, was born June 26, 1920 in San Francisco and passed away on October 29, 2008. Bob leaves behind two daughters, Pam Clark and Dawn Chesley; 7 grandchildren, Kenny, Daeleen, Renee, Erin, Michael, Cameron, and Bob; 9 great-grandchildren, Taylor, Grey, Grace, Megan, Ashlyn, Brittin, Sheldon, Jayden and Maxwell, and his beloved friend, Jane Watkins. Vivienne, his loving wife if 50 years died in 2000. Bob started in business with Emerson Electric in St. Lois, MO but then came back out west where he worked in the aerospace industry with Northrup, Rheem, American Electronics, Aerojet, and Zero manufacturing. In 1971 he left that industry and became a realtor with McGarvey Clark Realty where he was one of the company's top producers for the next 28 years. Bob moved to Fullerton with Viveinne in 1950 and was an involved "Fullertonian" from that day forward. He served on the City Council from 1968-1976 and was Mayor in 1972-1974. He also served on the City's Economic Development Committee. He was President of the Fullerton Recreational Riders, President of the Civic Light Opera, involved with the Realty Board, Chamber of Commerce, Boys and Girls Club, Siglos, and Golden Hearts. In 1985 he was honored as Fullerton's man of the Year and in 1988 received Rotary's "Most Ethical Businessman" award. Bob was also able to combine a life-long love of trains and interest in the betterment of the community when he became the founding President of the Fullerton Railway Plaza Association - an organization dedicated to bringing a train museum and destination attraction to downtown Fullerton. While that concept has not been realized yet, many thousands have enjoyed the Railway Days celebration that the organization helps put on each year. The memorial service will be held at the First Presbyterian Church, Fullerton on Saturday, November 8 at 2 p.m. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Fullerton Railway Plaza Association.
McAulay & Wallace Mortuary
Published in the Orange County Register from 11/3/2008 - 11/4/2008
View/Sign Guest Book (available until 12/4/2008)

FULLERTON HOME A LANDMARK

Thursday, September 25, 2008
'Night Court' star's former Fullerton home declared landmark
Orange County Supervisor Chris Norby also used to live in the 1919 Craftsman house.
By BARBARA GIASONE
The Orange County Register
FULLERTON

A 1919 Craftsman home – where actor Harry Anderson performed magic, Orange County Supervisor Chris Norby led Halloween Haunts and inventor Otto Heinz built the first motor car with a supercharged engine – earned Local Landmark status from the Fullerton Landmarks Commission on Wednesday.
The 2,456-square-foot residence at 1021 N. Lemon St. is one of approximately 80 homes in the city to qualify for the designation, Fullerton Heritage secretary Bob Linnell said Thursday. Another 150 houses have been recognized as potential landmark homes.
The current owners, Harry and Debora Langenbacher, who purchased the single-family structure in 2000, applied for the designation based on the history of the previous property owners and their contributions to the city.
With the landmark status, any changes to the structure would have to be approved by the city's design review committee and, ultimately, by the Planning Commission acting as the Landmarks Commission.
"When our family moved in, Lemon Street was called Harvard Street," Norby recalled. "My mother rented the guest house to a lot of people, including (actor) Harry Anderson, who attended Fullerton College."
Norby said the magician-turned-actor often went around the corner to Hillcrest Avenue to teach magic tricks to Claude Yarborough, who is now known as international celebrity magician, Jonathan Pendragon. Anderson is now best known for his starring roles on the television shows "Night Court" and "Dave's World."
"Harry was my mentor, and we'd do magic tricks over at the Norby's," Pendragon said Thursday. "Mr. and Mrs. Norby were like the extended parents in the neighborhood, and we kids would often sit and play 20 games of chess a day at their house."
Pendragon has since performed his magic act in 50 countries, and appears on international television shows.
Automobile inventor Otto Heinz occupied the home in 1925. He had plans to build 1,000 supercharged sedans and sports cars to retail for $2,900 each, but only produced two Balboa Motor vehicles. His corporation folded amid stock promotion and fraud charges.
Norby said his home was always a gathering place for children in the neighborhood and a "coterie of entertainment."
"Dad paid $25,000 for the property in 1959," Norby said. "I think he always wished he would have kept it instead of moving to Los Olivos where he opened an art gallery."
Before the lot was subdivided in 1979, the northwest corner of the property was a virtual forest, Norby said.
His brother, Eric, recalled a tree house and a clubhouse for the neighbor children.
Chris Norby said he and his three siblings would play in the basement and several attics where he found World War I German helmets left by the previous owners.
Research conducted by Fullerton Heritage revealed a variety of homeowners who lived in the 1919 Craftsman bungalow-style house that earned Local Landmark status Wednesday at the Fullerton Planning Commission meeting.
Among the owners were:
•H. Harwood Tracey, 1919-1922: Tracey bought the vacant lot from the Fullers in 1919 to construct a house and detached garage. He was a science instructor at Fullerton Union High School and Fullerton College for more than 30 years. He also built a school cabin in the San Bernardino Mountains that served as a study headquarters until 1938 for students learning about plants and animals.
•Emerson J. Marks, 1924: He was the city attorney for Fullerton, Brea, La Habra and Placentia. He was also appointed to the bench of the Superior Court in Santa Ana in 1925, and was a member of the Fullerton Board of Trade in the city's formative years.
•Otto W. Heinz, 1925: Heinz was president of the Balboa Motor Corporation, which built a manufacturing and assembly plant in Fullerton to produce the first motor car that featured a supercharged engine similar to those used in race cars and airplanes. He planned to build 1,000 sedans and sports cars, which would retail for $2,900 each. The plant only produced two cars before the corporation folded amid stock promotion and fraud charges.
•John Gardiner, 1926-1933: The son of an early Fullerton rancher, Gardiner started an insurance and real estate loan business. He was elected to Fullerton City Council in 1904, working alongside the town founders, the Amerige brothers and Charles Chapman.
•Cornell Norby, 1959-1984: The father of Orange County Supervisor Chris Norby was a builder and art collector, who opened the Norby Western Art Gallery in downtown Fullerton in 1980. The Norbys rented a guest house to actor Harry Anderson, best known for his roles in television's "Night Court" and "Dave's World."

http://www.ocregister.com/articles/fullerton-norby-city-2169940-house-harry
There was a nice picture of the home in the newspaper, but I couldn't find it online.
Does anyone have any personal stories about this house?

FULLERTON JACARANDAS- 2008

Photos by BRUCE CHAMBERS, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER http://www.ocregister.com/slideshow/jacaranda-trees-tree-2067704-purple-flowers?pos=0

Friday, June 13, 2008

http://www.ocregister.com/articles/jacaranda-trees-tree-2067704-purple-flowers

Jacarandas shower the landscape with captivating blooms
CINDY McNATT
I remember an e-mail from five years back. It was from a man in England who wanted to know what the purple trees were. He had been visiting Orange County and was taken by the trees.
Purple trees?
"Ahh, the jacaranda," I wrote back later, after trying to picture what he meant. Who could forget the jacaranda except us who are so used to seeing them paint the boulevards purple in so many cities. "You'll not likely find this beauty in a chilly English nursery," I wrote. "Better to look online in Spain, Portugal or France."
I never found out if he got his hands on a tree, but knowing the typical English gardener, he probably did. So many on that side of the pond love to grow what they call exotics, tropicals, succulents and other strange plants that don't occur naturally in their country.
But the jacaranda doesn't exactly belong to us, either. It is indigenous to the highlands in Brazil, Bolivia and Argentina – in rain forest habitats.
In fact, it likes a little bit more moisture than we typically give it. In wetter parts of South America, I hear, it is even more purple and floriferous.
The jacaranda has not only found a home in California and other southern states, it is also huge in other warm places like Australia, South Africa, India and New Zealand.
Horticulturist Kate Sessions imported the tree to Balboa Park in San Diego in 1892 and it has since found its way as far north as the Bay Area. (They bloom later there, in July.)
Legend has it that if the flower falls on your head, you will be blessed with good fortune. Most of us love and loathe them depending on our proximity to the tree. The sticky flowers that hang on the tree for up to two months also float to the ground and cling to sidewalks, streets and cars.
The jacaranda sheds something almost all year long. At the end of fall, it is ferny leaves. In spring come the purple flowers for which the tree is famous. Then, the coinlike seed pods and small twigs drop through the summer.
The flowers are what residents in parts of Fullerton, Anaheim and Santa Ana – including Paul O'Sullivan, who lives on Jacaranda Place in Fullerton – joked about to Register photographer Bruce Chambers. They said it is a waste of time to sweep the flowers because the sidewalks will be littered again in minutes.
The most commonly planted jacaranda in Southern California is J. mimosifolia, although there are up to 40 species.
They tolerate a wide range of soils, although if they could pick, they would choose sand. Full sun is essential for blooms. The trees do not tolerate salt air or salty soils.
Jacarandas prefer sandy soil, but that doesn't mean they should be grown dry. They want moisture and lots of it – just not soggy soils.
Experts say to refrain from pruning the trees. Pruning cuts induce gangly and unsightly growth that spoils the trees' graceful form.
Other than sweeping up year-round, jacarandas need little or no extra care. They are readily available at most nurseries.
Contact the writer: cmcnatt@ocregister.com or 714-796-5023 or homebody.freedomblogging.com

MAPLE NEIGHBORHOOD MURALS

Mural on Lemon Street between Valencia Drive and Orangethorpe

Rod Veal, OC Register staff protographer

Wednesday, April 16, 2008
UPDATE: Mural at center of controversy
Fullerton residents and officials debate whether 1970s paintings on an overpass glorify crime or display pride.
By BARBARA GIASONE
The Orange County Register

FULLERTON — Neighbors who lived in the Maple Neighborhood 30 years ago, pleaded with the City Council Tuesday to retain the murals on the Lemon Street pedestrian overpass.
The artworks, which depict life in the Mexican-American community between 1940 and 1970, were sanctioned by the city in the late 1970s as a way to combat graffiti on the cement structure that had become a blank canvas for vandalism.
At the April 8 council meeting, Councilman Shawn Nelson called for the immediate removal of the artworks between Orangethorpe Avenue and Valencia Drive. He indicated some depictions, such as the low-rider cars and the inscription, "The Town I Live In," were linked to gangs and suggested the city validates "that kind of activity".
But Maple representatives told the council Tuesday the low-rider cars depicted a cultural hobby, and the inscription referred to a song recorded by the East Los Angeles group, Thee Midniters, in the 1960s.
"These (murals) are part of our memories, our tradition," Kitty Jaramillo said Tuesday. "We still have parents living there. Don't do anything post-haste."
Jaramillo said a city committee was working on the $1 million restoration of Lemon Park, and the refurbishment of the murals had been discussed. She asked that the Maple group be included in the talks.
Later in the meeting, Mayor Sharon Quirk asked that representatives of the new SoCo Walk Association and the mural class at Fullerton College also be invited to participate.
Nelson's comments have stirred a growing controversy.
"This was drawn to depict cultural, iconic pride," says Emigdio Vasquez Jr., who airbrushed the inscription when his father, renowned muralist Emigdio Vasquez Sr., restored the murals 10 years ago.
Denise Gonzalez, 18, and an employee of the Maple Community Center in Lemon Park, said she grew up with the murals and appreciates their cultural significance.
"Taking them down would be like taking down Plummer Auditorium," she said. "We should be asking the neighborhood what they would like to see."
Forty-three-year resident Anita Vejar said: "It's time to move on. I think we should have 'Faces of Heroes,' representative of the men in our neighborhood who served in the wars, with maybe some patriotic symbols."
The depiction of the Blessed Virgin Mary continues to draw neighbors bearing flowers and candles.
Bobby Melendez recalled helping select eight boys to work with city-designated artist David Whalen to paint the eight walls in 1979.
"If we want to stop gang activity, we should change the way we work with youths," Melendez said. "The issue is not murals; it's intervention at an early age."
Contact the writer: 714-704-3762bgiasone@ocregister.com

LOS ANGELES TIMES ARTICLE ON FULLERTON

An urban experience with a small-town feel
By Tony Dodero, Special to The Times July 29, 2007
Forget commuting or having to drive to get to restaurants and shops. Residents of the new downtown Fullerton are happy to say goodbye to those inconveniences. But they wouldn't mind it being quieter when the bars let out.
Beginnings: Perched along the sloping foothills of the northwest edge of Orange County is the city of Fullerton, a town of 120,000 with a rich history of oranges, oil and railroads. As one of the oldest incorporated cities in the county, Fullerton, named after railroad executive George Fullerton, saw its early seeds planted in 1887 when brothers Edward and George Amerige, from Massachusetts, staked out land on a mustard field that is now the corner of Commonwealth Street and Harbor Boulevard. That intersection today is the gateway to the city's downtown business district. After incorporating in 1904, Fullerton saw tremendous growth in citrus farming and oil production, accompanied later by a huge housing boom in the 1940s precipitated by the return of WWII soldiers needing homes for their families. City documents show building permit valuations rose from $2.5 million in 1948 to $114 million in 1956. As happened in many older downtowns, Fullerton saw a decline in commerce and growth for several years during the 1970s and '80s. But for the last five years, the downtown has enjoyed a growth spurt and is now a vibrant center where small business is thriving and homeowners are close to nightlife and dining.
Drawing card: New businesses and housing developments are sprouting up all over the downtown district. Plans are underway to restore the historic Fox Theater and turn it into a performance house, and a new development called SoCo (south of Commonwealth) is adding mixed-use housing and retail to the downtown scene.The Santa Fe Depot railroad station provides convenient commutes to Los Angeles, south Orange County and San Diego via Amtrak and Metrolink trains. Freeways and main highways are also nearby. "Downtown is changing the way people live, where everything someone might need is right there," said Robert Loughran, a realty agent with Elite Team who runs the website http://www.downtownfullerton.com/.
Good news, bad news: Although downtown businesses are booming, the weekend bar scene is creating issues. Downtown residents complain of drunken bar patrons who soil their properties, leave trash or drive recklessly. Loud music from some of the nighttime establishments is a problem for some residents who desire peace and quiet, and police have stepped up enforcement.
Housing stock: Most of the homes in the downtown are in 1920s-era Craftsman bungalow or Tudor style. Many have been refurbished, adding modern touches to the classic, vintage looks of the bungalows. With about 80 homes on the market, the prices range from the low $500,000s to just over $1 million. A three-bedroom, two-bathroom, 1,500-square-foot 1922 Craftsman on a 10,000-square-foot lot is priced at $895,000. It has original French doors and a one-bedroom guesthouse that could serve as a rental. Nearby is a three-bedroom, two-bathroom Tudor built in 1927 listed at $1.09 million. It features 2,300 square feet of living space, an 11,000-square-foot lot, an in-ground pool and hardwood floors.
Report card: Children who live in the downtown area attend either Golden Hill or Raymond elementary schools. According to the 2006 Base Academic Performance Index Report, Golden Hill scored 857 out of a possible 1,000, and Raymond scored 796. The middle schools are Nicholas Junior High, which scored 679; Ladera Vista, 787; and Parks, 867. Most downtown students would attend Fullerton High School, which posted a score of 735.
Sources: http://www.octhen.com/ ; www.ci.fullerton.ca.us/ ; http://www.downtownfullerton.com/; Fullerton Heritage, www.fullertonheritage.org/ ; cde.ca.gov/ .