Jive-Bomber submitted a new blog post: Taking a Beach Drive, circa 1949 Continue reading the Original Blog Post
cool I saw a Willys dealership and a Willys sedan. Love Willys He shoulda turned right instead of left and he would have been at the beach LOL.
I could watch stuff like that all day. The newest car I saw was a 49 Ford. The 40 Chevy convertible at the beginning with the skirts and fog lights was pretty neat. The most Custom thing I saw (more than once, I think the camera car was driving in circles) was the 41 Ford sedan with skirts that looked like it was nosed and decked and possibly had shaved door handles. What a cool ride for 1949!
That's the way I remember Balboa Island back in the early sixties. Spent a lot of time there, during the summer months, when I was a teen. The beach during the day and the amu*****t park in the evenings! Southern Cal was a great place to have grown up back then...
What I noticed is how faded and worn out all the vehicles look. Hardly a shiny one to be seen. Also noticed a few with the grilles covered. This is done during the winter in cold climates, but in SoCal? A real time travel experience. Thanks.
Was there in '61 and '62... Great times, lot's of hot rods and mild customs. Got drunk...... spent many evenings at the Rendezvous Ballroom. **** Dale and the Deltones were the regulars, but saw many others, including Ray Charles. What a great moment in time !!!!
Super cool slice of history. Saw this video and a few more from him, were dropping in my Youtube feed, this past week. Looks so peaceful.
It's the same footage from different angles (only about a 3-4 blocks), all around the "fun zone" area (Balboa pier) on the Balboa peninsula. I cruised that same strip in High School and then lived by there (by the Newport pier) in the early 90s. I had a ****py apartment behind a bar, had to turn the lights on and wait for the roaches to leave. Funny I though the area didn't really change from the 40s/50s, but it did (buildings and even the road). The Newport PD killed the cruising scene just after I moved there.....it's never been the same. BTW, no real beach front to see from your car unless you go to a pier parking lot.
Hello, Nice find on such a remastered version. I wish I knew how they did the processing. It is as if they used a 35mm movie film size and remastered it to be so clear. We have been going down this street since 1949 when our dad would take us to go fishing on the jetty at the dead end of the Balboa Blvd. The Peninsula stops at the bay opening and just across the opening channel, is Corona Del Mar. Of course, any beach person knows about the “Wedge.” The angle of the shore, the breakwater and incoming waves creates the most unusual wave riding experience found anywhere. But, our dad loved the beach and his surf fishing trips were fun for us little kids, as we got to play in the sand and waters, when it was not rough. The whole shoreline along this beach to the Balboa Pier is dangerous. The sand slopes fast from the shore and gets in overhead on most people. If there is a swell running, the side currents are horrendous. And the tide plays tricks as it seems shallow, then deep and then deeper. Our dad knew the beach well and told us toddlers to stay on the wet sand and berms while he fished. And… not go in the water. One time, we could actually see the side currents as we threw a cardboard boat into the water and within minutes, it was down the beach, bobbing on the current. “Here’s around clip of driving footage from the late 40s in Southern California, this time around the streets of Newport Beach and Balboa Island. Ironically, the cameraman never shoots along the oceanfront, which must only be a few blocks away.” Balboa Boulevard is the main road from the only land entrance to the Peninsula from Coast Highway. The ocean and beach waves/sand are a short block away to the right going to the Wedge at the end of the peninsula. The sand is also randomly available on the bay side, when low tide shows up. We have always called the Newport Pier or the Crab Cooker Restaurant as the start of the 3 mile Peninsula Drive. The only other way is to go to Balboa Island and take the car ferry over to the Peninsula, landing at the start of the Fun Zone. 1:17 The Fun Zone sign is on the bay side of the Peninsula. It is adjacent to the Balboa Ferry Landing and waterfront location. The Balboa Parking sign on the left side is adjoining some housing and with a short walk, the ocean and Balboa Pier/Beach is right there. 2:04 The beach is just beyond the cars down the street. The famous Rendevous Ballroom is located on the beach side parking lot and boardwalk. So, these streets are pretty familiar to those that made the trek down to this auditorium for some “surfer’s stomp” and get crazy dancing. Many years ago... Modern day historic sign on the beach parking lot where the action used to take place. The movie camera person goes back to the Western end of Balboa Blvd and starts his trek down towards the pier location and farther down to the wedge end of the peninsula. But, if someone watches and did not pick up on that, the Balboa Peninsula seems longer than the approximately 3 mile long drive to the end. 4:17 The Fun Zone sign is now on the left. The beachside Balboa Parking (right) is the lot on the sand next to the Balboa Pier. 4:59 This guy was an early home hot rod builder. He was ahead of his time. A platform with a backing and arms was a form of beach transportation for short drives on the Peninsula and Balboa Island. The legal 3 wheeled motorcycle was modified to create a personal transportation vehicle. These days, due to the over crowding of people and shoebox homes that take up a lot of traffic space/parking, the city government is allowing the small modified golf carts that are licensed by the California DMV to drive around the island and peninsula. Rarely do we see them on Coast Highway through the busiest part of Newport Beach, but the numerous times we have been on the Peninsula and Balboa Island, those electric motor carts are plentiful. Legal in So Cal with license plates and all. But, they still take up a valuable parking space for full size cars, too. One change affects another… YRMV At 5:30 the car turns toward the bay and at the end of the photo is the Fun Zone and the old Pavilion Structure. Fun Zone on the left and the Bay Pavilion Structure straight ahead. The bay waters are just on the other side of the structure. https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum...omotive-related.1212188/page-11#post-14163063 Jnaki The remastered version was probably made by a person not familiar with the location and continues to play the same film shots going past the Doll House and Fun Zone, as at the beginning of the film. So, for the 3rd time, we see the same movie shots of the Fun Zone sign on the left and the direction is Eastward toward the end of the Peninsula. Nice ending and confused showing of the actual old Fun Zone. There is a funky old TV series called "Arrested Development," that takes place on Balboa Island. Some of the scenes are taken at the Fun Zone, but most were filmed 70 miles away in Marina Del Rey. The magic of television editing fools most, but, not in So Cal. Actually, it fools most in So Cal, too!!! Ha ! The Balboa Theater (established 1928)
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