281 Magnolia St., Eastside. This California Spanish Bungalow was built in 1929 and lovingly restored and expanded. This image marks the month of June in the calendar.
A new volunteer at the Costa Mesa Historical Society, Renee Pina, has spearheaded a new, full-color calendar of 12 vintage Eastside Costa Mesa homes.
All homes featured were built, or believed to have been built, between 1900 and 1930, and have been loved and cared for by their present owners. The Society hopes to learn more of the history of each of these homes.
12 local businesses have helped to sponsor the pages in the calendar. They are: Pina & Co., French’s Cupcake Bakery, Kean Coffee, Doggie Daycare, El Matador, Dick Church’s, Eastside Mini-Mart, Shirley’s Bagels, Al’s New York Café & Catering, Haute Cakes Caffe, Goat Hill Tavern, and Mi Casa.
A copy of the calendar can be purchased at the Costa Mesa Historical Society for a donation of $10.00.
It is with a heavy heart that I must inform you of the passing of Art Goddard, one of our long time volunteers, due to cancer on February 13, 2021. He was 78.
Art and his wife Mary Ellen moved to Costa Mesa in 1977 and she started volunteering at the Society shortly after that. “Art began volunteering for computer stuff, when we first got our Apple (the little one with the tiny screen in a tall little box) in the early 1980s” said Mary Ellen and he has been our main “tech guy” ever since, working primarily behind the scenes. As he told “I Heart Costa Mesa” in 2015, “I saw that this place really needed some technical expertise, some computer savvy. So, I began the process of switching us from paper and things that weren’t going to work in the future, to something that would.”
Art obtained a Bachelors degree from Worchester Polytechnic Institute, attended the University of Alaska-Fairbanks and received a Masters from Montana State University-Bozeman in electrical engineering. He then embarked on a 32 year career starting with Collins Radio and later Boeing, retiring from there as an executive in 2001 which gave him more time to devote to the Society and other hobbies.
One of those hobbies was ham radio. He was first licensed for that in 1956 and was a life member of the American Radio Relay League (ARRL) holding positions in that organization. Art was active on the air from HF through microwaves. A member of the Southern California Contest Club, he took part in contest expeditions, travel was another hobby, to locations ranging from subarctic to tropical around the world.
As part of his volunteering, Art and Mary Ellen collaborated on two books on behalf of the Society published through Arcadia Publishing and still available. They are: Early Costa Mesa (2009) and Costa Mesa: 1940-2003 (2016).
Additionally, Art and Mary Ellen were heavily involved with the Friends of the Library and strong proponents for a new library and at which opening they were recognized in May, 2019.
No Public services are planned at this time but it hoped that a memorial service will be held in 5-6 months when Covid is past us and public assemblies are again possible.
Our April 2020 newsletter is now online. Topics include “Preserving History in a Pandemic”, “ Our Historic Moment”, “Full House for House Talk”, “Now That We Have Time”, and more!
Our March 2020 newsletter is now online. Topics include “A Very Special Event at OCC’s Planetarium”, “Mildred Matthews: An Oral History”, “Changing Harbor Boulevard”, “Visiting Dick Church’s” and more!
Our February 2020 newsletter is now online. Topics include “Chris Lukather on Cinderella Homes”, “Phil Brigandi’s Memorial”, “Putting History on the Map”, new board installations and more!
Our January 2020 newsletter is now online. Topics include “Letty Rodella on Spanish Patriots in the Revolution”, “Remembering Phil Brigandi”, A4-M Dedication, adobe news and more!
Our December 2019 newsletter is now online. Topics include “The Year in Review”, “Spanish Patriots in the American Revolution”, “Making Spirits Bright: Alvin ‘Pink’ Pinkley’s 1978 Oral History”, news & more!
Architecture fans are in for a treat. This February 23rd at 2 p.m., author Chris Lukather will talk about his new book, The Cinderella Homes of Jean Vandruff.
Cinderella homes are a whimsical variation on traditional tract homes that turn suburban neighborhoods into storybook lands, complete with swooping gables, shake shingle roofs, and faux medieval designs. Never seen one? You don’t have to go far to find them. Costa Mesa has its own set of Cinderella homes in the College Park neighborhood.
Lukather based his book on field surveys as well as interviews with the architect himself. This event will be the perfect opportunity to learn more about these memorable homes.
Everyone is welcome at this free public event. Refreshments will be served after the talk.
Note: The Speaker Series event will be held on a special day this month. Be sure to mark your calendars for February 23rd — that’s the fourth Sunday in February 2020.
About the Author
Chris Lukather is a Cal Arts graduate whose books are guided by his passion for art and design, California subculture and obscure Los Angeles history. A fifth generation Californian, Chris has discovered tidbits of local history through his own family’s long-time residence, and has developed his passion into projects like this, memorializing iconic homes through the published record. His previous book on William Mellenthin’s San Fernando Valley “Birdhouse” ranch homes is available on Amazon. Chris is currently editor/publisher of The Writing Disorder, a quarterly literary journal established in 2010.
Event Details
Chris Lukather on Cinderella Homes
Sunday, February 23, 2020
Doors open at 2:00 p.m. Talk begins at 2:30 p.m. Refreshments will be served after the presentation.
Presented by the Costa Mesa Historical Society, 1870 Anaheim Ave, Costa Mesa, CA 92627.
The event is free and open to the public.
Due to construction in the area, please enter the parking lot from Anaheim Avenue.
Join us for one of our most popular events of the year: the 2020 installation dinner! This year, guest speaker Letty Rodella, President of the Society of Hispanic, Historical and Ancestral Research, will discuss an under-studied part of our nation’s history, “Spanish Patriots during the American Revolution.”
In the November 2019 Fairview Register, we look at Thanksgivings before the Pilgrims, Costa Mesa’s Civil War veterans, Captain Gary Barnhill on the Vietnam War’s “Rolling Thunder”, and more!
