Photo Gallery - Costa Mesa Historical Society

(949) 631-5918 Thursday - Friday 10am - 3pm

The photos on this page are representative of periods in Costa Mesa’s history from 1909 to the 1970’s. Please contact us for further information on these gallery photos or on any of the more than 27,000 photos in our collection.

Paulo Drive-In Theater, 1976 – The Paulo Drive-In, located at the corner of Newport Blvd and Paularino St, was dismantled to make way for housing.

Boys Club, ca. 1960s – The Boys Club, on the corner of Center St and Anaheim Ave was begun in 1941 and added to in stages.

South Coast Plaza, 1966 – When South Coast Plaza was being built in 1966, it was still surrounded by lima bean fields.

Corner of Harbor Blvd & 19th St, ca. mid-1960s – At this service station, regular gasoline sold for 32.9 cents/gal.

Costa Mesa’s First City Hall, ca. 1953 – The City incorporated in June 1953. The first City Hall, a former auto parts store, was located at 111 E 20th St.

Cadets on Parade Grounds, ca. 1943 – Sundays at the SAAAB meant that squadrons of cadets competed in marching on the parade grounds.

SAAAB Classroom Instruction, ca. 1942 – The base was used for classification and pre-flight training of pilots, navigators and bombardiers.

Santa Ana Army Air Base, ca. 1942 – Construction of the SAAAB began in October 1941 and was intensified after Pearl Harbor. Many cadets were housed in tents during those early days.

Scarecrow Carnival, 1939 – This popular carnival was first held in 1938 but ended in 1941 with the USA’s entry into WW2.

Flood along Santa Ana River, 1938 – The Flood of 1938 caused widespread damage in Orange County. This photo looks east along Adams Ave, with the Diego Sepulveda Adobe on hill to left.

Fairview Schoolhouse, 1911 – The school was located on what is now the grounds of Orange Coast College.

Damaged storefronts, 1933 – This strip along Newport Blvd was damaged during the March 10, 1933 earthquake.

Ozment’s General Store & Post Office, 1909 – The store was located at present day Newport Blvd and 18th St East.

×