By Jim Tortolano If you think of Anaheim today, it’s likely that the images come to mind might be Mickey Mouse or the Angels baseball team. But almost a century ago, it […]
Rise and fall of the KKK in Anaheim
Life and death of Japanese Deer Park
By Jim Tortolano Orange County is Ground Zero of themed amusement parks. The first one in the nation, arguably, was Knott’s Berry Farm in Buena Park. The first major park was Anaheim’s […]
“Legally Blonde” met legally historic
By Pete Zarustica Walking into the old Orange County Courthouse in downtown Santa Ana is more than a trip up a flight of concrete steps; it’s a journey back in time. Many […]
Ladies and gents, your Long Beach Angels!
By Jim Tortolano The slower pace of summer often gives way to reflection. One of my favorite mental pastimes is the premise of “What If?” In the context of this website, some […]
A citrus ‘war’ in the OC
By Jim Tortolano The County of Orange was not named after the golden fruit, but in the time before the great post-war boom, it might as well have been. Oranges, along with […]
Dark shadows at the Greenbrier Inn
By Jim Tortolano If you drive up Harbor Boulevard in Garden Grove you’ll see a skyline rising of hotels, with more on the way. It’s the newly-named Grove District of the Anaheim […]
Fatty’s big, tragic career
By Jim Tortolano Orange County has produced its share of movie stars and celebrities, ranging from Diane Keaton to Kevin Costner, but none have had the impact and tragic life of our […]
Oil and encyclopedias
By Jim Tortolano Many people in the frigid winter regions of the Northeast dream about life on the sunny California shores. It’s been that way for over a century, and that’s the […]
Packing House packs history
Second in a series on historically significant places in Orange County. By Jim Tortolano Few cities in Orange County did as thorough as job of destroying their downtowns as Anaheim did in […]
OC’s three famous churches
By Pete Zarustica Over the years, Orange County has been marked by much more than amusement parks, beaches and housing tracts. Houses of worship have played a key role in the history […]
