Annual Meeting of Members April 12, 2008 The Redondo Beach Historical Society is holding its Annual Meeting on Saturday, April 12 at 10:00 a.m. at the Morrell House Living History Museum, 298 Flagler Lane. In addition, the Society will be available to enroll new members, as well as to provide tours of the Morrell House. Refreshments will be available. The Morrell House will be open on April 12 from 10:00 a.m. until 4:00 p.m. for the meeting and tours. The Queen Anne museum, at 302 Flagler Lane, will also be open from noon until 4:00, so we encourage everyone to come and enjoy a day of Redondo Beach history! Redlined Proposed Bylaw Changes Approved by the Board of Directors at its January 10, 2007 Board Meeting Get the full story ... There’s a Lot That’s New at RBHS By Deborah Jackson The Historical Society wraps up 2007 with a holiday party and some new ways to enjoy the Morrell House and learn more about Redondo History. Get the full story ... Vincent Park, The Oldest Park in Redondo Beach By Kathy McLeod In Redondo Beach, lies a small, uniquely-designed park that is steeped in our city’s rich history. The park’s “one-of-a-kind design” eventually shaped the surrounding streets and blocks of the city and is a beautiful example of historic park design. Get the full story ... Historic Meeting Settles Morrell House Question By Deborah Jackson After its grand opening almost a year ago, and after much discussion among City officials and the public, it looks like the Morrell House will be open to the public in the very near future. Get the full story ... Old Sign Looking For a Home By Dennis Sullivan In December 2005 a much debated Redondo Beach controversy came to an end when the city removed the historic Millie Riera restaurant sign from the corner of PCH and Avenue I. Its gone and so is the fight to save it. The city has stored it for over a year and is ready to let it go to wherever old signs go. Get the full story ... San Pedro Road Trip By John Reilly Have you ever felt you needed to get away from it all but didn’t have more than a day to spare? Recently, a friend and I wanted to get away, if only for an afternoon. We pointed the car south in search of something interesting and out of the ordinary. We found it in a place not too far away, San Pedro. Get the full story ... The Morrell House Has A Great Day By Dennis Sullivan On a glorious, sunny, Saturday afternoon proud city leaders joined a delighted group of church volunteers, community organizations and citizens in a ribbon cutting that was years in the coming, the dedication of the completed Morrell House restoration. The Morrell House stood magnificently behind several speakers at the unveiling of this carefully restored historic home. Get the full story ... The Morrell House Restoration was a Community Effort By Bob Hayes If you have had the chance to drive by the Morrell House in the last couple of months, you may have noticed that the fence is down and the outside is looking pretty good. Well, we are happy to report that the inside is finally completed also. Get the full story ... This Old House Was A Labor of Love By John Reilly “Look at those stairs. Yeah, I sanded them. How about the stain on that floor panel? Nice work, huh?” Sure, it sounds silly, but helping revive this local treasure to its former glory, even in small ways, provided a sense of pride to all of the many volunteers who toiled in the Morrell House for seemingly endless hours during the past several years. Get the full story ... TIKE KARAVAS: At The Museum By John Reilly Constantine “Tike” Karavas welcomes visitors to the Redondo Beach Historical Museum, gives tours on request, and shares his deep knowledge of local history, often adding a bit of fun sports trivia. Those who visit the Museum leave with a new-found appreciation of the beautiful and historic seaside town of Redondo Beach. Get the full story ... How Do We Renovate Those Plaster Walls? By Dennis Sullivan During our last Historical Society board meeting, we had a lively debate about the best way to renovate the interior walls of the Morrell House. To “do it right”, with new plaster according to standard preservation guidelines, will be costly, while the dry walling approach will save money, but, according to more scrupulous renovators, would remove an historic element of the old house. Get the full story ... Bungalow Courts: Designed For California Living By Dennis Sullivan Around 1909, a new concept in temporary dwellings started an architectural style that continues to this day, the bungalow court. The new style of these courts ranged from Spanish Colonial Revival to Swiss Chalet. They all shared the basic design of cottages arranged around a courtyard. Builders found that they could keep the California garden setting so popular with bungalow homebuilders while reducing land costs by using the court plan. Get the full story ... Sweetser Home Owner Battles City Over Gardens One of Redondo’s most valuable historic assets, the Sweetser house at the corner of Beryl and PCH, has been in the news quite a bit recently. The new owner wants to make some changes to the landscape, for which he submitted plans to the Preservation Commission and appealed their decision to the City Council. Read comments from the homeowner, a city planner and a former preservation commissioner. Get the full story ... Red Cars: All That’s Old Is New Again By Wayne Knutson It is the rare Redondoan indeed who, trapped in a seemingly endless “Sigalert” traffic jam on the freeway, has not longed for an alternative to these bumper-to-bumper automotive nightmares. If he or she is a Southern Californian of longstanding, fifty-years-old at a minimum, their thoughts may well turn to the legendary “Red Cars” of the Pacific Electric Railway. These electrified interurbans dominated local transportation for nearly half a century, and many can wax lyrical about the low cost, speed; fifty minutes from Redondo to downtown Los Angeles; and, perhaps most amazingly, the geographic reach of these trains. From the Redondo train station, located where the Redondo Beach Elks Club now stands, one could travel as far east as Redlands, north to the San Fernando Valley or south to Newport Beach and never have to turn a wheel, stomp a break or inhale the exhaust fumes of an idling diesel. Get the full story ... Preservation Gets a Boost, Landmark Owners Get a Break By Dennis Sullivan The Mills Act legislation allows cities and counties to contract with landmark property owners as an incentive toward historical preservation and, when necessary, to restore and rehabilitate their property to conform to the rules and regulations of various state and federal agencies. Get the full story ... Redondo Beach Teams Up with the State, County and Homeowners to Save Landmarks and Taxes Reducing property taxes for any property owner in Redondo Beach seems at odds with the normal revenue raising mission of city goverment. But, that is just what the city has done by offering the Mills Act Tax Plan to the city’s landmark property owners. The city’s Planning Department runs the program and recently Teresa Gianos, associate planner, answered some questions for our newsletter. Get the full story ... Where Did The “Old Heart” of Redondo Beach Go? By Wayne Knutson Skirmishes over the creation of a new commercial and residential hub for Redondo Beach--the "Heart of the City" plan--filled local newspapers during 2002, but this battle was by no means unique in the history of the city. Some 38 years previous, the city council and a group of concerned citizens waged an eerily similar contest over a proposal for "urban renewal," and it was the council's victory, and the eventual destruction of the old downtown, that helped set the stage for the most recent political struggle. Get the full story ... Step in the Right Direction - Residential Design Guidelines by Monica Litjen Moore A series of six community and neighborhood workshops were held regarding the proposed residential design guidelines and related zoning amendments. The comments from these workshops were considered by the City's consultant teams in developing initial and revised drafts of the proposed Residential Design Guidelines. The design guidelines and zoning amendments are intended to ensure that new residential structures and additions to existing residential structures are compatible with the surrounding neighborhood. Get the full story ... A Message From the RBHS President: Do you ever ask yourself... “What's the point?” by Bob Hayes Almost everybody reading this newsletter lives, or has lived, in the Los Angeles area and is aware that local culture does not always value historically significant architecture. The people of Los Angeles are more likely to celebrate its buildings that push the boundaries of modern design and grandeur. Unfortunately, it is often past treasures that are razed to make way for these new marvels. Get the full story ... Researching Your Home's Past By Dennis Sullivan When was your house built? When did the garage get added? Who was the first owner? You're sure it's a bungalow but is it California or Craftsman? Being the owner of an historic home presents a great opportunity to dig into the past. Most of us buy our historic home without any detail knowledge of its history. At some point, we become curious and start looking for information that will build a better understanding of our house and its part in Redondo Beach's past. Get the full story ... Fire Insurance Maps Provide City Snapshots Fire insurance maps are detailed city plans, usually at scales of 50 or 100 feet to an inch. They show individual building "footprints," complete with construction details. Get the full story ... Award Winning Homes We congratulate three Redondo Beach Historical Society members for their recent 2002 Beautification Awards from the Beautification Committee of the Redondo Beach Round Table. Take a look at these great award winning homes ... The Colorful Story of Malibu Tile By Ellan Allen Malibu Potteries was just one of several local tile companies that put California on the map in the 1920s. Redondo Beach students examined this rich art through a unique educational program. Get the full story ... 2002 Home Tour Combines History and Good Times By Jianulla Zimmerman Our Historical and Architectural Home Tour at the beginning of June was a wonderful example of what can happen when people come together to share their enthusiasm for preserving our older homes and sharing information about the history of our community. Get the full story ... The Morrell House Shows Off For The Home Tour By Randy Earp We decided to put the Morrell House on the tour so everyone could get a rare look at the house during the renovation phase. A lot has been accomplished and much more needs to be done. This update will fill you in on our progress. Get the full story ...