Newport Beach, Things from the past.

by Rod Jeheber on March 14, 2010

William Harold Jewelers

3116 Newport Blvd. Newport Beach, California

Today I drove down to Dana Point to view a site that was under construction but has been placed on hold now for some time as my client Trent Smith of Trenterprise Development was not happy with the floor plans. I took some pictures and checked the plans, scratched my head a bit and then jumped back into my 2003 911 Porsche and drove back to my office by way of Pacific Coast highway. It was a beautiful day today. In fact it is the first day of daylight saving time. This means we all, well most of us had to set our clocks forward one hour! Some people hate it, some don’t. I love the extra day light we will have now. That means I can stay later at the office to get my work done!

Any ways let’s stay focused on the subject. My office is located at 410 32nd Street here in Newport Beach. I am in the left hand turn lane at the corner of 32nd street and Newport Blvd. and I look up at the William Harold Jewelers building on the corner and Tim’s brother Greg had removed the old 1 x 12 wood siding / facade at the top of the building that was attached to the original stucco siding. There are two old signs of business’s from the past. I parked my car and went over and spoke to Greg. Tim had him removed the wood siding this morning before he started to repaint the building. I grabbed my camera and took the following pictures.

 

This is the view from the corner of Newport Blvd. and 32nd Street. You can see Greg off in the distance at the front of the building painting the now exposed walls of the William Harold Jewelers building. That is Ho Sum Bistro in the background. Everyone has eaten at Ho Sum Bistro right? They have some of the best darn food in town if you ask me!

This wall painted sign is very cool if you ask me. It has to be from the late 50’s of early 60’s as the jewelry shop as been at this same site since 1969. Greg the painter indicated that is Uncle used to work at the beauty shop when he was younger. Oh and yes that is me the photographer reflecting in the window sign. I need to get some tips of how to shoot a good picture from my darling daughter Chelsea Rae who graduated from University of Southern California in 2010 with a degree in fine arts !

 I wonder if NBC stood for Newport Beach City Realty? If anyone out there that has been in town longer then I have please let me know. I checked with my landlord Art Pease and he did not remember much about this building. He knows his father Harvey Pease bought my building in 1959. There were three shops down below as there are now, but the three office spaces above were I have occupied my space for twenty years this August 1st, was added on in the early sixties. Either way, since NBC realty is no longer here in town, may I suggest you visit my old friend Sharon Paxson’s web site as she is one the hardest working Realtors in town!

Art did remember that the Newport Club were AA meetings are held use to be a paint store many years ago. They were holding AA meetings there when I turned 21. Some of my friends decided to take me out for drinks now that I was legal. I remember seeing the sign above the door saying “Newport Club”. It sounded like a bar too me! We walked up the stairs and sure enough there was a bar on the far wall, and tables and chairs in the main room. My friends said “You get the first round” so I walked up to the bar and ordered four beers. The guy behind the bar just looked at me and said “We have AA meetings here son, this is not a bar.” I turned and looked at my friends who were all on the floor laughing at me! Talk about feeling like an idiot!

Any ways, I hope you enjoyed my little walk down memory lane. If there are any stories you would like to add, please let me know. If I can answer any questions about  how to obtain a building permit, or the process of building a new home or remodeling an existing home, please feel free to contact me at 949-723-4393 or email me.

{ 1 comment }

Sharon Paxson March 15, 2010 at 12:18 pm

Hi there – this is an excellent post. And it is too bad that they painted over those signs as they are definitely history here in Newport. Those pictures will forever be here on the web now, and thanks for sharing them!

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