Clock with Local History

Tucked in a sunny corner of the Newport Beach Central Library sits

a time machine of sorts. Step into it and settle back as time rewinds

to earlier eras, before orange groves and lima bean fields gave way

to glitzy malls and upscale neighborhoods.

Developed to preserve the look and feel of Newport past, the Local

History collection includes historical memoirs and scholarly

bibliographies. There’s human interest as well, in autobiographies,

photography collections and numerous yearbooks from local high

schools and colleges, some dating back to the 1930s. Also apt to

kindle nostalgia are business directories and newspapers -- the

latter on microfilm reaching back to 1940.

The most colorful circulating volumes include Judge Robert

Gardner’s “Bawdy Balboa,” an irreverent look at what a longtime

Newport Beach resident deems Orange County’s original sin city. Learn

about what was, for Judge Gardner, “a mecca of chocolate ice cream,

bootleg whiskey, books, brothels and gambling” in the 1920s and ‘30s

in his lively account.

The same era is sandwiched into “The Picture History of Balboa

Island, 1906--1981,” by Gail Smith and William Allen. Dedicated to

“everyone for whom a picture of the Bridge, the Ferry, Bay Front or

Pavilion will recapture a time ... to be savored again,” this

compilation of annotated photographs revisits a 1922 Bathing Beauty

Contest, local landmarks in earlier incarnations and island fun

during Easter Week at Balboa.

Memories of weekends at a local beach house blend with recipes

gathered from three generations of cooks in “Sun, Sand and Sausage

Pie.” Along with formulas for simple culinary pleasures, find period

photographs of seashore living in the 1930s and ‘40s in Sally

Holbrook’s artfully decorated cookbook.

More ambitious chefs may appreciate “The Best of Newport,”

featuring recipes from such favorites as The Arches, Five Crowns,

Tutto Mare and El Torito Grill. If you’re mourning the demise of

Dillman’s, John Dominis or Le Biarritz, recreate dishes sampled in

these long-gone establishments with recipes edited by Ron Garrison,

Sue Jeffries and Ken Watts.

If you still need proof that local sands and seas offer a little

bit of paradise, browse through Charles Orton’s “The Colorful Coast.”

From shipping activities that established McFadden’s Wharf to

building of the Pavilion and Fashion Island, this lively history

captures the charm of a unique seaside city.

Circulating titles in the Local History collection are listed on a

bookmark available at all Newport Beach Public Libraries. Other

volumes, available for browsing in the Central Library, are

referenced in “From Sandbar to Sailboats: A Newport Beach Local

History Bibliography.”

* “Check it Out” is written by the staff of the Newport Beach

Public Library. This week’s column is by Melissa Adams, in

collaboration with Claudia Peterman. All titles may be reserved from

home or office computers by accessing the catalog at

www.newportbeachlibrary.org.