Who was Mission Viejo targeting in 1966? (Anaheim, Orange: homes, living in, beach)

[CAVA1990]

Originally Posted by Fontucky

Jeppetto's Pizza at Jeronimo and Los Alisos was my favorite. This was back in the seventies and eighties though. Also during that period, Ham's Restaurant at Alicia and Jeronimo was the go-to place for breakfast.

Other than Mario's, I don't have many restaurant memories of MV back in the sixties.

Kind of a culinary no-mans land back then. You could eat at the bowling alley. There weren't any in Laguna Niguel then either that I can remember. Had to go to Laguna or (the original) Dana Point to eat out.

[Fontucky]

In the early seventies, there was an excellent sandwich shop next door to the Shell station at CVP and Niguel Rd. Then up at the little plaza at what is now CVP and Golden Lantern, there was a good pizza place.
That's about it.

[CAVA1990]

Originally Posted by Fontucky

what is now CVP and Golden Lantern

Doesn't compute.

[Mr. Fantastic]

Originally Posted by Charles

Back in the mid 1960s, Mission Viejo must have been "way out there" in terms of distance from jobs. I don't think there was a big Irvine job market and maybe Huntington Beach was one of the closest job centers??? If you look at a map, it looks mostly residential north and west of Mission Viejo.
How did developers expect people to buy "way out there"?

Thanks for the pics Charles.

As for 60's Mission Viejo, I read somewhere that demand for MV properties didn't gain traction until the 70s.

[CAVA1990]

Originally Posted by Mr. Fantastic

Thanks for the pics Charles.

As for 60's Mission Viejo, I read somewhere that demand for MV properties didn't gain traction until the 70s.

There was no there there in the 60s. Few roads or amenities. Most commercial stuff was in El Toro or down in San Juan Capistrano.

[Fontucky]

I seem to recall people camping out for a chance at putting a deposit down on yet to be built MV homes as early as '67 or '68.

[CAVA1990]

High growth in the 70s:

1970 11,933 —
1980 50,666 324.6%
1990 72,820 43.7%
2000 93,102 27.9%

By 1980 had half its population of today's 100,000.

[Curmudgeon]

Too funny! I know there was a thread like this sometime back but this one is equally as entertaining.

During 1964 and '65 I worked summers and weekends as a ranch hand/cowboy on Rancho Mission Viejo which was the original Spanish land grant and encompassed much of what is now houses. Back then it was all grazing land and we ran cattle. Coast Highway south of Corona Del Mar was pretty barren until you hit Laguna and the only thing in between was a date shake stand.

In the 50s and early 60s, Newport Beach and environs was filled with young families raising children and there was no real snob value. Most men were post-war veterans or still in the military and most of the wives were housewives who played tennis and met their friends for bridge on the beach while we children swam, sailed, boated, etc. Block parties and round-robin dinners were the norm and it didn't matter if you were a poorly paid Marine officer or an executive in the newly booming aerospace industry (where most of the Marines ended up after retiring, my father included) in Long Beach or Culver City.

When I returned to CA from back east in 1978 I could hardly believe the growth. The county of orange orchards and strawberry fields had become asphalt and land I used to round-up cattle on was filled with that era's version of McMansions and cement ponds. I had to move inland to be able to afford a house.

[Charles]

Originally Posted by Curmudgeon

In the 50s and early 60s, Newport Beach and environs was filled with young families raising children and there was no real snob value. Most men were post-war veterans or still in the military and most of the wives were housewives who played tennis and met their friends for bridge on the beach while we children swam, sailed, boated, etc.

"Mom, One of these days I plan on living in Missouri. This state is going down the tubes - mark my words."



Newport Beach Bay Shores, 1956

[CAVA1990]

Originally Posted by Curmudgeon

Too funny! I know there was a thread like this sometime back but this one is equally as entertaining.

During 1964 and '65 I worked summers and weekends as a ranch hand/cowboy on Rancho Mission Viejo which was the original Spanish land grant and encompassed much of what is now houses. Back then it was all grazing land and we ran cattle. Coast Highway south of Corona Del Mar was pretty barren until you hit Laguna and the only thing in between was a date shake stand.

In the 50s and early 60s, Newport Beach and environs was filled with young families raising children and there was no real snob value. Most men were post-war veterans or still in the military and most of the wives were housewives who played tennis and met their friends for bridge on the beach while we children swam, sailed, boated, etc. Block parties and round-robin dinners were the norm and it didn't matter if you were a poorly paid Marine officer or an executive in the newly booming aerospace industry (where most of the Marines ended up after retiring, my father included) in Long Beach or Culver City.

When I returned to CA from back east in 1978 I could hardly believe the growth. The county of orange orchards and strawberry fields had become asphalt and land I used to round-up cattle on was filled with that era's version of McMansions and cement ponds. I had to move inland to be able to afford a house.

I remember that date shake stand. When I was a kid a beautiful and very popular local girl from the area was hit by a car and killed crossing PCH to get to it.

You're right about the lack of snob factor in NB. As long as you weren't a jerk it really didn't matter what you did for a living as concerned your status. Even boat mechanics were at the top of the food chain. Just regular folks had summer houses on places like Balboa Island and/or boats around the harbor. It was just an alternative lifestyle not associated with being rich.