1935 Map of Newport Beach

About this map

The Santa Ana River carves through the coastal plain of Orange County, dividing a landscape of citrus groves and expanding residential colonies during the mid-1930s. The coastline is defined by the developed peninsula of Newport Beach and the distinctive dredge-and-fill projects of Lido Isle and Balboa Island. Inland, the agricultural roots of the region are evident in the grid of small truck-farming settlements like Colonia Juarez, Wintersburg, and Smeltzer, many of which were centers for the local sugar beet industry as indicated by the proximity of Sugar. Transport networks of the Pacific Electric railway and the Pacific Coast Highway demonstrate the area's transition into a modern suburban and recreational hub. The map captures Costa Mesa and Santa Ana Heights atop the Mesa, overlooking the tidal marshes and channels of Newport Bay before the heavy post-war development of the California coast.