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Padve (Martha) Papers on the Crystal Cove Historic District
MS.R.091
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Contributing Institution:
Special Collections and Archives, University of California, Irvine Libraries
Title: Martha Padve papers on the Crystal Cove Historic District
Identifier/Call Number: MS.R.091
Physical Description:
1.4 Linear Feet
(2 boxes)
Date (inclusive): 1940-2003
Date (bulk): 1978-1983
Abstract: This collection comprises the personal papers of Martha Padve, a former resident of Crystal Cove, California and member of
the Crystal Cove Residents' Association Executive Committee. The collection includes correspondence, reports and proposals,
leases, financial records, newsletters, memoranda, clippings, photographs, maps, questionnaires, and other materials related
to Crystal Cove. The collection also includes records from the Crystal Cove Residents' Association and reflects Padve's involvement
in the Association's efforts to build a case to add Crystal Cove to the National Register of Historic Places and its legal
struggles with the State of California over tenancy of the Crystal Cove cottages. Of particular interest are the questionnaires
Padve circulated that describe the residents of Crystal Cove and the leaseholder history of many of the cottages.
Language of Material:
English
.
The collection is open for research.
Property rights reside with the University of California. Literary rights are retained by the creators of the records and
their heirs. For permissions to reproduce or to publish, please contact the Head of Special Collections and Archives.
Martha Padve papers on the Crystal Cove Historic District. MS-R091. Special Collections and Archives, The UC Irvine Libraries,
Irvine, California. Date accessed.
For the benefit of current and future researchers, please cite any additional information about sources consulted in this
collection, including permanent URLs, item or folder descriptions, and box/folder locations.
Gift of Martha Padve, 2002-2004.
Processed by Audrey Pearson, 2007.
Martha Padve was a weekend resident of Crystal Cove, California from 1957 until the 1990s and a longtime activist for preserving
its 46 rustic cottages and the surrounding natural environment. Born on February 22, 1917 in Scobey, Montana as Martha Bertonneau,
she later moved to Pasadena, California and married Jacob (Jack) Padve. Together they bought the lease for Crystal Cove cottage
#16 in 1957 from Mrs. Helen Pharaoh following the death of Mr. Gerald Pharaoh. Padve retained sole ownership of the lease
after her divorce in November 1980.
Padve was a member of the executive council of the Crystal Cove Residents' Association. Worried that the Irvine Company would
sell the Cove to a developer who would destroy the cottages and natural ecology of the surrounding area, Padve successfully
pursued measures to add Crystal Cove to the National Register of Historic Places. She was guided in these efforts by the experience
she gained as chair of the Pasadena Planning Commission from 1973 to 1981. Together with another member of the Crystal Cove
Residents' Association, Christine Shirley, Padve gathered information about the local history and leaseholder history of the
cottages from the residents. Padve also briefly pursued an unrealized plan with Chancellor Daniel Aldrich of the University
of California, Irvine, to have UCI purchase Crystal Cove for use as a biological study center and faculty housing. After the
Irvine Company sold Crystal Cove to the State of California in 1979, Padve remained involved in the Crystal Cove Residents'
Association as it filed lawsuits against the State to allow residents to remain in the cottages. The Association won several
lease extensions for its residents, but the State finally evicted all residents in 2001.
Crystal Cove lies on the Pacific Coast between the Southern California cities of Newport Beach and Laguna Beach. The area
was purchased by James Irvine I in 1864 and retained by the Irvine Company until 1979. Early in the twentieth century, squatters
began to live in the area, first erecting tents, then one-room cottages. More rooms were added to these structures as needed
over time, often assembled from driftwood gathered along the beach. The cottages are one of the only remaining examples of
California vernacular beach architecture, otherwise known as architecture without architects.
Beginning in the 1920s, silent film productions used Crystal Cove as a set for movies set in the South Seas because, during
this era, all of the cottages had palm-thatched roofs. Such movies included
Treasure Island (1920),
Storm Tossed (1921),
Sadie Thompson (1928),
Half a Bride (1928),
White Shadows in the South Seas (1928), and, much later,
Beaches (1988). Road traffic increased with the construction of Pacific Coast Highway in 1926, and Crystal Cove became easily accessible
to the public. In the late 1930s the Irvine Company informed cottage owners that they must either move their cottages or agree
to lease the property from the company. Many owners chose to remain.
The last of the cottages was built in the late 1940s. The exteriors of the structures have remained nearly unchanged since
the 1950s, although many interiors have been remodeled. Between 2001 and 2006, the State of California restored 22 of the
46 cottages to their vintage 1935-1955 interior and exterior condition. Additional restoration will occur as funds are raised.
Beginning in 2001, the Crystal Cove Alliance, a non-profit organization formed in 1999 to preserve and protect the Crystal
Cove State Historic District, became the concessionaire for the district.
| 1954 | Martha Bertonneau married Jack Padve. |
| 1957 | Martha and Jack Padve purchased lease to Cottage 16 from Helen Pharaoh. |
| 1979 June 16 | Crystal Cove Historic District placed on National Register of Historic Places. |
| 1979 December | State of California purchased 1,898 acres of Crystal Cove State Park from the Irvine Company for $32,600,000. |
| 1981-1983 | Development and Public Use Plan |
| 1982 April 14 | Crystal Cove residents were given notice to vacate by 1982 July 31. |
| 1983 | Crystal Cove lease period was extended by ten years. |
| 1991-1994 | Development and Public Use Plan |
| 1993-1995 | Tenant leases were extended two years. |
| 1994-2001 | Development and Public Use Plan |
| 1995 December 29 | Crystal Cove Residents' Association filed lawsuit against the State of California, Parks and Recreation to prevent eviction. |
| 1996 | Crystal Cove Preservation Partners was selected concessionaire of the Historic District. |
| 1996-2001 | Tenant leases were extended month-to-month. |
| 1999 | Crystal Cove Alliance formed to resist the State of California's plans to build a luxury hotel and modify the Crystal Cove cottages. |
| 2001 | Crystal Cove Preservation Partners' contract was cancelled. |
| 2001 February 9 | The California Department of Parks and Recreation issued 30-day eviction notice to residents. Residents filed lawsuit claiming non-compliance of agreement. |
| 2001 July 8 | Crystal Cove residents vacated their properties. |
| 2001-2006 | Plan for Public Use and Preservation |
| 2006 June | Crystal Cove cottages were made available for public use. |
Collection Scope and Content Summary
This collection comprises the personal papers of Martha Padve, a former resident of Crystal Cove, California and member of
the Crystal Cove Residents' Association Executive Committee. The collection includes correspondence, reports and proposals,
leases, financial records, newsletters, memoranda, clippings, photographs, maps, questionnaires, and other materials related
to Crystal Cove. The collection also includes records from the Crystal Cove Residents' Association and reflects Padve's involvement
in the Association's efforts to build a case to add Crystal Cove to the National Register of Historic Places and its legal
struggles with the State of California over tenancy of the Crystal Cove cottages. Of particular interest are the questionnaires
Padve circulated that describe the residents of Crystal Cove and the leaseholder history of many of the cottages.
This collection is arranged in alphabetical order by type of material.
The following publication was removed from this collection and integrated into the Special Collections and Archives' holdings:
- Coaster Magazine 2, no. 15 (June 19, 1993).
Related papers of Martha Padve's involvement with the Pasadena Art Museum and the Southern California art community can be
found in the following collection: Martha Padve Papers (Collection 1584). Department of Special Collections, Charles E. Young
Research Library, University of California, Los Angeles.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Historic buildings -- California -- Crystal Cove State Park.
Maps -- California -- Crystal Cove
Photographic prints -- California -- Orange County -- 20th century.
Cottages -- California -- Crystal Cove State Park.
Legal documents -- 20th century.