Guide to the East Irvine Historic Resources Documentation Photographs
MS.R.066
Processed by Alexis Schwarz; machine-readable finding aid created by Michael C.
Conkin
Special Collections and Archives, University of California, Irvine
Libraries
(cc) 1998
The UCI Libraries
P.O. Box 19557
University of California, Irvine
Irvine 92623-9557
spcoll@uci.edu
Contributing Institution:
Special Collections and Archives, University of California, Irvine
Libraries
Title: East Irvine historic resources documentation photographs
Creator:
Sanchez Talarico Associates
Identifier/Call Number: MS.R.066
Physical Description:
0.8 Linear Feet
(2 boxes)
Date (inclusive): 1988
Abstract: This collection of 230 photographs and
106 associated negatives documents buildings in East Irvine, California that were built at
the turn of the twentieth century. The collection was compiled by Sanchez Talarico
Association, Inc. in circa 1988 in order to document the site prior to demolition of some of
the buildings. The area was the hub of activity on the Irvine Ranch, but with the growth of
a planned community to the southwest beginning in the 1970's, East Irvine is now important
primarily as an historical site. Most photographs depict the Irvine Bean Growers Association
Building, Irvine Village General Store and service station, the Irvine Garage and blacksmith
shops. Other photographs illustrate houses built in the early 1900s which may have been used
by Irvine Ranch workers and tenants.
Language of Material:
English .
Access
Collection is open for research.
Publication Rights
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.
Preferred Citation
East Irvine Historic Resources Documentation Photographs. MS-R 66. Special Collections and
Archives, The UCI 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.
Acquisition Information
Gift of the City of Irvine in 1988.
Processing History
Processed by Alexis Schwarz and Laura Clark Brown in 1998.
History
Irvine is a planned city located in Orange County, California, near the Pacific coast. It
shares its borders with Newport Beach, Costa Mesa, Santa Ana, Tustin, Aliso Viejo and Laguna
Beach. From the 1880s to the 1960s, Irvine was centered around what was once the Irvine
Ranch hub. In 1964 the first General Plan of the City of Irvine was completed. In 1965 the
former town center became known as East Irvine, and the planned community to the southwest,
the present-day city of Irvine, began to take shape. The City of Irvine was incorporated on
December 28, 1971. The following historical overview emphasizes the origins of the Irvine
Ranch and the surrounding village.
James Henry Irvine inherited the land stretching from what is now Red Hill to Newport Beach
and down to Laguna Beach from his father in 1892, and he established the Irvine Company in
1894. His father Henry Irvine and partners had purchased the land from Don José Andres
Sepulveda, who owned the land when it was Rancho San Joaquin. On the Irvine Ranch, James
Irvine attempted to raise raisin grapes, olives and walnuts, but the most productive crops
were barley and beans. In addition, the ranch raised cattle and not sheep as Sepulveda
had.
In 1889, a silo was constructed at the center of Irvine Ranch to house sacks of grains and
legumes which by 1895 had grown to more that a million sacks a year. As production
increased, so did the work force. A school and post office became a necessity, yet all
requests for a post office were denied, as there was already one named "Irvine" in central
California. James Irvine substituted "Irvine" with "Myford" (the name of his young son), and
on May 20, 1889, a post office opened in the village. Soon after, Kate Munger built a
two-story county store that carried everything from canned goods to gasoline and cigarettes.
In 1914, the Myford intersection of El Camino Real and Laguna Road was paved, and a gas
station and blacksmith shop became part of the village.
A distinct community grew around the ranch silos and warehouses near and on what is now
Sand Canyon Avenue. On March 17, 1914, the post office in central California changed its
title, and the name "Irvine" was transferred to the Myford post office. The village then
came to be known as Irvine.
The village's importance diminished through the decades. In 1959, the Irvine Company
dedicated a tract of land for a state university, and the University of California, Irvine
was constructed. City planners hired by the Irvine Company envisioned a city of 50,000
people built around the new university. To the southwest of the old Irvine town, a city
began to develop. In 1965 the village changed its name from Irvine to East Irvine.
In 1984, the City of Irvine proposed a redevelopment project for East Irvine. Several
historic buildings and structures were moved or demolished to make room for a commercial
complex. The environmental impact report which preceded the project indicated the adverse
impact that development would have on the historic site and required the city to produce a
historical documentation project. The City of Irvine hired the consulting company Sanchez
Talarico and Associates of Newport Beach, California to compile photographs of the buildings
and to record the cultural and architectural development of the East Irvine site; this
collection of photographs and the report are the result of that project.
Collection Scope and Content Summary
This collection of 230 photographs and 106 associated negatives documents buildings in East
Irvine, California that were built at the turn of the twentieth century. The collection was
compiled by Sanchez Talarico Association, Inc. in circa 1988 in order to document the site
prior to demolition of some of the buildings. The area was the hub of activity on the Irvine
Ranch, but with the growth of a planned community to the southwest beginning in the 1970's,
East Irvine is now important primarily as an historical site. Most photographs depict the
Irvine Bean Growers Association Building, Irvine Village General Store and service station,
the Irvine Garage and blacksmith shops. Other photographs illustrate houses built in the
early 1900s which may have been used by Irvine Ranch workers and tenants.
Sanchez Talarico Association issued a report which includes an introduction, an index to
the photographs, and photocopies of each of the photographs.
Each photograph was assigned a unique number and letter identification, and the photographs
remain in the original order established by this numbering scheme. The photographs are
arranged in thematic groups, such as interior shots of the Irvine Bean Growers Association
Building.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Historic buildings -- California -- Irvine -- Photographs.
Regional planning -- California -- Irvine -- Photographs.
Architectural photographs -- California -- Orange
County.
Negatives -- California -- Orange County.
Photographic prints -- California -- Orange County.
Land use -- California -- Irvine -- Photographs.
City planning -- California -- Irvine -- Photographs.
box 1, folder 3-6
Photocopies of photographs
box 1, folder 7
General Views (EI-1 through EI-9)
box 1, folder 8
Exterior (EI-A-1 through EI-A-9)
box 1, folder 9
Interior (EI-A-10 through EI-A-20)
box 1, folder 10
Exterior (EI-B-1 through EI-B-13)
box 1, folder 11
Interior (EI-B-14 through EI-B-28)
box 1, folder 12-15, box 2, folder 1-7
Irvine Bean and Grain Growers Association Building
box 1, folder 12-13
Exterior (EI-C-1 through EI-C-42)
box 1, folder 14-15
Interior (EI-C-43 through EI-C-79)
box 2, folder 1
Weighing station (EI-CA-1 through EI-CA-4)
box 2, folder 2
Butler building (EI-CB-1 through EI-CB-4)
box 2, folder 3
Corrugated metal structure (EI-CC-1 through EI-CC-5)
box 2, folder 5
Shed (EI-CE-1 through EI-CE-4)
box 2, folder 6
Wooden shed (EI-CF-1 through EI-CF-5)
box 2, folder 7
Associated equipment (EI-CG-1 through EI-CI-1)
box 2, folder 8
Exterior (EI-D-1 through EI-D-5)
box 2, folder 9
Interior (EI-D-6 through EI-D-15)
box 2, folder 10
Exterior (EI-E-1 through EI-E-6)
box 2, folder 11
Interior (EI-E-7 through EI-E-12)
box 2, folder 12
Exterior (EI-F-1 through EI-F-5)
box 2, folder 13
Interior (EI-F-6 through EI-F-12)
box 2, folder 14
Exterior (EI-G-1 through EI-G-5)
box 2, folder 15
Interior (EI-G-6 through EI-G-14)
box 2, folder 16
Exterior (EI-H-1 through EI-H-3)
box 2, folder 17
Interior (EI-H-4 through EI-H-8)
box 2, folder 18
Exterior (EI-I-1 through EI-I-2)
box 2, folder 19
Interior (EI-I-3 through EI-I-8)
box 3
Negatives
Conditions Governing Access note
Use of negatives is restricted to Special Collections and Archives staff.
