Food for Thought, Part I: Rossmoor Center

This is the first in a series of posts about all the places to eat around here over the years.     The development of the Rossmoor Shopping center is an interesting story, but too long to deal with here, so look here instead.        The original, very ambitious plans for the Rossmoor Center were … Read more

The Rossmoor Center annexation … Was it really “theft?”

Probably no incident irritates Rossmoor residents more than the annexation of the Rossmoor Shopping Center by the City of Seal Beach.   “If we only had those sales tax dollars… if we only had those property tax dollars…” are familiar refrains from Rossmoor old-timers and newcomers. alike. Probably most irritating for the old-timers was the suddenness … Read more

Seal Beach is a town of “firsts”

With the Santa Ana and Irvine-centric bias (not to mention the Disneyland fanboy-ism) of the mainstream Orange County Historical Establishment, accomplishments in our little corner of the word often gets overlooked, especially when it comes to being included in lists of Orange County “firsts.”  So we felt compelled to attempt to set the record straight.  … Read more

Stuff Filmed/Taped Around Here (Los Al, Rossmoor, SB, East LB and Cypress too)

NOTE:  Okay, this will be a work in progress, but we’ve got to start somewhere.  If you have information to add, please do. Since we are right on the edge of but still within Hollywood’s Thirty-Mile Zone (the TMZ, hence the name of the TV news show) , the Seal Beach-Los Alamitos-Rossmoor area sees a … Read more

New books on Los Al-Rossmoor and Seal Beach History

Here are two books that cover the local history of two communities. SEAL BEACH:  A BRIEF HISTORY by Larry Strawther — History Press $17.99 The wooden pier, tree-lined Main Street and ocean views, coupled with a prosperous and happy community, led Forbes magazine to name Seal Beach one of the five friendliest towns in America.  … Read more

1878 – Early Anaheim Landing – as seen by a Future Nobel Prize-winning author

As we have pointed out in other barely read missives, Anaheim Landing is celebrating its 150th anniversary this year — making it (and thus Seal Beach) Orange County’s second oldest community — behind only the Mother Colony herself, Anaheim. There are actually plenty of descriptions about the Landing’s early days — most are newspaper articles, … Read more