A LOOK BACK -- Jerry Person

Anyone searching for the location of the old Huntington Beach Civic

Center at 5th Street and Orange Avenue will be out of luck.

Today, that part of 5th Street is no more, and the land on which the

center was built is now part of the Town Square housing project that

Frank Mola developed in the early 1980s.

But before that, the old City Hall stood proudly, with the city jail

in the basement. Next to this building and fronting 6th Street was the

municipal auditorium or, as most older residents referred to it, Memorial

Hall. This week we’ll turn back the clock for a look at the hall’s first

days.

In October 1930, plans were afoot to enlarge the old single-story city

auditorium, add a second story and an addition to the building.

In this new second story, the American Legion would have its

headquarters and hold its meetings. With the American Legion’s help, the

project moved forward.

This new edifice would be known as Memorial Hall as a tribute to those

who served in World War I. The structure would embrace many of the

architectural elements of the new Art Deco style.

The hall was dedicated July 18, 1931, amid the splendor and praise

bestowed on it by civic leaders and Huntington Beach residents alike.

More than 1,000 people witnessed the ceremony as then-City Atty. Lew

Blogett escorted then-Huntington Beach Mayor Elson Conrad and many of the

distinguished guests to the new hall’s stage.

Conrad presented Judge Charles Patton and members of the American

Legion a long-term lease for the second floor for its new headquarters on

behalf of the people of Huntington Beach.

Watching on stage were Orange County Supervisor John Mitchell, Orange

County Sheriff Logan Jackson, County Clerk Joe Backs and Huntington Beach

Councilmen Bayard Butcher, Ed Huston, Ed Stevens and Chris King.

Also on hand were City Clerk Charles Furr, City Treasurer Harvey

Young, Police Chief Stewart and Fire Chief Jack Sargent.

During the ceremony, several members of the American Legion were

present, including some from its women’s auxiliary.

Willis Osborn, president of the Huntington Beach Chamber of Commerce,

praised the “exquisite nature of the new edifice.”

As the ceremonies were coming to a close, Main Street businessman Jack

Robertson commanded the firing squad to let go with a volley of salutes

at the building’s entrance.

Legionnaires and guests were then shown some of Huntington Beach’s

points of interests and later dined at the Golden Bear Cafe.

That evening, the American Legion held its first meeting in its new

home. While the meeting upstairs was going on, the city held a grand ball

in the large auditorium downstairs with dancing and partying until

midnight.

Memorial Hall was demolished in the early 1980s along with the old Art

Deco fire station to make way for the Town Square housing project.

* JERRY PERSON is a longtime Huntington Beach resident and a local

historian. If you have ideas for future columns, write to him at P.O. Box

7182, Huntington Beach, CA 92615.