LOOKING BACK

Young Chang

Sally Somers points to the antique-style chandeliers hanging from the

ceiling. They’re barely swaying back and forth.

When the wind blows and the waves tumble, the floor rocks too. Moments

like these remind visitors to the Newport Harbor Nautical Museum that

they’re standing on a boat.

But the Pride of Newport, which houses the museum, started as a barge.

Towed from San Pedro in 1964, the barge went through two make-overs --

first into a seafood restaurant and then into its current form.

The boat’s delta paddle-wheeler facade was built for its

transformation into the Reuben E. Lee restaurant, which was open from

1964 through 1995, said Somers, a volunteer and board member at the

museum.

A local couple -- Mr. and Mrs. John McIntosh -- owned a steakhouse at

the opposite end of the current museum’s parking lot on East Coast

Highway decades ago. At the end of the business day, the couple would sit

at the tip of the peninsula and relax. The area at the end of the back

bay was a clustering point for fish. The McIntosh’s got inspired to start

a seafood restaurant, Somers said.

John McIntosh’s middle name was Reuben. The couple decided to play off

of “Robert E. Lee,” which old-time paddle-wheelers were often named, and

came up with “Reuben E. Lee.”

In 1995, the Newport Harbor Nautical Museum replaced the restaurant,

moving from its original quarters on Balboa Boulevard. The boat was

renamed “Pride of Newport.”

The museum, which opened in 1986, also has a personal history. Bettina

Bents, a young Newport Beach woman, had urged her parents and community

members to somehow preserve the local nautical heritage and history.

After her death in the mid-’80s, her parents Marcia and William Bents

worked to make their daughter’s dream come true.

Today the museum houses art exhibits, the current one being “Wind,

Water & Light: The Legacy of Rex Brandt.” The lobby holds a collection

detailing the history of Newport Harbor, and facilities upstairs include

a classroom where fifth-graders from the Newport-Mesa School District can

learn about marine life.

“It’s nonstop action,” said Wayne Eggleston, executive director of the

museum. “It’s really an exhilarating place in which to work -- there’s

always something going on all the time.”

There’s another perk to his job -- white-framed storybook windows

overlooking the water, boats and people having nautical fun.

“I probably have one of the best views of Newport Harbor out of my

office,” Eggleston said.

* Do you know of a person, place or event that deserves a historical

Look Back? Let us know. Contact Young Chang by fax at (949) 646-4170;

e-mail at young.chang@latimes.com; or mail her at c/o Daily Pilot, 330 W.

Bay St., Costa Mesa, CA 92627.