Times have changed Lido

Bulldozers and cranes were parked down the street from Lido Isle resident Ray Rosso’s house for the last few weeks. Large construction crews lingered at all hours to work on a project that involves digging deep underground.

The undertaking got Rosso thinking about construction on the island -- both past and present. When he bought his house 51 years ago, building a home was a one- or two-person job.

Shortly after he moved into his one-story home, he encountered a man digging in one of the nearby empty lots. The man, Ralph Dimmitt, was wearing overalls and had a shovel in his hands.

Rosso went outside to ask what he was doing, and Dimmitt responded: “I’m getting ready to build a house.”

Dimmitt built and remodeled dozens of houses on the street. Some of his work remains, but across the island, the landscape is changing.

Rosso said he remembers a time when most of the houses looked like his. Now, he said, two- and three-story buildings with underground garages are becoming popular.

Rosso, who coached a community college team to a football national championship, moved to Lido Isle after living on campus at Orange Coast College, where he coached football for decades.

In the early 1950s, waterfront houses on Lido Isle went for about $50,000, which was out of Rosso’s price range.

“The market was wide open,” he said. “Those homes were mostly for wealthy vacationers. There were other options.”

He bought his house for somewhere in the $20,000 range. There was an empty lot next door to him, and five others on the block.

Rosso said within hours of moving in, a Lido Isle family who lived blocks away came to introduce themselves.

“People knew each other. It was a friendly environment,” Rosso said. “Everyone met at the clubhouse, and there were small, informal parties.”

In the 1950s, the streets of Lido Isle were mostly empty, Rosso said. Most families could fit their one car into the garage.

But slowly, as word spread about the island and its affordable property, things started to change. Families that came only during the summer bought up houses. The Lido Isle Community Assn. became stronger, and Rosso said he noticed more flashy cars driving in.

“Suddenly, we found ourselves compressed,” he said. “People were building up, and everything got bigger.”

Over 51 years, Rosso has undergone only one construction project, adding a small back section to the house.

He said his work doesn’t compare to what’s going on now on the island.

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