GOOD OLD DAYS:

The Balboa Peninsula boardwalk is anchored on one end by the newly remodeled Newport Beachwalk Hotel on the left, and the newly remodeled Doryman’s Inn, with the upscale 21 Oceanfront restaurant, on the right.

In between are the landmarks of what was and still is the heart-and-soul of the “good old days of Newport Beach,” the places jokingly referred to — even by the guys who’ve worked there for years — as the “dive bars.”

Blackie’s By the Sea, The Beach Ball, Mutt Lynch’s and around the corner, the Blue Beet.

Blackie’s opened in 1953, back when Newport Beach was a summer vacation spot. And businesses, including Blackie’s, would be open only from June through August, then closed for the rest of the year when the out-of-towners went back home.

In 1964, when Chuck Frei, who is still the owner, bought the bar, he decided to keep it open year round.

Old establishments, home for more than 30 years to local surfers and businessmen. Today, you see guys in wetsuits, hair a little grayer maybe, propping up their boards so they can sit on the sea wall, coffee in hand, and talking with friends about the old days.

That’s how Les Bobbitt, a Blackie’s bartender from the early ’70s, now its manager, described the early-morning scene.

The businessmen, he said, are more of a lunch crowd, and back in the day, it was a great place for guys looking for a little uninterrupted time away from the office to hang out.

“This was a local bar, and we didn’t have a phone back then. It was before cellphones, so guys who didn’t want anyone from the office to contact them hid out here in their suits.”

“They’d have a couple of beers, get away from everything, and maybe go back to work,” Bobbitt said.

No gourmet food at Blackie’s either. It’s the same simple menu it’s always been — hot dogs, chili dogs and polish sausage sandwiches. Gourmet food can be had at 21 Oceanfront, if that’s what you’re looking for.

And Bobbitt remembers when the fancy hotels, The Portofino, now the Newport Beachwalk, and the Doryman Inn, were apartments.

“It was cheap rent at the time, and most apartments didn’t even have a bathroom. They shared one on the same floor,” Bobbitt said.

Michael Palmer is the sales and marketing manager at the Newport Beachwalk. The building has been around since 1904, and the hotel was completely remodeled in 2006, giving it a Victorian, boutique hotel kind of feel, he said.

There are 15 rooms available, all on the second floor, and there are still apartments for rent behind the hotel. Palmer lives in one himself.

The bar on the first floor is original, Palmer said, and front rooms upstairs have a panoramic view of the ocean and surfers below.

For guests who can’t afford the oceanfront rooms, a sitting area in front of a large picture window offers a place to sit and “beach watch.”

The hotel draws mainly tourists looking to stay at one of only two hotels right on the beach on the Peninsula, Palmer said, but lots of locals also recommend it for family members in town for weddings, and they’re full these days with business travelers.

The biggest complaint from guests? Late night to very early morning loud music from those drinking establishments next door.

“Most of those places open at 6 a.m. and close at 2. a.m.” Palmer said.

Maybe the business guys at the new hotel can make their way over to Blackie’s one afternoon for lunch. Let the old mix with the new for a few hours.

Hide out, listen and learn.

SUE THOENSEN may be reached at (714) 966-4627 or at sue.thoensen@latimes.com.