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As we work our
way through the heavy traffic which travels
morning, noon and night on the multilane streets
and freeways surrounding Tustin, it is hard to
remember the days when driving in the area was
leisurely and pleasurable.
Seventeenth
Street, now one of our busiest thoroughfares,
was a two-lane road edged with dirt shoulders
and towering eucalyptus trees 50 years ago. It
ran straight as an arrow from its origin at
Newport Avenue to Long Beach, although it
changed its name as it passed through Garden
Grove, Midway City, Stanton and other hamlets.
Drivers who lived on the north side of Tustin
and used Seventeenth to travel to and from Santa
Ana’s Main Street had to brake only for stop
signs at Grand and Tustin avenues and an
occasional stray dog.
You could count
on motorists approaching Seventeenth on side
streets to wait until the way was clear to
cross. This was no great imposition since cars
were scarce on Seventeenth in those days. Almost
no one commuted to Santa Ana or beyond. Usually
only shopping or visiting the doctor or dentist
merited a drive to Santa Ana.
Most other main
thoroughfares in the Tustin area were equally
tranquil. Prospect, also a narrow two-lane road
shaded by giant eucalyptus trees, passed between
beautiful citrus orchards interspersed with
Victorian ranch houses and cottages. No cross
streets existed between Seventeenth and First.
A thick hedge of
Cecil Brunner roses edged the property that is
now Columbus Tustin Park. Tustin Avenue also has
changed dramatically. Once, orchards filled the
four corners at Seventeenth and continued south
and north. Fruit and Fourth streets ended at
Tustin Avenue. Several Victorian houses, reached
by long dirt drives, were hidden deep in the
orchards.
A half-dozen
Spanish-style homes lined the west side of
Tustin Avenue just north of First Street. Tustin
Avenue crossed First Street and continued south
until it merged with Newport Avenue, the main
road to Costa Mesa and the beach area. Although
First Street, which began at Newport Avenue and
linked downtown Tustin with downtown Santa Ana
and beyond, was paved and had curbs, its traffic
also moved at a leisurely pace. A pedestrian
crossing the street or a driver entering from
one of the residential side streets had little
trouble.
Even Newport
Avenue, the main truck access to three orange
packing houses, was a sleepy country road
compared to today’s multiple lanes, numerous
traffic signals and clog of cars. Irvine
Boulevard, which began at Newport Avenue, was a
shady approach to the Irvine Ranch headquarters.
Edged by hedgerows and orchards, it offered
glimpses of rural yards and ranch houses. Is it
any wonder that families looked forward each
week to a Sunday afternoon drive?
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