Sanchez Talarico Associates

In 1984 the City of Irvine, California proposed a redevelopment and city planning project for East Irvine.

Several historic buildings and structures were moved or demolished to make room for a commercial complex. The environmental impact report which preceded the project indicated the adverse impact that development would have on the historic site and required the city to produce a historical documentation project. The City of Irvine hired the consulting company Sanchez Talarico and Associates of Newport Beach, California to take photographs of the buildings prior to demolition and record the cultural and architectural development of the East Irvine site. This collection of photographs and the report are the results of that project.

From the description of East Irvine historic resources documentation photographs, ca. 1988. (University of California, Irvine). WorldCat record id: 46542380

History

Irvine is a planned city located in Orange County, California, near the Pacific coast. It shares its borders with Newport Beach, Costa Mesa, Santa Ana, Tustin, Aliso Viejo and Laguna Beach. From the 1880s to the 1960s, Irvine was centered around what was once the Irvine Ranch hub. In 1964 the first General Plan of the City of Irvine was completed. In 1965 the former town center became known as East Irvine, and the planned community to the southwest, the present-day city of Irvine, began to take shape. The City of Irvine was incorporated on December 28, 1971. The following historical overview emphasizes the origins of the Irvine Ranch and the surrounding village.

James Henry Irvine inherited the land stretching from what is now Red Hill to Newport Beach and down to Laguna Beach from his father in 1892, and he established the Irvine Company in 1894. His father Henry Irvine and partners had purchased the land from Don José Andres Sepulveda, who owned the land when it was Rancho San Joaquin. On the Irvine Ranch, James Irvine attempted to raise raisin grapes, olives and walnuts, but the most productive crops were barley and beans. In addition, the ranch raised cattle and not sheep as Sepulveda had.

In 1889, a silo was constructed at the center of Irvine Ranch to house sacks of grains and legumes which by 1895 had grown to more that a million sacks a year. As production increased, so did the work force. A school and post office became a necessity, yet all requests for a post office were denied, as there was already one named "Irvine" in central California. James Irvine substituted "Irvine" with "Myford" (the name of his young son), and on May 20, 1889, a post office opened in the village. Soon after, Kate Munger built a two-story county store that carried everything from canned goods to gasoline and cigarettes. In 1914, the Myford intersection of El Camino Real and Laguna Road was paved, and a gas station and blacksmith shop became part of the village.

A distinct community grew around the ranch silos and warehouses near and on what is now Sand Canyon Avenue. On March 17, 1914, the post office in central California changed its title, and the name "Irvine" was transferred to the Myford post office. The village then came to be known as Irvine.

The village's importance diminished through the decades. In 1959, the Irvine Company dedicated a tract of land for a state university, and the University of California, Irvine was constructed. City planners hired by the Irvine Company envisioned a city of 50,000 people built around the new university. To the southwest of the old Irvine town, a city began to develop. In 1965 the village changed its name from Irvine to East Irvine.

In 1984, the City of Irvine proposed a redevelopment project for East Irvine. Several historic buildings and structures were moved or demolished to make room for a commercial complex. The environmental impact report which preceded the project indicated the adverse impact that development would have on the historic site and required the city to produce a historical documentation project. The City of Irvine hired the consulting company Sanchez Talarico and Associates of Newport Beach, California to compile photographs of the buildings and to record the cultural and architectural development of the East Irvine site; this collection of photographs and the report are the result of that project.

From the guide to the East Irvine historic resources documentation photographs, 1988, (University of California, Irvine. Library. Special Collections and Archives.)