Historical Clippings Book (HC-04) (198 pages)

But Relies Will Remain Sunday, May 28, 1967 THE SACRAMENTO BEE VPape it Urban Renewal Comes To Historic Old Monterey By Ellis Lucia Special to The Bee . MONTEREY — One of California’s oldest and most historic cities, Monterey, is undergoing its greatest face-lifting in nearly} 1200 years of existence. Not since the days of Fre-. mont, Castro and the 49ers has [this early day capital of Cali-. . fornia experienced such turbu-. lent times. But after a decade jof struggle and political strife, Monterey’s urban renewal program is well under way. Visitors may have difficulty ‘becoming oriented. Many of the landmarks near famed. Fisher‘man’s Wharf are gone, in what . formerly was a skid row straight from a John Steinbeck novel. Saloons, dance halls, dingy cafes, pawn shops, bagnios, card rooms, shabby hotels and rooming houses, and some private residences have been reduced to rubble. 100 Buildings Fall More than 100 buildings in a ‘ \45-acre area have been leveled.) . There is still another block or} so to go, deep into the uptown business district and containing a large hotel, taverns, the last of the district’s many tattoo parlors, and what may have been a speakeasy or gambling den, with a thin peephole slot still visible in the bolted front door. This is the area near the bay. and sardine canneries. the multimillionHouse and the Pacific Building. outposts. Traffic Problem And something had to be done to eliminate the existing traffic bottleneck at the foot of Alvarado Street where five streets come together at odd an\gles, leading to famous Cannery . Row and Pacific Grove. Upwards of 30,000 cars daily pass this place. ' In most towns, the bulldozers would be sent in, the buildings: knocked down and the streets: ‘widened. But Monterey’s situation is a peculiar one. To do so’ ‘here would be to destroy completely an important segment of the state’s and the nation’s heritage. It was here, in a sheltered cove of the great bay, that early explorers came ashore. Father Junipero Serra landed at this point. Indian, Spanish and Mexican villages stood on this land, where pirates once sacked the town and over which four flags have flown. Through the years, Monterey has done a masterful job of saving its historic buildings in the face of changing times. More than 40 built before 1850 are standing, many of them refurbished and still in use. Seven t block which boomed in the days of Monterey’s great fishing fleet The most unusual feature of dollar renewal project is construction of a 1,000-foot four-lane tunnel or underpass beneath the historic area bounded by the old Custom The tunnel and approaches, totaling 2,200 feet, will stretch from well beyond the Custom House on the southwest to the foot of the Presidio on the northwest. The tunnel system, costing nearly $3 million was believed the only way to save the historic buildings and picturesque area of Fisherman's Wharf. The Custom House is California’s oldest government building, and the Presidio is one of the U.S. Army’s first Western ' i fornia. The Custom House built by the Spanish in 1814 theater, and Recreation Department. Seismographs are placed in the old adobes to determine the impact of the blasts and thus avoid cracking the ancient walls. The tunnel, which will be nearly 62 feet wide and 30 feet at the deepest point, will be of reinforced concrete and finished in ivory ceramic tile. It may be completed by the end of this year. When covered over, the plaza above } 4 Vo eeee eet of old building C, Y. Lee These buildings will form the basic setting for a spacious Spanish plaza as part of the redevelopment. Ang the Jandmarks probably will be far better off without heavy traffic constantly shaking their walls. Effects of blasting through bedrock on the tunnel project are being watched closely by redevelopment officials and at/tendants for the State Parks still to be torn down in the skid row h provided local color for the novels of John Steinbeck and Monterey’s old Custom House, built in 1814, is framed in this view, looking ,,the tunnel, State funds are bejing made available, about $450,today is pinched between a busy!000 in all. Plans call for full thoroughfare and arailroad track. Across the way is the Pacific Building of 1835, once a hotel and saloon for seafaring men. Nearby is an old whaling station and California’s first development of the plaza in time for California’s bicentennial celebration starting in 1969. Monterey will have a key role in this two-year observance. The plaza will bring back the beauty and charm of old Spanish Monterey. There will be shaded walkways of brick and stone, white Spanish walls, a large fountain and sycamore, olive and oak trees — all in keeping with the setting. Restaurants, gift shops, a large department store, motels, parking facilities and a little theater are proposed for the plaza area and that of lower Alvarado, which will be developed as a mall. The first of these already is in place, the Ginza Japanese restaurant and gift shop, built several years ago in keeping with the projected plans. There is a suggestion to use the Southern Pacific Co. tracks along the bay front for operating an old-time train to Pacific Grove. But Fisherman’s Wharf will remain as it always has been. : The changes mark a milestone for the Monterey Peninsula, which long has resisted § 4 . i a : 4 ; ' 75 bi 3 i a Sr ea =, 985 inooals ee < LE a across this type of development. Longtime residents feared for the destruction of the area’s great beauty and its historical landmarks, Influx of Residents But the pressures have been growing, due to the vast number of people drawn to the peninsula as tourists or in military service who decide they want to stay. Currently, a 6.5mile freeway is being knifed through the sand dunes near Ft. Ord, through Seaside and Monterey. When opened next year, it will ease the congestion along Fremont and Del Monte Boulevards, main routes to the peninsula. It also will bring mounting thousands who will find easy access to the peninsula, one of the West Coast's major recreation areas. Famous Carmel also is feeling the pinch of the hordes of tourists who go there now. What to do with all the cars, without destroying the town’s beauty, is a headache for public officials. Old-timers on certain days watch anxiously as smog from the San Francisco Bay area drifts down to the peninsula. Valley residents are fighting proposals to extend a four-lane highway deep up the valley. A large housing project of more than 200 homes in being with more to come. There are suggestions to modernize California 1 through Big Sur. A huge shopping center will be opened in July on MonCarmel planned there, terey’s outskirts. There also are mounting social and political problems. The high level of crime and violence worries Officials. In recent months there have been several near-riots in Seaside. Lack of good jobs and recreational facilities, while living in the shadow of great wealth, seem the main points of dissatisfaction,. Surthe unfinished plaza area. In keeping with the historic city’s heritage, the plaza will be finished along Spanish lines as part of a multimillion-dollar urban renewal program. The skid row area near Fisherman’s Wharf, dating to the turn of the century and the era of Monterey’s great fishing fleets, has been leveled to make way for a modern mall and shopping district. veys show a heavy use of drugs such as LSD and marijuana in schools of the peninsula, Residents were shocked to learn that Big Sur was reported to be a national center for LSD among the free wheeling wanderers who flock there from all over the nation. Authorities currently are destroying shacks andlean-tos in that area, hoping to discourage a summer invasion of hippies. : Thus, Monterey and its surrounding sister towns are feeling the impact of change and growth. But the urban renewal adventure also’is having many beneficial side effects. ‘Spruce Up’ Campaign The program to “spruce up” has caught fire with others, and merchants are remodgling their stores and buildings. The city is building an Old Town plaza at the entrance to the downtown area. A number of downtown buildings, among them a theater and bank, are being built and remodeled. The municipal airport, where huge jet airliners land, is being expanded and modernized. The area’s first condominium is rising on the bay front, along with a large motor hotel. Huge, unsightly oil storage tanks on the dunes are being removed, The SP has announced it is employing architects to study what to do with its waterfront property. cavation is being used for a fill near the Coast Guard wharf for a possible maritime museum. Much of what is happening is geared for tourism, which is the area’s leading industry. But there is reason to believe that before too many years, the area’s population of 130,000 may be doubled or tripled. And soil from the tunnel ex.

But Relies Will Remain Sunday, May 28, 1967 THE SACRAMENTO BEE VPape it Urban Renewal Comes To Historic Old Monterey By Ellis Lucia Special to The Bee . MONTEREY — One of California’s oldest and most historic cities, Monterey, is undergoing its greatest face-lifting in nearly} 1200 years of existence. Not since the days of Fre-. mont, Castro and the 49ers has [this early day capital of Cali-. . fornia experienced such turbu-. lent times. But after a decade jof struggle and political strife, Monterey’s urban renewal program is well under way. Visitors may have difficulty ‘becoming oriented. Many of the landmarks near famed. Fisher‘man’s Wharf are gone, in what . formerly was a skid row straight from a John Steinbeck novel. Saloons, dance halls, dingy cafes, pawn shops, bagnios, card rooms, shabby hotels and rooming houses, and some private residences have been reduced to rubble. 100 Buildings Fall More than 100 buildings in a ‘ \45-acre area have been leveled.) . There is still another block or} so to go, deep into the uptown business district and containing a large hotel, taverns, the last of the district’s many tattoo parlors, and what may have been a speakeasy or gambling den, with a thin peephole slot still visible in the bolted front door. This is the area near the bay. and sardine canneries. the multimillionHouse and the Pacific Building. outposts. Traffic Problem And something had to be done to eliminate the existing traffic bottleneck at the foot of Alvarado Street where five streets come together at odd an\gles, leading to famous Cannery . Row and Pacific Grove. Upwards of 30,000 cars daily pass this place. ' In most towns, the bulldozers would be sent in, the buildings: knocked down and the streets: ‘widened. But Monterey’s situation is a peculiar one. To do so’ ‘here would be to destroy completely an important segment of the state’s and the nation’s heritage. It was here, in a sheltered cove of the great bay, that early explorers came ashore. Father Junipero Serra landed at this point. Indian, Spanish and Mexican villages stood on this land, where pirates once sacked the town and over which four flags have flown. Through the years, Monterey has done a masterful job of saving its historic buildings in the face of changing times. More than 40 built before 1850 are standing, many of them refurbished and still in use. Seven t block which boomed in the days of Monterey’s great fishing fleet The most unusual feature of dollar renewal project is construction of a 1,000-foot four-lane tunnel or underpass beneath the historic area bounded by the old Custom The tunnel and approaches, totaling 2,200 feet, will stretch from well beyond the Custom House on the southwest to the foot of the Presidio on the northwest. The tunnel system, costing nearly $3 million was believed the only way to save the historic buildings and picturesque area of Fisherman's Wharf. The Custom House is California’s oldest government building, and the Presidio is one of the U.S. Army’s first Western ' i fornia. The Custom House built by the Spanish in 1814 theater, and Recreation Department. Seismographs are placed in the old adobes to determine the impact of the blasts and thus avoid cracking the ancient walls. The tunnel, which will be nearly 62 feet wide and 30 feet at the deepest point, will be of reinforced concrete and finished in ivory ceramic tile. It may be completed by the end of this year. When covered over, the plaza above } 4 Vo eeee eet of old building C, Y. Lee These buildings will form the basic setting for a spacious Spanish plaza as part of the redevelopment. Ang the Jandmarks probably will be far better off without heavy traffic constantly shaking their walls. Effects of blasting through bedrock on the tunnel project are being watched closely by redevelopment officials and at/tendants for the State Parks still to be torn down in the skid row h provided local color for the novels of John Steinbeck and Monterey’s old Custom House, built in 1814, is framed in this view, looking ,,the tunnel, State funds are bejing made available, about $450,today is pinched between a busy!000 in all. Plans call for full thoroughfare and arailroad track. Across the way is the Pacific Building of 1835, once a hotel and saloon for seafaring men. Nearby is an old whaling station and California’s first development of the plaza in time for California’s bicentennial celebration starting in 1969.

Monterey will have a key role in this two-year observance. The plaza will bring back the beauty and charm of old Spanish Monterey. There will be shaded walkways of brick and stone, white Spanish walls, a large fountain and sycamore, olive and oak trees — all in keeping with the setting. Restaurants, gift shops, a large department store, motels, parking facilities and a little theater are proposed for the plaza area and that of lower Alvarado, which will be developed as a mall. The first of these already is in place, the Ginza Japanese restaurant and gift shop, built several years ago in keeping with the projected plans. There is a suggestion to use the Southern Pacific Co. tracks along the bay front for operating an old-time train to Pacific Grove. But Fisherman’s Wharf will remain as it always has been. : The changes mark a milestone for the Monterey Peninsula, which long has resisted § 4 . i a : 4 ; ' 75 bi 3 i a Sr ea =, 985 inooals ee < LE a across this type of development. Longtime residents feared for the destruction of the area’s great beauty and its historical landmarks, Influx of Residents But the pressures have been growing, due to the vast number of people drawn to the peninsula as tourists or in military service who decide they want to stay. Currently, a 6.5mile freeway is being knifed through the sand dunes near Ft. Ord, through Seaside and Monterey. When opened next year, it will ease the congestion along Fremont and Del Monte Boulevards, main routes to the peninsula. It also will bring mounting thousands who will find easy access to the peninsula, one of the West Coast's major recreation areas. Famous Carmel also is feeling the pinch of the hordes of tourists who go there now. What to do with all the cars, without destroying the town’s beauty, is a headache for public officials. Old-timers on certain days watch anxiously as smog from the San Francisco Bay area drifts down to the peninsula. Valley residents are fighting proposals to extend a four-lane highway deep up the valley. A large housing project of more than 200 homes in being with more to come. There are suggestions to modernize California 1 through Big Sur. A huge shopping center will be opened in July on MonCarmel planned there, terey’s outskirts. There also are mounting social and political problems. The high level of crime and violence worries Officials. In recent months there have been several near-riots in Seaside. Lack of good jobs and recreational facilities, while living in the shadow of great wealth, seem the main points of dissatisfaction,. Surthe unfinished plaza area. In keeping with the historic city’s heritage, the plaza will be finished along Spanish lines as part of a multimillion-dollar urban renewal program. The skid row area near Fisherman’s Wharf, dating to the turn of the century and the era of Monterey’s great fishing fleets, has been leveled to make way for a modern mall and shopping district. veys show a heavy use of drugs such as LSD and marijuana in schools of the peninsula, Residents were shocked to learn that Big Sur was reported to be a national center for LSD among the free wheeling wanderers who flock there from all over the nation. Authorities currently are destroying shacks andlean-tos in that area, hoping to discourage a summer invasion of hippies. : Thus, Monterey and its surrounding sister towns are feeling the impact of change and growth. But the urban renewal adventure also’is having many beneficial side effects. ‘Spruce Up’ Campaign The program to “spruce up” has caught fire with others, and merchants are remodgling their stores and buildings. The city is building an Old Town plaza at the entrance to the downtown area. A number of downtown buildings, among them a theater and bank, are being built and remodeled. The municipal airport, where huge jet airliners land, is being expanded and modernized. The area’s first condominium is rising on the bay front, along with a large motor hotel. Huge, unsightly oil storage tanks on the dunes are being removed, The SP has announced it is employing architects to study what to do with its waterfront property. cavation is being used for a fill near the Coast Guard wharf for a possible maritime museum. Much of what is happening is geared for tourism, which is the area’s leading industry. But there is reason to believe that before too many years, the area’s population of 130,000 may be doubled or tripled. And soil from the tunnel ex.