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| Cypress St. |
After 1960, I grew up in the city of Orange, in the heart of OC. I left that city after college, but returned to live in the
Old Town(e) section of Orange for seven or so years in the 90s. (After that, I ventured east, into the Santa Ana Mountains.)
I’ve come across an interesting website entitled, “
Shades of Orange: Cypress St. Barrio.” North Cypress St. runs along the railroad tracks a few blocks west of the Orange Plaza (aka the Orange “circle”). It’s in Old Town.
According to the website,
Commerce in the North Cypress Street area helped define the community as well as providing employment and services to the residents. Grocery stores, pool halls, barbershops, restaurants, and automobile shops filled the area, along with street peddlers. Anaconda Wire and Cable Company, Western Cordage, and the packing houses, especially the Santiago Orange Growers Association (later Villa Park Orchards Association), were important sources of revenue to the residents. The economy in the barrio revolved around the citrus industry. Men worked in groves as pickers; women worked in the packing houses as graders and packers. Some of the local businesses were the Filiberto Paredes Market, the Simon Luna Grocery, the Cayatano “Pete” Cruz Grocery, Cruz’s Pool Hall, and the Colin Tortilleria.
Evidently, the “Shades of Orange” project collected photos, which are available:
here (use the search phrase Shades of Orange to view the entire collection).
The painting at top is by the artist
Emigdio Vasquez (see The art of Emigdio Vasquez), who lived on Cypress St. as a child.
See also:
Shades of Orange: El Modena.
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| Rosary for baby girl Aguirre, Orange, California, ca. 1921 |
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| Women packers at the Santiago Orange Growers Association, North Cypress Street, Orange: ca. 1945 |
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| The Cruz Market located at 440 North Cypress Street, Orange, California: ca. 1970 |
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| Jamaica Fiesta that was held on North Cypress Street, Orange, California: summer 1947 |
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| Julian Gonzales in military uniform, 1944 (he served in Italy) |
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| Consolidated Orange Growers Association employees, 1935 |
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| The Garcia family, 1934 |
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Ysidoro and Nina Aguirre, Orange, California, 1923 |
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Nina Aguirre, Orange, California, 1925 |
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| La Jamaica Festival, 1965 |
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| El Modena, 1959 |
6 comments:
Emigdio Vasquez has a mural at IVC - it used to hang in the cafeteria but then it was relegated to the (leaky) B-100 building.
I'd give almost anything to be able to travel back in time and hang out on North Cypress Street (and all of what is now Old-Town Orange).
Thanks for the wonderful images--and for the fantastic, weird (those faces!), gorgeous crate-art, too, BvT.
MAH
Lovely
Thanks for all this info. It was is a treasure to find. I loved the pictures. I sure would love to find out more. My fathers family Manuel Cruz grew up in the city of Orange. The Cruz family owned several businesses including the pool hall that was mentioned on this blog, fertilizing company, duplexes, property and one time had a small neighborhood park. My mother worked in the Orange packing house. That is where she met my father back around 1940. My fathers sibblings were Mike Cruz, Raymond Cruz, Joe Cruz, Sally Cruz, Molly Cruz. I don't know much about the cruz family as my father died when I was 9 mts old and my mother moved on and did not raise me to know them.
Blessings to you!
Sylvia
Thanks for reading Sylvia!
I do believe there are people creating a historical archive of photos and other materials. Perhaps Roy will write more about it when becomes home. (He's on vacation now.)
Your family's story is part of the history of the county.
The taller girl in picture titled “la Jamaica festival 1965” is my sister Mary Deleon. Our family lived on Cypress Street from 1950 until approximately 2015. Loved seeing these pictures. Sandra DeLeon.
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