I did two posts about Fashion Island in Newport Beach a couple years ago (Part I, Part II), but here's another one. Why? Because I can't resist posting good photos when I run across them. The 1981 image above was probably taken from a plane leaving John Wayne Airport. It only seems like yesterday, but look how much open land was still left in the background. The photo below is from the 1970s and shows the old playground at the center of Fashion Island.
I was never quite sure what you were supposed to do with those spinning barrel-type things. But the twirling merry-go-round/tub-thing was fun to ride in when it worked. Often, sand got into the mechanism and kept it from spinning properly. .
Somebody send me some good local history news, willya?
