This walking tour of Santa Ana, California was created by the Studio for Southern California History for SHE: A One-Day Festival to Celebrate Women on March 20, 2016. The entries include histories related to women including abortion, domestic violence, human trafficking, work, motherhood, inter-racial marriage, cat parties and more.
INTRODUCTION 1884 - 1906 Santa Ana's Chinatown was located on the south side of Third Street in between Main Street and Bush Street. This community was not wanted by the predominantly Anglo American people in Santa Ana, who blamed the Chinese for everything from public health scares, to property theft. Many complained about how they lived in a prime location in the center of the city and their presence lowered property values. These attitudes were exacerbated in 1904 when the new City Hall was built across the street from the Chinatown. Another neighbor to the Chinese, Adolph Butz, a plumber who kept monkeys in cages, looked down on the community and described it as follows: No one ever knew how many Chinamen lived in the block but judging by the numerous laundrymen, vegetable growers and peddlers it may have been two hundred. Santa Ana's Chinatown was generally described as a series of junky redwood shacks enlivened with red paper, varnished ducks, rattan baskets, calico partitions, and odd smells which come interpreted as 'that brooding, spiritual atmosphere of the Orient.' By and large, Chinatown began as a pretty ratty-looking place and got worse. According to historian Stephen Gould, the Chinatown was regularly raided by the police who were always unsuccessful in finding gambling and any illegal activity. However, a devastating case of leprosy was uncovered and the community was quarantined and fumigated. It had diminished to eight people by this time, as many men fled. Two tents were set up at Main and Second Streets. The patient was placed in a tent and he died on June 5, 1906. After meeting, all of Santa Ana's leaders and the Orange County District Attorney agreed to burn down the buildings and the possessions that remained in the redwood shacks. This act is considered one of the most brutal events against the Chinese in the period of American history. The remaining seven Chinese men were given housing at the Salvation Army for an unknown period of time.
Excitement was at fever heat when the two Chinese teams, the "Ah There" of Santa Ana, captained by George Young, and "Wun Lung" of Anaheim, captained by Jack Landell, marched on the platform and grappled the rope. Ah There and Wun Lung wore the respective anchors for the teams. When all was ready the signal to pull was given at 10:10, and all hands pulled as only Chinamen know how, amid roars of laughter and clapping of hands ..... All this while the audience cheered as it never cheered before. The band began to play and with a desperate effort Wun Lung broke the hold of his opposing anchor-man and his team crawled across the line in just 39 minutes from the time of starting."
1894 Over near the bay windows of the parlors was a young lady found very busy with her kitting, and when any of the guest would whisper, "Homespun yarn," softly to her, so that others would not hear what was said, she could be seen to smile, and, if standing near, one might have heard her answer, "Sure!" She was representing "Home Spun Yarn." Another young lady, seen here, there and everywhere, wearing a large summer hat, upon which was a wealth of lilacs, suggested to the thoughtful person that perhaps she represented "Under the Lilacs." A gentleman over by the decorated wall, with a string of chestnuts dangling from the lappel of his coat, was evidently a fond reader of "Twice Told Tales," while the other fellow, who wore the capital letters of S and A on each lappel of his coat, suggested "Essay on Man." The young lady wearing a miniature shoe as a memento, with a very loose heel, always answered in the affirmative if her favorite book was "Lucile." "Locke on the Human Understanding" explained the dainty little padlock worn on the shoe of one of the young ladies, and the number of books and booklets that made up the decoration of another young lady caused many of the inquirers to guess "Among My Books." The gentleman with a Silkwood ribbon and Sontag's name was a believer in "The Quick and the Dead," although but few in the parlor knew it until the guessing was concluded. The young man with a bunch of seashells worn as a watch charm represented "Cast Up By the Sea," and his brother was "Innocence Abroad." .... A member of the Orange county bar wore a piece of Coke on a small ton, and therefore answered yes to "Coke on Littleton," and thus representation continued for an hour or more, when the guesses, as written out, were collected and audited, after which the prizes were awarded.
1894
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1899 - 1900 On January 1, the Los Angeles Times reported that on December 27, presumably because of the Los Angeles Times article, Drury's neighbor charged a warrant against Drury for wife-beating and described an intense and violent scene of domestic battery. However, by this time Drury had left town and evaded the law.
1906 Rev Terasawa, of the Wintersburg Japanese Mission, called at this office yesterday and gave particulars regarding the affair. The young lady referred to is a Japanese maiden named Namika Sho, and arrived in this country from Yokahama on the steamship Corea, landing in San Francisco on November 8th. She is a trained nurse and accompanied by Mrs Sprague from Japan. Prof Sprague is engaged at the Tokio university, Japan. Namiki (sic) Sho contemplated visiting a Japanese friend near Wintersburg, and made the trip to this country for that purpose. Upon landing in San Francisco she left the company of Mrs Sprague, procured a ticket for Santa Ana and start south on the Southern Pacific train. On her way south she was approached by some Japanese men who suggested to her that she take the electric cars at Los Angeles for Santa Ana. She was suspicious of the men and decided to go by the steam road, although they importuned her to change her plans, and when they were unable to persuade her to make the change they followed her to Santa Ana. There she stopped at a rooming house until she could get in communication with her friend, when two more men undertook to persuade her to go out with them. Indeed she consented to go to a restaurant, but all the time she was suspicious of the strangers and tried in every way possible to avoid them. She insisted she must telephone to her friend soon after her arrival and they told her should could not before morning. The hour was already late and the frightened woman knew not what to do nor whither to turn. She is unable to speak a word of English and didn't know a person in town. These two Japanese men were using all their persuasive powers to get her to relinquish her room and go with them. Being an utter stranger she did not know whom to appeal to. Finally they withdrew temporarily when she flew from the room and fled to a strange house. There she ran into a lavatory and remained over night, and when found in the morning she was chilled to the marrow, and frightened almost out of her senses. Before she left her room she thought the two men were planning to bind her. She asked them to bring a policeman with them if they wanted her to go with them. To this they replied that they would and that a policeman was waiting for them down stairs. There is no doubt but that they were following the woman for evil purposes. Rev Terasawa saw her on Monday and secured a full statement of facts as given above. When she arrive at Wintersburg and met her friend face to face, she broke down completely, and later after having recovered, she sang a thanksgiving song for her deliverance.
1914 While all Asian women were barred from entering the California beginning in 1875 with the Page Act - which banned women from Asia for purposes of prostitution, "picture brides" were allowed in and arranged marriages were a traditional practice in Japan. As a result, many women came to California from Japan to meet a new husband, seeing them in the flesh for the first time the day she arrived in the US, usually in San Francisco. Many arranged marriages were not successful. This was the case with Nido Okabe, whose wife Osano had allegedly run off with another man. Nido Okabe ran a pool hall and put his wife in charge of the cigar stand where a dapper Japanese man had persuaded her to leave him. Nido was seeking a divorce and planned on visiting San Francisco in order to arrange another marriage, according to the Santa Ana Register.
1916 This is the way it happened...they requested the members to take their cats along; if they didn't boast a real one, then otherwise, and be prepared to offer some appropriate "stunt" for the entertainment of the company. As a consequence, there were cats and kittens of every description and color. Twenty-five were present to participate in the pleasures of the afternoon. Great interest centered in a large covered basket carried by one of the guests which, when opened, showed a series of small baskets, each containing a kitten, the very last holding a tiny celluloid bouncing cat. A poem was read as each basket disclosed its feline occupant. The ladies told conundrums, anecdotes and stories of cat life and Mrs CE French and Mrs WA Zimmerman entertained with an original poem. Mrs Gowen and Mrs Liebig pleased with reading and there were numerous amusing games. At the close of the afternoon, the hostesses served a delicious collation.
1916
1919
1921 Judge John Belshazzar Cox was the only source of law and order in rural Orange County and he hated automobile drivers who sped. He was known to fine anyone who broke the legal speed limit of 35 mph and jailed those convicted of driving over 50 mph. When Daniels sped her Marmon roadster on the Orange County country roads and was apprehended, Santa Ana endured its first "Trial of the Century," complete with media saturation, focus on the culture of celebrity, and of course, fast cars. At her trial in March, over 1,500 bystanders came to see her enter the courthouse and testify and admit she was driving 56 mph, believing the judge would let her off with a light sentence. Unfortunately, Judge Cox relished his convictions and fines and she was convicted and sentenced to ten days. Both sides milked publicity from the event; the Judge invited the press and photographers to take photographs of her when she entered the jail and left after serving nine days (she received one day off for good behavior). When Daniels was held in the jail, Abe Lyman and his Orchestra arrived from the famed Cocoanut Grove night club in Los Angeles to serenade Bebe in her jail cell, which it did all afternoon. Although Daniels' was served gourmet food and received flowers and gifts from fans and well wishers, she wrote: Each night, I had the recurring feeling of how awful it was to be locked in a cell . . . I shall never forget the ominous sound of locks being turned and iron gates clanking behind me, and the sound of my cell door being locked on my mother and myself. I was really very miserable. It was a terrible feeling to be locked in one room, even though it was beautifully decorated and my mother was with me. However, I was so furious with Judge Cox that I would not allow myself to cry. After her release, Daniels starred in a short film that fictionalized her experience called "Speed Girl."
1924 In 1886 she graduated from Hahnemann Medical College in Chicago and began her practice in Santa Aria soon after. Regarding her ability to establish herself in what was then a "man's career," Dr Willella was quoted in a Santa Ana Register interview as saying, "Some of those who fought me hardest have become my best friends." At that time, it was hard for some to understand that a woman had the right to take her place alongside male practitioners and make a business of treating the sick. Many a time she had driven her horses through mud and water up to their waists, with the flood creeping around the floor of the buggy. Dr Alvin Howe was accused by Orange County's first Grand Jury of performing an abortion on a local woman. The jury eventually ruled the evidence hearsay and Dr Howe was acquitted. However, he decided to leave town for San Francisco, rather than face the dishonor such a charge would bring him. Meanwhile, Dr Willella lived on in the house with her daughters, continuing her medical practice and her involvement with the Episcopal Church of the Messiah and several other local organizations. It took an unusual amount of courage for the doctor to go about her daily business with her head held high, but then, she was that kind of a woman. After divorcing Dr Howe in 1897, she married Edson Waffle, a prominent livery stable owner and rancher, becoming known as Dr Howe-Waffle. In addition to her flourishing medical practice she was now raising a family consisting of her own two daughters and Edson's three children. The Dr. Howe-Waffle House has been restored to look as if the Doctor has just left to be with a patient and will be returning shortly. http://www.santaanahistory.com/dr_howe-waffle.html
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1985
2016 The Frida Cinema "Fiesta Twin Theatre opened in 1988 as part of the Fiesta Marketplace. It has always shown mainstream American movies with Spanish sub-titles. The theater manages to get in showings of four different movies a night by showing a movie one time in the two auditoriums. Downtown Santa Ana has a history of showing Spanish-language films. Down the block and on the other side of the street is the long-closed Princess Theatre, which showed Mexican films in the 1950’s. That would be real Mexican films, made in Mexico and with Mexican stars. The nearby historic Yost Theatre also at one time had a Mexican film policy. You could say that the Fiesta Twin Theatre has a rich history behind it also. Metropolitan Theatres, the old Los Angeles chain, which has been around since 1923, was the developer. In the 1950’s Metropolitan ran at one time 12 theaters in Los Angeles. Yes, they are still around with 18 locations in four Western states and British Columbia. In July of 2011 it was announced that the name Fiesta Market Place would no longer be used to identify the shopping area. Beginning with the reopening of the Yost Theatre as a nightclub in August the area will be called East End to reflect a changing trend. The Orange County Business Journal says that in recent years Hispanic shoppers have moved upscale and have been wooed away from Santa Ana’s downtown by Wal-Mart, Target and even the Irvine Spectrum. The Fiesta Twin Theatre’s website say: $5.00, All Seats, All Shows, Every Day. It was closed January 5, 2014 and reopened as the Frida Cinema on February 21, 2014." History Source - http://cinematreasures.org/theaters/36475The. Santa Ana has been used throughout film history; some highlights include Compulsion (1959), Norma Rae (1979) and Frances (1982). copyright 2016
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