Balboa Pavilion

June Casagrande In the 99 years since the Department of War issued the permit to build the Balboa Pavilion, no one has come to know the place better than Art Gronsky. From the time he moved to Newport Beach from South Pasadena at age 6, the pavilion has been central in his life -- at first, an exciting destination that would dazzle any grammar school child, and later, his family's livelihood. "I can tell most of its history firsthand. I knew the people who owned it before us and the people who bought it after us, too," said Gronsky, now 82 and still a Newport Beach resident.

`Everything stays the same,' says the new owner of landmark property on the Balboa Peninsula. The Balboa Pavilion, one of Newport Beach's most recognizable landmarks, has been sold. The famed Balboa Peninsula building was purchased by a Newport Beach landlord who described his interest in the pavilion as a "labor of love." Leo Gugasian and his son, Armen, purchased the building from the Balboa Pavilion Co. Escrow closed Nov. 28, and the sales price was not disclosed by either party.

Paul Clinton Talk about an odd job. Exterminators blanketed the angled walls and steeple-top roof of Balboa Pavilion on Monday to eradicate a dry-wood termite infestation. Workers draped the 96-year-old Newport Beach landmark with 80,000 square feet of pink-and-white vinyl tarps so they could spray Vikane gas -- the trade name for sulfuryl fluoride -- into the structure, which was closed to visitors at 8 a.m. Owners of the pavilion's quaint shops and eateries also shuttered their businesses.

The family of a Newport Beach man killed in a single-car accident on Superior Avenue two weeks ago will have funeral services for him on the beach Sunday, followed by a dance at the Balboa Pavilion. The family of Brian Campos, 22, is inviting all who knew him to the beach at 46th Street to celebrate his life from 5 to 8 p.m. The family is asking Brian’s friends to bring a small photo of him attached to a piece of paper with a small description of a memory they shared for a book his mother is putting together.

Jimmy Stroup Davey's Locker has been sending big fishing boats out into Newport Harbor and beyond from the same office in the Balboa Pavilion since 1969. And for almost that long, Tom Gray, owner and operator of T's Tackle, has been watching them go. T's is the tackle shop where expert and novice anglers alike shop before a trip on a Davey's charter. "They moved from that old place by that Blue Water Grill over here in '69 and have been here ever since," he said.

  April 19, 1928 – June 20, 2007 James L. Shafer passed away at the age of 79 surrounded by his family. The son of Ben and Evelyn Shafer, he was born and raised in Costa Mesa and graduated from NHHS, class of ‘46. He married his high school sweetheart Patricia Glass, and they made their home in Newport Beach.   Jim was a fisherman all his life, for work and pleasure. He was skipper and crew on many boats before building his own, Thunderbird, in 1960.

From the outset, the Balboa Pavilion in Newport Beach seemed destined for a special place in local history. A 1907 article in the Los Angeles Times gave the center quite the introduction for readers: “Among all the resorts along the Southern Pacific Coast, Balboa Pavilion at Balboa Beach is one of the most enjoyable spots within a day’s journey of Los Angeles. Situated on the edge of Newport Bay with the Pacific just across the sand spit, it has the attraction of variety as a headquarters which is unsurpassed.

Anyone who wandered into the Grand Ballroom of the Balboa Pavilion Sunday afternoon might have thought it was a Friday night. Dozens of local residents put on their dancing shoes and grooved to the music of the Redd Stewart Band while celebrating the Balboa Pavilion's 100th birthday and raising money for hurricane relief. "Anything we can do to help the Red Cross," said David Salisbury, owner of Harborside Restaurant in the Balboa Pavilion and organizer of Sunday's event.

The Costa Mesa law firm of Snell and Wilmer L.L.P. recently received a Community Cornerstone Award for outstanding charitable contributions from Orange County United Way. The firm raised $137,971 for the local chapter, and made a foundation gift of more than $100,000 that will provide tuition scholarships for low-income children to attend local United Way day care centers. Orange County United Way's annual Campaign Celebration event was June 19 at the Balboa Pavilion. Snell and Wilmer partner Timothy Kay said in a written statement, "Snell and Wilmer is pleased to play an active role in the organization's results-driven campaigns and are proud to be associated with other corporate and individual United Way supporters throughout our community."

The family and friends of Costa Mesa resident Bill Thomas, who suffered a rare spinal stroke in January, are hosting "Road to Recovery," a fundraiser from 6 to 10 p.m. today in the Harborside Grand Ballroom at the Balboa Pavilion, 400 Main St., Newport Beach. The family-oriented evening will include dinner, a disc jockey and dancing, silent auction bidding from 6 to 8 p.m., face painting and balloon art for kids, a 50/50 cash drawing and raffle prizes. Light appetizers will be served.

The Catalina Flyer resumes daily service from Newport Beach to Santa Catalina Island on April 1 with machinery that should give passengers a quieter and smoother ride, the catamaran's owner announced Friday. The 600-seat passenger boat made in 1988, which runs between the Balboa Pavilion and Avalon, was removed from service in mid-September to have its engines replaced. To fill in for the catamaran while the new engines were being installed in Whidbey Island, Wash., the company temporarily rented a 149-seat boat to make the daily sea crossings, owner Armen Gugasian said.

NEWPORT BEACH — About 250 Southern California Edison customers along the Peninsula lost power Tuesday morning after a transformer failed, officials said. Workers with SCE were working to isolate the outage and restore power to residents in the area, said Vanessa McGrady, spokeswoman for SCE. The power outage first occurred at 4:22 a.m., affecting nearly 3,380 customers in the area, McGrady said. She said power was restored at 1:36 p.m. Workers were able to isolate the problem and restore power to most residents and businesses along West 17th Street on the north, Oceanfront on the south, the Balboa Pavilion area on the east and Monrovia Avenue on the west.

If one judges a man by his friends, Gil Wayne was one of the wealthiest men to walk the Earth.  He was defined by his relationships with his much-loved extended family. Born in Los Angeles on Aug. 1, 1926, and a long-time resident of Orange County, Gil passed away peacefully at home June 21, 2010, surrounded by family and friends. Gil graduated from UCLA in 1950, a proud member of Tau Epsilon Phi. He worked with his father as they created the greatest street sweeper company of its day, Wayne Manufacturing, Pomona.

The Newport Beach City Council will discuss Tuesday whether the city should pay $3.5 million for the site of the landmark Balboa Village Market. The shuttered brick market covered with a mural showing historic scenes from Balboa Peninsula life would likely be bulldozed to make way for more parking. Artist Donald MacDonald, who painted the original mural, would paint a new mural if a parking garage goes up on the site of the market, he said Thursday. The 2,140-square-foot existing mural includes scenes of a surfer catching a giant wave intermingled with sunbathers and pelicans.

The Balboa Village Market’s days are coming to an end. The property’s owner, Leo Gugasian, has agreed to sell it to Newport Beach, city officials said Wednesday. The old brick building, which has changed hands several times over the years, has been around since 1938. Gugasian, a prominent businessman in Newport Beach who also owns 21 Oceanfront restaurant and the Balboa Pavilion, bought the building in 2006. He referred all comments to Newport Beach city officials.

Never have locals and visitors alike had a chance to turn to one resource for everything they’d ever need to know about Newport Harbor. Need to know who can tow your boat? Where are the harbor’s pumping stations? Where can you pull up and grab a quick bite and sail off into the sunset? This guide has it. Now available on the Newport Beach website and scheduled to come out in a 16-page color brochure in just a couple of weeks, the Complete Cruising Guide to Newport Harbor is offering sailors from far and wide a single, thorough guide to all things in the harbor.

Longtime Balboa Peninsula Point resident Cyndi Doran likes to walk up the street to Balboa Village for dinner with her husband many evenings, but the walk has never been the same since city workers replaced the old ficus trees that used to line the streets with small eucalyptus saplings. “I thought, ‘These trees just aren’t thriving. What can we do about it?’” Doran said. The streets of Balboa Village will soon be lined with Guadalupe palm trees that will eventually grow to form a canopy over local landmarks including the Balboa Pavilion, thanks to the work of Doran, local business owners and other residents who have donated $20,000 to the project.

From the outset, the Balboa Pavilion in Newport Beach seemed destined for a special place in local history. A 1907 article in the Los Angeles Times gave the center quite the introduction for readers: “Among all the resorts along the Southern Pacific Coast, Balboa Pavilion at Balboa Beach is one of the most enjoyable spots within a day’s journey of Los Angeles. Situated on the edge of Newport Bay with the Pacific just across the sand spit, it has the attraction of variety as a headquarters which is unsurpassed.

The shuttered site of the old Balboa Village Market, with its vivid mural depicting scenes from peninsula life, could be demolished for parking if the city decides to purchase the property. Newport Beach officials are considering buying the site from real estate investor Leo Gugasian, who also owns the Balboa Pavilion and the Catalina Flyer ferry, said Newport Beach Assistant City Manager Sharon Wood. A recent parking study the city conducted found there is a dearth of parking in the Balboa Village area.