How Dry We Were!
By OCInSite Site Admin | October 27, 2011 3:50 PM
The McFadden brothers founded Newport Beach back in the late 1800s, the history books tell us. But what’s lesser-known is that James and Robert were Prohibitionists, so the early days around these parts were a bit on the dry side. Then the McFaddens sold ($70 an acre!), and the party was on… almost.
Problem was, Orange County was dry, too. So access to liquor was one of the motivations behind Newport Beach being incorporated as a city in 1906. Plus, locals felt the county treated Newport as “simply the port for Santa Ana, and a play land for interior families.” But mostly folks just wanted a decent saloon in town (or so we like to imagine).
The fun didn’t last, though. Prohibition soon went on the city ballot. It lost in 1912 and 1914, but it passed in 1916 by a vote of 233 to 176. So the city went dry once more, and it stayed that way until Prohibition was repealed nationally in 1933—though we imagine there were still places to get a cocktail for those in the know.
Not much is new under the Newport sun. Today the battle over booze and bars goes on, and likely still will 100 years hence. So drink up, for tomorrow we may be dry. And the vintage postcard pictured above, circa 1909? That was a “wet” era, so the adults in the image likely had had a few! As good as a circus, indeed.
—By Kedric Francis, with thanks to the Newport Beach Historical Society’s book Newport Beach 75.
