Newport Beach in the Rearview Mirror

Hosted by William Lobdell

A look back at the events and people—famous and forgotten—that shaped Newport Beach. Follow on Instagram (newport.in.the.rearview.mirror).

  1. SEP 5

    42: The Balboa Bay Club's Beginnings

    Founded in 1948, the nationally renowned Balboa Bay Club in Newport Beach has had many roles over the decades: a haunt for some of the biggest Hollywood stars, a stop for every Republican U.S. President since Dwight Eisenhower (Nixon even set up an office there complete with a hotline to the Kremlin), a venue for some of Newport's biggest charity events, and a refuge for families, professionals and others. It's become as much a part of the city's fabric as the Balboa Pavilion, the Balboa Island Ferry, and the Wedge. Here's the story about the origins of the storied Balboa Bay Club.

    37 min

  2. JUL 6

    41: The Big Gamble — Building Eastbluff

    In the early-1960s, the Irvine Co. decided to build a relatively new type of residential community by creating an all-inclusive village that included a variety of housing types for different life stages and incomes, long ribbons of greenbelts, parks, a retail center, schools, and houses of worship. The result was Eastbluff, one of Newport Beach's most beloved communities whose instant success inspired the Irvine Co.'s 22 villages in neighboring Irvine. Guest: Mike Stockstill, former Irvine Co. executive and co-author of the book, "Transforming the Irvine Ranch."

    22 min

  3. APR 26

    40: W.S. Collins — Balboa Island Visionary, Con Man or Both? (Part 2)

    “W.S. Collins: Balboa Island Visionary, Con Man or Both?” takes a deep dive into the life of the most intriguing figure in Newport history: W.S. Collins.  The farsighted land speculator is best known for buying the entire Newport Beach townsite (almost all of the peninsula) in 1902. And for his next act, he created Balboa Island out of a tiny, mosquito-ridden mudflat. But Collins also had a darker side that’s been rarely explored, whether it was literally trying to hang a second-grader in his first job as an teacher in Kansas, marrying five times, conducting shady business deals, or going bankrupt and leaving behind a partially (and poorly) developed Balboa Island along with an island full of angry residents.  Looked at as a whole, Collins packed in an insane amount of living in his 88 years. In addition to his Newport exploits, he also was a citrus farmer, oilman, dealmaker, championship motorcyclist, early car enthusiast, speedboat champion, and serial entrepreneur, among other things.  For our money, W.S. Collins is the most interesting person in Newport Beach history.

    41 min

  4. 07/01/2024

    39: W.S. Collins — Balboa Island Visionary, Con Man or Both? (Part 1)

    “W.S. Collins: Balboa Island Visionary, Con Man or Both?” takes a deep dive into the life of the most intriguing figure in Newport history: W.S. Collins.  The farsighted land speculator is best known for buying the entire Newport Beach townsite (almost all of the peninsula) in 1902. And for his next act, he created Balboa Island out of a tiny, mosquito-ridden mudflat. But Collins also had a darker side that’s been rarely explored, whether it was literally trying to hang a second-grader in his first job as an teacher in Kansas, marrying five times, conducting shady business deals, or going bankrupt and leaving behind a partially (and poorly) developed Balboa Island along with an island full of angry residents.  Looked at as a whole, Collins packed in an insane amount of living in his 88 years. In addition to his Newport exploits, he also was a citrus farmer, oilman, dealmaker, championship motorcyclist, early car enthusiast, speedboat champion, and serial entrepreneur, among other things.  For our money, W.S. Collins is the most interesting person in Newport Beach history.

    43 min

  5. 03/01/2024

    38: The Secrets of Collins Castle

    For more than 50 years, the Collins Castle stood sentry over Newport Harbor. The concrete mansion once rivaled the stately Balboa Pavilion—five years its junior— for the attention of boaters on the bay. Located on tiny Collins Island, which is one of three islands that make up Balboa Island, the castle was built by Balboa Island's original developer, W.S. Collins, in the early 1910s and has been a part of Newport Beach lore ever since.

    33 min

  6. 12/06/2023

    37: The Case of the Missing Beach in West Newport

    For decades, the beach in West Newport would occasionally disappear when storm waves stripped away the sand. In the 1930s, one storm wiped out the beach and sent several homes to Davy’s Locker. A later storm wiped out all  the oceanfront houses between 50th and 55th streets.  The sand returned for a few decades, but in the early 1960s, the West Newport beach started to disappear again – and this time, Mother Nature wasn't giving the sand back. So solutions were offered – almost all of them completely bananas. The favorite idea was to build a 1.5-mile-long breakwater from the Newport Pier to about 60th Street. Other kooky proposals included the construction of an underwater reef two miles long and making the sand radioactive so it could be easily traced. The latter plan actually happened. With no agreed upon solution, by the late summer of 1968, West Newport was literally without a beach, and oceanfront homes stood on the precipice of a crumbling 10-foot-high sand cliff. So authorities hastily conducted a controversial experiment: place steel jetties at 40th Street and 44th Street to hold the sand in place. After promising results, six more jetties–these made of boulders–were placed from 56th and 28nd Street with the last one completed in 1973. In West Newport, the beach was back.

    27 min

  7. 10/05/2023

    36: The 9 Lives of the Castaways

    There’s no chunk of land in Newport Beach that’s more historic and has been more malleable than the Castaways. Its chameleon-like ability, enabled by its prime location overlooking the bay and ocean, has given the Castaways nine distinct lives–some historically critical, others largely forgotten, some lasting millions of years, others gone after less than a decade. The one thing they have in common: they are all fascinating.

    30 min

  8. 09/01/2023

    35: The Prophet Who Predicted and Saved Newport Harbor's Future

    In 1909, W.S. Collins wanted to massively increase the footprint of his Balboa Island development. The land extension would have cut the width of Newport Harbor's main channel by more than half.  In those days, the federal government had final approval of any plans for the harbor, so the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers sent Captain D.E. Hughes to assess the situation. In just 960 words, he delivered a masterpiece of a report (part love letter, part manifesto) that amazingly predicted the future of Newport Beach and its harbor with great precision and beautifully laid out the argument that the harbor's waterways should be reserved for the people's enjoyment and not a developer's profits. His observations killed Collins' plans for a super-sized Balboa Island and set the precedent that the harbor should be enjoyed by all.

    11 min
See All (42)

4.9
out of 5
62 Ratings

About

A look back at the events and people—famous and forgotten—that shaped Newport Beach. Follow on Instagram (newport.in.the.rearview.mirror).

Information

  • Creator
    Hosted by William Lobdell
  • Years Active
    2020 - 2025
  • Episodes
    42
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2025 Newport Beach in the Rearview Mirror
  • Show Website
    Newport Beach in the Rearview Mirror