MILLENNIUM MOMENT

In the late 1920s and early ‘30s in Newport Beach, the hottest

nightspots were the Rendezvous Ballroom and the Balboa Pavilion. Then

came the entrepreneur Al Anderson, who leased the land in the middle of

Washington, Palm and Bay avenues in 1936, creating The Fun Zone.

Anderson brought amusement park-style attractions to The Fun Zone,

attracting the young crowds of the springtime Bal Week celebrations. The

area became rather run-down over the years and was at one point slated

for demolition, but it was renovated and reopened in 1986.

* MILLENNIUM MOMENT celebrates the people who have made a major

contribution to the Newport-Mesa community during this century.