Escaping ‘dark times’

Listening to longtime resident Bill Ficker talk about Newport Beach, it’s clear he made the right decision when he moved here in 1953.

It was love at first sight for him, and he still sings Newport Beach’s praises.

According to Ficker, 78, an architect and 1970 winner of the America’s Cup sailboat race, Newport Beach has always been a fun place.

After World War II, it was the place Southern Californians came to have a good time and forget the war.

“A lot of people came here to catch up from all the dark times,” Ficker said.

During the war, the seaport was closed. When the people came back, they put their boats back in the water and celebrated by doing a lot of drinking, Ficker added.

The bars all had bands, and popular hotspots included the Hurley Bell, and Christian’s Hut, located halfway between the Balboa Pavilion and the Newport Harbor Yacht Club.

The Rendezvous Ballroom, where Les Brown’s and Glen Miller’s bands got their start, was in Newport Beach.

Newport Beach was also a place where college kids came to “raise hell on the beach,” Ficker said.

Big Hollywood stars frequented Newport Beach to have a good time and to sail ? but they were “just part of the community, not celebrities,” he said. “There was never a Hollywood crowd here. They came here as individuals to get away from Hollywood.” Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall would baby-sit the child of the commodore of the yacht club, Ficker recalled.

Ficker, who grew up in Pomona, visited Newport Beach as a child with his family on weekends. He and his wife, Barbara, built their first home on the oceanfront not far from where the Newport Harbor Yacht Club is today. They have been residents ever since.

“There has always been a lot of vitality in Newport Beach,” Ficker said. “Although Newport Beach is a wealthy town, the interesting thing is it still accommodates people who rent who maybe couldn’t afford to buy a house.

“It’s a nice mix,” he added. “We’ve been able to retain the initial character of the place.”