Newport Beach, California has always owed much of its success to its proximity to the ocean. It is located in Orange County and has become part of a metro are that is also composed of Santa Ana, which is located about 10 miles north. Originally inhabited by Shoshone Indians who lived in part on the bounty of the sea as well as the fertile farmland, by the mid-1700s, the Spanish were beginning to explore further into what would become California. The areas of Santa Ana, Tunstin and Orange, which would later make up Newport Beach, evolved into farming communities with many new arrivals by covered wagon in the 1800s. In the late 1800s, the rather isolated settlement’s population and trade exploded when a wharf was built that spanned the area from the shallow bay of the peninsula to the deeper waters where the larger steamships could dock. Within a few years of the wharf being built, the area of Newport Beach was a thriving shipping town.
With all of the new shipping activities, more investors became interested in the area. By 1905, the Pacific Electric Railroad had connected Newport Beach to Los Angeles. With the advent of the trains, many families began arriving in Newport Beach to camp and enjoy the area. As a result, soon small hotels and cottages were built to keep up with the need for visitor facilities. In 1906, the scattered areas of West Newport, Balboa Island, Lido Isle and the peninsula were incorporated into the city of Newport Beach. Soon parts of Newport Heights and Corona del Mar were annexed and the city increased its boundaries again.
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Newport Beach, home to Newport Harbor and Balboa Island, is fifty miles from Los Angeles, fourteen miles from Disneyland in Anaheim and thirty miles from Catalina Island. It’s a great place to get away from it all but still have it all. It is a small, population approximately 72,000, affluent city surrounded by major attractions.
Rent a condo or villa, stay at an inexpensive motel, park your RV at the Newport Dunes Resort & Marina, check into a medium priced hotel or pamper yourself at a luxury hotel like the Balboa Bay Club & Resort which shares the same address as the Balboa Bay Club (“The Balboa Bay Club which boasts a star-studded history with a guest register bearing the signatures of luminaries, including John Wayne, Ronald and Nancy Regan, Humphrey Bogart, Lauren Bacall, Robert Wagner, Natalie Wood and many more.”), Four Seasons, Hyatt Regency, Mariott or the Balboa Inn.
Dine at one of the many excellent restaurants like the Newport Landing Restaurant (“Newport Landing is Newport Beach. Located on the Bay overlooking the historic Balboa Ferry with a panoramic view of Newport Harbor, Balboa Island, Newport Center, and the distant peaks of Saddleback.”), The Ritz Restaurant & Garden (“Synonymous with elegance, gracious service and award-winning cuisine.”), The Sol Restaurant in the Hyatt Regency Newport Beach (Featuring World Island cuisine from the Caribbean, South Pacific, and Gulf of Mexico.), Woody’s Wharf (“Live entertainment Friday and Saturday night. Valet parking and quest slips available fo the boaters.”) or The Harborside Restaurant and Grand Ballroom (“Famous for its world-renowned cupola and illuminated by more than 1,400 white lights, the Balboa Pavilion has served as the beacon of Newport Beach for almost a century.”). These are but a few of the fine restaurants in Newport Beach.
Spend some time at the clean sandy beaches, cruise the large smooth water harbor while viewing the large yachts and multi million dollar homes, charter a sport fishing boat, rent a sail boat, have a party or get married on a chartered yacht, take a ride in a gondola, visit the Orange County Museum of Art, visit the many gift shops, art galleries and sidewalk cafes on Balboa Island, visit the boardwalk shops and restaurants at Newport Pier, visit or take a swim at Pirates Cove, which is best known for the filming of Gilligans Island, go hikeing, horseback riding, scuba diving or surfing at Crystal Cove State Park or catch a ride to Catalina Island.
If for some reason you need more to do, close by you will find Disneyland in Anaheim, Knott’s Berry Farm and Movieland Wax Museum in Buena Park and golf courses galore.
For more information about the city of Newport Beach, California see http://newportbeach.usacitydirectories.com, a directory of links to city of Newport Beach, California guides and directories listing information, resources, services, things to do and places to go.
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