Olive Through the Ages

Timeline of events in Olive: 1958-present

8000 BC-800 AD  |  1769-1869  |  1871-1891  |  1892-1957  |  1958-Present
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1958 September 7: New St. Paul's Lutheran School building is dedicated at the site near the southwestern corner of Heim Avenue and Canal Street.59

Lawrence Kokx's packing house closes. (Source: Tom Pulley)

Luskey's 1958-59 Orange City Directory includes the following listings: Al's Barber Shop (Al Campbell, 16432 Santiago Blvd.), Custom Body Shop (8610 Santa Ana Canyon Road), Dodge Glenn Union Service Station (W.G. Dodge, 8692 Santa Ana Canyon Road), Olive Cafe (E.W. Mulder, 16372 Anaheim Olive Road), Olive Forgeing and Welding (G. Hughes, Santiago Boulevard, corner of Orange-Olive Road), Motel Olive Apartments (R.J. & Mrs. E.P. Underwood, 8620 Santa Ana Canyon Road), Olive Food Market (T.O. & Mrs. B.H. Millers, 8702 Santa Ana Canyon Road), Olive Garage (A.W. Ames, 16482 Anaheim-Olive Road), Olive Hillside Groves, Inc. (H.D. Lemke, president, W.E. Collin, vice president, B.F. Guard, secretary manager, 8642 S. Santa Ana Canyon Road), Olive Pharmacy (L.C. McClelland, 8722 Santa Ana Canyon Road), Olive Pool Hall (R.L. Parent, 16432 Santiago Blvd.), Olive School (P.H. Petersen, principal, P.O. Box 27, Olive), Olive Tavern (E.W. Mulder, 16376 Anaheim-Olive Road), Radice's Nursery (Charles & Mrs. J.E. Radice,
8532 Santa Ana Canyon Road), Santa Fe Railway Co. (C.F. Gross, agent, 8691 Santa Ana Canyon Road), Sol-Air Products toys manufacturers (G.H. Matter & L.G. Deterding, 16381 Anaheim-Olive Road), St. Paul's Lutheran Church (Reverend L.E. Muhly, pastor, 16601 Main), St. Paul's Lutheran School (Roland G. Hoeppnor, principal, 8651 Magnolia). Olive Cafe and Olive Pool Hall appear for the last time in this Directory.52

Olive Mission (Lincoln Avenue Baptist Church) is founded, started by members of First Southern Baptist Church of Anaheim. (Sources: Lincoln Avenue Baptist Church, accessed July 2016, and Southern Baptist Church of Anaheim "Church History" Web site, accessed December 2010)
   
1959 Circa this time, many orchard owners—or their descendants—begin selling their property to housing developers.
   
1960 Circa this time, Olive Hillside Groves—a Mutual Orange Distributors house—closes its operations.25

The Santa Fe Railway agency at Olive closes.39

Construction of new homes begins in many areas surrounding present-day Olive. Based on Margaret Hughes' hand drawn map dated in the 1940s, some of the streets located near St. James Avenue would be named for former orchard owners: Greenleaf Avenue for Mr. Greenleaf who grew oranges and lemons, and Bortz Street for L.A. Bortz who grew lemons.9 The S.A.V.I. canal/tunnel falls into disuse due to the construction of a housing tract northeast of the original Olive streets in the early 1960s.
   
1961

Luskey's Orange City Directory includes the following listings: Olive Elementary School (8651 Magnolia Avenue—this is shown as the address for St. Paul's Lutheran School in Luskey's 1958-59 Directory), Olive Motel and Apartments (R.I. and Mrs. E.P. Underwood, 8620 Santa Ana Canyon Road), St. Paul's Lutheran Church (8651 Magnolia Avenue—the same address shown in this directory for Olive Elementary School), St. Paul's Lutheran School (16682 Heim Avenue), Bert's Service (8610 Santa Ana Canyon Road), Dodge Glenn Union Service Station (8692 Santa Ana Canyon Road).52

The Olive Elementary School site is annexed to the City of Orange.8

The Santa Fe Railway depot is retired and the structure is used as the temporary U.S. Post Office.39

August: Olive Assembly of God Church is founded by Peter and Beverly Caruso. Services are held in the family home on Heim Avenue which would be cleared away along with surrounding orange groves the following year to make way for the construction of Heim Elementary School in 1963. (Source: Bevery Caruso, November 2015)

Sunday, December 10: Fire guts the one-story brick building that houses The Olive Food Market, U.S. Post Office, and The Olive Pharmacy at the northeastern corner of Orange-Olive Road at Lincoln Avenue. This structure, dating back to 1923, would never be rebuilt.2 (Additional source: Clay Miller, Register Staff Writer, "Olive Business Area Hit; $200,000 Damages: Skeleton Remains Today." The Register December 11, 1961)

   
1962 January: Olive Assembly of God and Olive Christian School temporarily relocate to a wooden, white, two-story Craftsman house at 16051 E. Lincoln Avenue. (Source: Beverly Caruso, November 2015, and OC Archives road works photos)

March 21: Olive Mission (Lincoln Avenue Baptist Church) members begin meeting in a farm house at 604 W. Lincoln Avenue. (Source: First Southern Baptist Church of Anaheim "Church History" Web site, accessed December 2010).

Libby J. Meats sells to Charmaine Meyers Nance the parcel of land across from Olive Elementary School, to the west of the railroad tracks.9

Pacific Telephone's November 1962 Orange County Telephone Directory lists Olive Equipment Co. at 15505 Lincoln in Orange, and Olive Tavern at 16372 Anaheim-Olive Road in Anaheim.55
   
1963 January 11: Merlex Stucco begins operating in the former Olive Hillside Groves building at 2911 N. Orange-Olive Road.24

Olive Elementary School is rebuilt to meet earthquake standards.56

The Orange Olive Center is built on Orange-Olive Road. The two tenants outside of the strip mall in the Center are Al's Party Pantry (store no. 2) and Snyder's Shell Service station, neither which are in operation today. In recent times, Christine's Dance Studio would occupy the former Al's Party Pantry building at 2681 N. Orange-Olive Road, and the Orange Hill Auto garage would operate in the former Snyder's Shell Service station building at 2707 N. Orange-Olive Road.52

July: New St. Paul's Lutheran Church sanctuary is dedicated at the southwestern corner of Heim Avenue and Canal St.59

Pacific Telephone's November Orange County Telephone Directory lists the following "new" information: Olive Cabinets Inc. (16762 Lincoln Avenue), Olive Cleaners (826 E. Lincoln—located today at 820 E. Lincoln in the Olive Heights Center), Olive Heights Pharmacy (820 E. Lincoln Avenue in the Olive Heights Center), Olive Medical (830 E. Lincoln Avenue in the Olive Heights Center).55 According to LoopNet.com, the Olive Heights Center was built in 1964.

The Olive branch of the U.S. Post Office at 8673 Santa Ana Canyon Road55 becomes an Orange Post Office station64 and relocates to 2683 N. Orange-Olive Road in the strip mall at the Orange Olive Center.
   
1964 Luskey's Orange City Directory includes the following "new" information for Olive: Olive Christian School (16051 E. Lincoln Avenue), Olive Heights Citrus Association (Rudy Heman, manager), Olive Heights Pharmacy (M.F. Maietta).52

October 5: The former Santa Fe Railway depot structure—that most recently housed the U.S. Post Office in Olive—is razed39 due to the realignment of Orange-Olive Road and Lincoln Avenue.9

The Signal Oil Company Service Station structure—listed in Luskey's 1965 Orange Directory—is identified on the U.S. Geological Survey map at the southeastern corner of Lincoln and Orange-Olive. This same map shows Olive Assembly of God Church in its new location at 8561 Dowling Street (later renamed Glassell St.).45
   
1965 Luskey's 1965 Orange City Directory includes the following listings for Olive—the street names and/or numbers having changed since the realignment of Orange-Olive Road and Lincoln Avenue: Mission Clay Products (B.B. Garrett, president, Owen Garrett, vice president, Ted Hellers, manager, 1629 E. Lincoln Avenue), Olive Garage (Anselmo W. Ames, 606 E. Lincoln).52

Luskey's Directory includes the following listings for the City of Orange: Lincoln Avenue (Southern) Baptist Church (604 W. Lincoln Avenue), Olive Elementary School (Robert Jobe, principal, 8612 Olive Avenue), Merlex Materials and Manufacturing, Incorporated (M.H. VerBurg, president, H.L. Wagner, vice president, Arthur Woodman, secretary-treasurer, 8642 N. Orange-Olive Road), Olive Cleaners (Newton Dyerly), Olive Medical (M. DeLuca, J. Jen Kin, and R. Clough), St. Paul's Lutheran Church (Reverend Reinhold F. Knaus, pastor, 16702 E. Heim), St. Paul's Lutheran School (Paul A. Weerts, principal, 16702 E. Heim), Signal Oil Company Service Station (2101 N. Orange-Olive Road).52

St. Paul's Lutheran organization sells its property in Olive.59
   
1966 First National Bank of Olive building is razed due to the realignment of Lincoln Avenue.9

Pacific Telephone's September Orange County directory lists Olive Assembly of God and Olive Christian Day School at 8561 Dowing (misspelled from "Dowling").55
   
1967 Four hundred feet of the Santa Fe spur line crossing Ocean View Avenue is retired.18

Circa this time, prior to February, Tzaddi Wedding Chapel and Metaphysical Center begins operating in the former St. Paul's Lutheran Church sanctuary.42

Circa this time, prior to March, Enco Products Service Station begins operating at the former site of Signal Oil Company Service Station.42

September: Lincoln Avenue Baptist Church services are held in the church's new facilities at the southwestern corner of Lincoln Avenue and Canal Street. The church is dedicated on December 7.65

Pacific Telephone's Directory lists only Olive Assembly of God at the 1966 address, and Lincoln Avenue Baptist Church is listed at 16751 Lincoln Avenue, which is equivalent to the address listed for Olive Southern Baptist Church in 1966.55

Action Recycling Center is established and makes use of the former Lawrence Kokx cabbage shed structure. The business continues operating out of the modified structure in 2011.
   
1968 Pacific Telephone's November 1968 Orange County White Pages Telephone Directory lists Tzaddi Chapel and Center at 8651 Magnolia Avenue in Olive—the former address of St. Paul's Lutheran School and Church.

Pacific Telephone's Directory lists in the City of Orange: Enco Products Service Station (2101 N. Orange-Olive Road—the former address of Signal Oil Company Service Station), Olive Heights Pharmacy (its last entry in the Directory).55

Pacific Telephone's Directory includes the last entry for Mission Clay Products Company at 1629 E. Lincoln Avenue in Orange.55 In Pacific Telephone's November 1971 Orange County Center and North White Pages Directory, Mission Clay Products is listed at the following locations: 23835 Highway 71 in Corona, 217 N. Magnolia in Whittier, and 10009 S. Painter in Santa Fe Springs.54
   
1969 January 14: The Brickyard shopping center is founded at 1667 E. Lincoln Avenue in Orange, on the former site of the old Mission Clay Products Company brick yard.24 However, construction on the shopping center does not begin until several years later.

May 12: Enco Automotive Products is conditionally dissolved and Enco Products Service Station at 2101 N. Orange-Olive Road subsequently closes.24

Eisenhower Park is founded at 2864 N. Tustin Avenue, on the northwestern corner of Tustin and Lincoln. The park is named in honor of former U.S. President Dwight Eisenhower who passed away this year.
   
1970 Pacific Telephone's November Orange County White Pages Telephone Directory includes the following listings in the Orange and Olive area: Olive-Heights Market (at the same location as Hi-Ho Market and Liquor today—824 E. Lincoln in the Olive Heights Center), Olive Little Leagues (8612 Olive Avenue—the address of Olive Elementary School). This directory also lists Olive Assembly of God at 8561 Glassell.54 When the unincorporated area occupied by Dowling Street was annexed to the City of Orange on September 14, 1972, the address for Olive Assembly Church changed to 2830 N. Glassell Street. (Source: Mark Winters, City of Orange planner)
   
1971 Pacific Telephone's November Orange County White Pages Telephone Directory includes the following listings in Orange: Olive Elementary School (the same address of the school today—3038 N. Magnolia), Olive Heights Wedding Chapel and Reception Hall (the same location as the former Tzaddi Chapel, but assigned a new address—1000 E. Lincoln), Olive Heights Catering (1000 E. Lincoln).54
   
1972 The Lakeside Professional Medical Dental building opens at the site of the second flour mill—which later became the site of the Padre Tile Company in the mid-1920s. The one-story, glass building stood on the northeastern corner of Ocean View at 1301 E. Lincoln Avenue in Orange.
   
1973 July 6: North Orange Christian Church is established32 at the former site of the St. Paul's Lutheran Church—now listed as 1001 E. Lincoln.54 The church also occupies the former parochial school building on this parcel.

Pacific Telephone's November Orange County White Pages Telephone Directory lists The Olive Pit at 834 E. Lincoln in Orange, where it is still located today in the Olive Heights Center.54

Two hundred feet of the Santa Fe spur line between Palm and Orange Avenue is retired.18
   
1974 Pacific Telephone's November Orange County White Pages Telephone Directory lists Lincoln Avenue Baptist Church at 1310 E. Lincoln Avenue, its current address.54
   
1976 February 3: The "First Site of the Olive Mill" brick monument with bronze plaque is placed on the northwestern edge of in Eisenhower Park. This monument is erected by the Orange North Rotary Club, Orange Bicentennial Commission.
   
1977 Pacific Telephone White Pages Directory lists Assembly of God — Olive - Orange at 2830 N. Glassell Street, and Orange Christian School at the same address.54 By 2002 the church would be renamed Orange Christian Assembly. The church and school would remain on this property until 2007,55 sharing the facilities with Pyramid Autism Center beginning in 2004. Though Pyramid is solely operating on this site today, the property is still owned by Southern California Assemblies of God. (Source: Grace, Pyramid Autism Center representative)

Local developers Roger Hobbs and Alan Trider purchase the brick yard site and begin development of The Brickyard shopping center in partnership with Bruce Gelker (developer of the Saddleback Inn in Santa Ana). (Source: Phil Brigandi)
   
1979 Pacific Telephone White Pages Directory lists Olive Little League Snack Bar at 2841 N. Glassell, Orange, 714-998-4161. This may be the last listing for Olive Little League.54
   
1981 August 7: The following business entities were photographed in black and white on this date: Olive Motel Apartments at 8620-22 Orange-Olive Road, and Olive Garage at 606 Lincoln next door to Henry's Bar. (Source: First American Corporation)

Circa this time, a two-story office building is built at the southeastern corner of Lincoln and Orange-Olive Road, where the Enco service station used to operate.24 This structure still stands today at 710-722 E. Lincoln Avenue.
   
1983 October 13: C.C.c.c. Heating & Air Conditioning, Incorporated begins operating in the former Olive Garage building. This business continues to operate today at 606 E. Lincoln Avenue.24

Luskey's Orange-Villa Park Telephone Directory lists the Olive Garage Official Inspection Station at 2845 Orange-Olive Road in Orange.53
   
1984 June 9: Olive Elementary School closes.31 Heim Elementary School also closes this month.59

Olive Heights Citrus Association shuts down its operations on Orange-Olive Road due to its merger with Orange Heights Citrus Association in Corona.33

Pacific Telephone's November Orange County White Pages Telephone Directory lists the Olive Garage at 2845 Orange-Olive Road in Orange, where it operates today.54
   
1985 Autumn: St. Paul's Lutheran School opens for Kindergarten through 8th grade students at the former Heim Elementary School site.59
   
1987 The Olive Heights Citrus Association property is purchased by Danny Letner who forms Sun Kest Properties to further the redevelopment of this parcel.9
   
1988 December: Fire guts the Olive Heights Citrus Association structure.9
   
1989 October 28: "Fire Station No. 20, 8663 Orange-Olive Road, Olive," is named by the Orange County Fire Authority as being at high risk for severe earthquake damage.65
   
1993 October 7: Olive Civic Center is included in the National Register of Historic Places, Register No. 93001038.28
   
1994 Summer: Rudy Heman—Olive native, former fast-pitch softball legend in Olive, and one-time manager of the Olive Heights Citrus Association—dies at his home in Olive.36
   
1997 February 23: Fire Station #20, deactivated in 1996, closes.30

Both Fire Station #20 and Olive Heights Citrus Association structures are razed to make room for a housing development.2
   
1998 Greystone Homes constructs 36 detached residential condominium units to the west of the Santa Fe railroad tracks, on the northwestern corner of Lincoln Avenue at Orange-Olive Road.34 The Greystone Crossings tract is located in a cul-de-sac that would be named Santa Fe Place.
   
1999 September 7: Olive Elementary School reopens.16 The school is located at 3038 N. Magnolia Avenue in Orange.
   
2001 Vero, a division of Merlex Stucco, begins operating out of the former Lawrence Kokx packing house. The entire building is owned by Merlex Stucco.
   
2006 November: A number of residents attempt to halt the development of a 12-unit condominium proposed for construction on Main Street near Buena Vista.58
   
2009 July: Olive Station U.S. Post Office is listed as one of the post offices in Orange County that may close in the near future due to the Postal Service's budgetary concerns.

September: The foundation is laid for condominiums at the northeastern corner of Main and Ocean View.
   
2010 June: Olive Station U.S. Post Office is removed from the list of post offices to be closed.
   
2011 July: Olive Station U.S. Post Office is again placed on the list of post offices slated for closure. In December, an announcement is made that all post offices on the list will remain open until May 2012. However, operations at the Olive Station continue post 2012.

Construction is completed for condominium units on the north side of Main Street at Buena Vista.

Apartment units are constructed at the former Olive Motel Apartment site, originally the Clement Lumber Co. site, on the northeastern corner of Orange-Olive Road and Buena Vista.
   
2015 March 23: Property owned by Southern California Assemblies of God is sold to an investment firm. The church and school were active at this site until 2007.

May: Lincoln Avenue Baptist Church is merged with The Main Place Christian Fellowship and the old corporation is dissolved.
   
2016 Merlex Stucco and Vero are acquired by Parex USA, and by September the new company post its signage outside the former Olive Hillside Groves brick building Merlex Stucco occupied since 1963. About this time, the former Lawrence Kokx packing house next door that the Vero business occupied sports a banner: Central Valley Builders Supplies, the name of a hardware and garden store headquartered in Napa Valley, CA which was founded in 1948.
   
2017 July: Olive Pony Baseball league (which plays its games at Olive Park) takes its first Little League World Series championship.73
   
2018 October: The former Olive Assembly of God buildings on Glassell—most recently occupied by Pyramid Autism Center—are demolished to make way for the construction of Trio Townhomes.
   
2019

June 10: The low, brick and mortar border that surrounded the base of the Old Santa Ana fieldstone monument on N. Orange-Olive Rd. since the 1960s is removed due to its deterioration over time.

October: Construction completed on Trio Townhomes on the former Assemblies of God property.

November 10: Lakeside Professional Building on the corner of Lincoln and Oceanview is demolished.

December 12: Olive Station U.S. Post Office is temporarily closed from this day through the present time.

December 31: Fabric Land at the Lincoln Village strip mall closes, after being in business for 58 years.

   
2020 Parex USA moves out of the former Merlex Stucco building at 2911 N. Orange-Olive Rd. The building stands vacant as of December 2022.
   
2021

Grading begins for a facility to be constructed at the northeastern corner of Lincoln Ave. at Oceanview, the former site of the second Olive Mill of 1890 and, more recently, Lakeside Professional Building.

Metal fencing appears around the lot on the northeastern corner of Lincoln and Orange-Olive Road (formerly the site of the 1923 brick building that burned in 1961) adjacent to the current Olive Garage.

A sidewalk is constructed on the eastern side of Orange-Olive Road, north of Lincoln Ave., up to Buena Vista Ave.

A chainlink fence is built around the former Merlex Stucco (Olive Hillside Groves) brick building on Orange-Olive Road.

   
2022 January: Aspire Inn & Suites opens at 428 E. Lincoln Ave. in the former JR Motel building which was constructed in 2017 and operated until 2020.
   
2023 April 1: Sunrise of Orange, a Sunrise Senior Living facility that provides "Assisted Living / Memory Care," holds its Grand Opening celebration on premises at the former site of Lakeside Professional Building, 1301 E. Lincoln Ave.
   

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