Save Newport Real News in Newport Beach
Did you know that Newport has always been filled with mavericks who do what they want? Even during prohibition, Balboa Peninsula’s geography made it perfectly suited to run speakeasys. The Ritz Theatre (now Balboa Theater) was a speakeasy, as was the Balboa Pavilion, and many other famous but short-lived “pop-up” shops in the area. The mainstay speakeasys were no small games, either– just like the cartoons portrayed, these had alcohol shelves that pivoted and hid entire walls of the good stuff.
Police largely ignored the open-secret of the peninsula, but when they would come, warnings would sound from the areas now called Lido and the “War Zone”. This gave establishments just enough precious moments to hide the alcohol and pretend like nothing was happening except some good old fashioned socializing. There are no records of any arrests during this time– so it appears that the excellent procedures in hiding the alcohol worked flawlessly– or perhaps the police simply didn’t want to break up a good party 🙂
Many cities throughout the country protested through their actions in a similar fashion, draining police resources and ignoring the law. Police began to lose respect in communities where the 18th amendment was enforced– and along with a loss of respect came a loss of power. This dynamic continued for the entire prohibitionary period, until December 5th, 1933.
Do you have any stories of the Speakeasy’s in Balboa, or other parts of Newport?
Cheers to the mavericks of the 20s and 30s!
