The DOWNTOWN Report: mid-May 2025

By Mike Ritto on May 23, 2025

Road Trip

Let’s begin with A, as in Azusa, which claims everything from A to Z in the USA, hence the name. Pretty sure Anaheim has more of almost everything than they do. Next, it’s all the way to Zzyzx, so named to be the last word in the English language. Zzyzx apparently has something at the end of that infamous road, or maybe just past the end of the road.

Santa Ana almost has a smidge of a view of upper Newport Bay, plus they do have an airport, so they win? Wait a second, Fullerton has it all, it has you of course, plus a train station, complete with two historic depots and of course, our railroad museum. We have another course of course, Coyote Hills Golf Course. Oh yea, we have the Fullerton Museum Center, the Muckenthaler Cultural Center, the Arboretum, Laguna Lake, and yes, we also have an airport. How many of you have been to all of these locations in Fullerton? We don’t see many hands, so here is the solution…

Airport Day is coming up on Saturday, May 31, from 10am to 3pm. It’s FREE and everyone will love it, young, old, and even the in-between, once you tell them they can take to the sky and get some amazing photos with their cellphone. Come early and have breakfast, or take an early hike in Coyote Hills, or a nice stroll around the Arboretum, then head over to the event for refreshments.

Official City Tree

Having grown up on a street lined with Jacarandas that bloomed simultaneously, it’s puzzling to see that our official trees seem to be on very different schedules. You may notice some that are just developing some greenery, like many on their namesake street, Jacaranda Place.

A few are just beginning to show, while others are nearly in full bloom, and a couple are even already dropping the purple devils on unsuspecting parked cars. We brought this up last May, having noticed that one of the largest downtown Jacarandas was not blooming, when at the same time the year before, it was in full glory. Chalk it all up to our evolving, wacky weather?

We just had three days of summer temperatures, then a quick U-Turn and it’s like early spring again, so all of our flora may be confused. We miss good old Dr. Fischbeck, who always had the answers. Brief note: Thanks to all of you for your support, subscribing to and encouraging us to continue the printed version of The Observer.

Blocking Out Hate

Lani Hinkle

What a fun event it was, and a very profitable one for the aforementioned Museum Center, as 88 works of art on 6” by 6” wooden blocks took in an amazing total of $12,000, and perhaps a bit more when we get the final tally. The variety of works was astonishing, quite a few were three-dimensional, all were crafted with great inspiration by local artists who wanted to help fund the upcoming Pride Fest, which will be on June 7.

We will keep you posted. We are also keeping you posted about Day of Music, which boasts 60-plus locations as of this writing, with more being added every day. Interested? Sign up at https://dayofmusicfullerton.com/venues and even if you are not a musician you can participate in Circle Singing, something made popular by Bobby McFerrin.

Photo Quiz

Send answer to Mike at AllMedia@sbcglobal.net

This time: From what we could tell, this was taken from the top of Coyote Hills, which is what that entire area was called at the time. Can anyone name the road that stretches out ahead, through La Habra, our neighbor to the north, and beyond? Is that La Mirada Creek next to Hacienda Road? Inquiring minds need to know.

Last time: We published this photo of something familiar to many but explained by none. We did get some captions and awful puns, as well as curious comments from various sources. Here are the biggest offenders.