75 years ago

Permits given for $123,000 in new homes (May 21, 1942)

Some relief for Benicia’s acute housing shortage was in sight this week with the issuance of $123,000 in building permits for the construction of thirty new homes in the first unit of the Schultz tract north of the city.
Work is expected to start on the homes within a short time.
Each of the homes is to contain five rooms and will cost approximately $4100
Maps of the first unit of the Schultz property were approved by the City Board of Trustees at a special meeting early this week. The unit consists of 90 lots of various sizes with the streets following contour of the land adjoining the new state highway being constructed between here and Cordelia.
Other units of the Schultz property will be opened as the development progresses, and when complete will cover 50 acres and contain 300 homes. A tract office will be opened on the ground alter for sale of the properties.

50 years ago

Fred Astaire Has Benicia Stopover (May 18, 1967)

Just in case you were a little slow on getting downtown early Wednesday afternoon, dancer-actor Fred Astaire and actress-singer Petula Clark along with a Warner Bros. Film crew were in town enjoying something to eat at the State House.
The are filming scenes in Northern California for “Finian’s Rainbow,” a onetime Broadway hit which is being made into a movie.
Yesterday morning they were filming scenes around Napa Junction. The movie makers are headquartered in Lodi and also have been shooting some footage at Modesto.

25 years ago

A whole lotta fun (May 17, 1992)

Kids, parents stop in droves at custom-designed play area
By David Hagerty

It’s a mob scene!
Youngsters crawling over one another, big kids hanging around and parents dawdling in the mid-afternoon sun.
This is some special playground.
Since work was completed two weeks ago today, the new play area in City Park has been packed from dawn ’til dusk. There’s hardly any time of the day when there aren’t at least a dozen kids, with their parents in tow, climbing the wood fortress.
Lori Hazeltine said the place was so busy last week she was afraid to let her 2-year-old niece play there. But Hazeltine returned Friday for a second look, and the youngster was more happy because of it. “They did some really wonderful things,” Hazeltine said. “I like the tunnel walks.”
Terre McMahon has already brought her daughter Margie to play on the jungle gym three times. The youngster loves the climbing ropes and tires that flow through the complex structure like highway overpasses.

The full articles of these and other stories are available on microfilm at the Benicia Public Library.

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