Sunday, February 17, 2013

Floral Park





      I found this on YouTube. I remember the Floral Park neighborhood as the best place to go trick or treating and for the friends who lived there. The homes in Floral Park and the adjacent West Floral Park (where we lived, before our neighborhood had a name) have been well preserved. In fact they probably look better than ever. In 2007 Floral Park won the NUSA Neighborhood of the Year Award and was named Best of Orange County–#1 Neighborhood. (Click in the lower right hand corner of the video box to enbiggen.)

History of Floral Park:
      Floral Park began to blossom in the early 1920's, soon after World War I. As the weary soldiers returned home, many married their sweethearts and made plans to settle down, buy a house, and have a family. They brought with them visions of quaint French Norman and English Tudor cottages, colorful Spanish Colonial villas, and dignified Italianate homes.
      During the prosperous years of the 1920's, it was said that "every man could have his castle and he could have it in any style he wanted." Floral Park, with its rich cornucopia of architectural styles, is particularly representative of that trend. 
     The streetscapes of Floral Park grew from an occasional large ranch house among the orange, avocado and walnut groves to sections of single-family homes in a variety of romantic styles. Spanish Colonial Revival houses, with their red tile roofs and softly colored stucco exteriors, were particularly popular. Shaded by palm trees, they became a symbol of Southern California living.
     English Tudor Revival homes, exhibiting lots of charm and character, were built in many versions. Early American designs, such as Federal, Cape Cod and Georgian, added to the rich variety. Architects enjoyed mixing architectural features, taking what they liked from each style and creating unique one-of-a-kind houses.
      In the 1930's and early 1940's, there were still several orange groves in Floral Park. After World War II the remaining groves disappeared as a new building boom resulted in the construction of stylish new ranch-style homes with large light-filled rooms, sliding glass doors to back yards, patios, and an open horizontal floor plan. Garages, often attached to the house, became necessary as more families had two cars.The Floral Park Neighborhood Association works actively to preserve the character and beauty of the neighborhood and to provide a sense of friendliness and helpfulness to its residents.

Floral Park Today:
       It is a very diverse community with Hispanics, White , Asians,and African Americans of and endless races and cultures. They make their own celebrations,walks,events,meetings and festivals as a very united community. Everybody pitches in to make what Floral Park is recognised for. They have many clubs like the "Mothers of Floral Park","Garden Club" to name a few. Every year they offer a "Floral Park Home & Garden Tour" which allow you to visit the neighboorhood and see the inside and outside of homes."

1 comment:

  1. The neighborhood has changed quite a bit over the years. What once was just a place with older houses that young families could afford is now concidered upscale and trendy.
    Dean and I are very lucky we live in the house I grew up in on Bonnie Brae!!!
    Deb Juratsch Davis

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