Downtown Master Plan Section 02

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main street Historic Downtown Lake Elsinore, located on Main Street, is nestled on the eastern edge of Lake Elsinore between the picturesque Ortega Mountain Range or Cleveland National Forest and the I-15 corridor. Main Street extends a total length of 3/4 mile, along the historic route US 395 connecting to the I -15 freeway. The heart of the historic downtown core, located at the southern end of the Main Street, combines an old-fashioned charm and atmosphere. Main Street offers a a limited variety of shopping experiences from antique and boutique shopping, to restaurants and cafes.

Some existing historic buildings, many dating from the 1920’s, still remain on Main Street today. The historic blocks of Main Street were enhanced in the 1980’s. New landscaping, streets, sidewalks, curbs and gutters, street trees, brick planters, public parking lots, period lighting, sidewalk bollards and sign posts were installed.

One of the objectives of the Redevelopment Agency is the preservation of the existing historic core of downtown and to create further opportunities for infill and redevelopment along the Main Street corridor. The Redevelopment Agency aims to create a safe, vibrant and walkable downtown, centered along Main Street.

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connecting to the lake

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HISTORY OF LAKE ELSINORE

BOOM TOWN

Extracted from the ‘History of City of Lake Elsinore’ web site. http://www.lake-elsinore.org/

In 1888, the City population has approximately 1,000 residents, and boasts a variety of stores, a lumberyard, daily mail service, brick buildings downtown, and good water, soil and climate for agriculture.

The Luiseno Indians, the earliest known inhabitants, call the lake Entengvo Wumoma, which freely translates into ‘Hot Springs’ by the Little Sea. Native American pictographs can be found on rocks on the Ortega Mountains and samples are also on display at the Historical Society Museum.

SETTLEMENT The Spaniards called the lake ‘Laguna Grande’; later part of the Mexican land grant, Rancho La Laguna.

The 12,832 acre California Rancho was acquired and setttled by Don Agustin Machado in 1858. The Machado’s adobe house became part of the historic Butterfield stage route, as a relay station for mail and passengers, and still stands today near Grand Avenue.

HEALING WATERS As a prominent stop along the Butterfield Stage Route, the word of the healing mineral and sulphur water within the City quickly spreads. From the beginning, The City’s mineral springs have attracted visitors seeking therapeutic treatments from the late 19th Century. Built in 1887, The Crescent Bath House, also known as The Chimes, was one of the first buildings to be built in the downwtown. The building still stands today in historic downtown and is a registered national historic site.

FOUNDING FATHERS In 1883, the Machado Rancho was sold to City founder Franklin Heald for $24,000, realizing a dream that will endure and evolve as the future City of Lake Elsinore.

City founders included Franklin Heald, Donald Graham, William Collier and Margaret Collier Graham (brother to William and wife to Donald). Margaret Collier Graham picked the name “Elsinore” because she liked the sound, a name taken from Shakespeare’s Hamlet.

It is the first ‘brand’ name of three that the City adopted later.

CITY INCORPORATION The residents voted to incorporate the City on April 9, 1888. At that time, Elsinore is in San Diego County.

In 1893, the City became part of the newly formed County of Riverside.

connecting to the lake

INDUSTRIES In 1888, the industries that supported the economy included coal and clay mining, gold mining, ranching and agriculture (fruit, nuts). The Good Hope Mine yields two million dollars worth of gold during its’ working years and is operated on and off for 90 years before high groundwater ends its run and forced its’ closure. The railroad first served the town in 1885. The Sante Fe train depot still stands today, at the corner of Graham Avenue and Spring Street, which serves as the Lake Elsinore Valley Chamber of Commerce headquarters.

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background - historical context HISTORIC BUILT ENVIRONMENT

A GOLDEN AGE

There are two historic buildings within the boundary of the historic downtown, the Crescent Bath House/ Chimes Building and the Grand Army of the Republic Armory Hall. Both are currently listed in the National Register of Historic Places RHP. The Chimes building, built in the 1800’s was one of the first buildings to be built within the City of Lake Elsinore. The list of California Points of Historical Interest includes the Grand Army of the Republic Armory Hall and the Lake Elsinore Hot Sulphur Springs.

The 1920s Lake Elsinore was established as a playground for the rich and glamorous, from the Hollywood and Los Angeles. The Valley hosted Olympic teams for training and high speed boat racing on the lake.

DEVELOPMENTS IN THE CITY

In the 1980’s, the Riverside County Historical Commission designated Historic Downtown Lake Elsinore as a local historic district. The historic downtown is specifically focused on Main Street Heald Avenue, and Graham Avenue. The majority of the buildings within the downtown historic district were built in the 1920’s and 1950’s.

In 1964, Elsinore elected California’s first AfricanAmerican Mayor, Thomas R. Yarborough. He was elected to the City Council in 1948. In the 1950s, the lake completely dried up for the first time in recorded history, which lasted for a period of 10 years. In 1964, the lake was artifically filled with water from the Colorado River, delivered via Metropolitan Water District’s Colorado River Aqueduct. The Skylark Airport, located in the floodplain at the southern end of the lake, emerged as a world class sky diving drop zone.

The Lake Elsinore Downtown Historic District is currently listed in the Riverside County General Plan as a Significant Historical Resource. The list also includes the following buildings: - Masonic Lodge - Train Depot - First Presbyterian Church - Pioneer Lumber Company on West Graham Avenue

The historic Main Street and City Hall were completely rennovated in 1989. The Lake Elsinore Outlet Center opened in 1991, boasting over 100 factory outlets.

Professional baseball comes to town with the opening of the Lake Elsinore Diamond Baseball stadium in 1994, the home of the Lake Elsinore Storm, affiliate of the Anaheim Angels and later, with the San Diego Padres.

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IT’S THE NAME: THE CITY OF LAKE ELSINORE In 1972, the citizens by popular vote, approved its’ new name: the City of Lake Elsinore. This name change was favored as a way to promote the City as a lake-oriented destination area. The State of California Parks & Recreation Department owned the lake and a campground recreation area until 1993, when the lake assets and water rights are turned over to the City and Elsinore Valley Municipal Water District.

blooms with construction of an earthen levee, project wells and a new inlet channel and outlet channel (a separate project). The LEMP project is completed in 1995. In 1997 EVMWD and the City create a landmark Recycled Water Task Force, to explore the acceptability of using recycled water to supplement the lake in dry years. State voters approve $15 million in bonds to create the Lake Elsinore & San Jacinto Watersheds Authority, which develops and constructs projects to improve water quality and habitat in the lake and surrounding watershed. Nearly ten years after the Recycle Water Task Force, Lake Elsinore becomes the first natural lake in California to win approval from the state for use of recycled water, which is safe for full body contact.

NATURE’S WAY In 1981 and 1983, as a result of El Nino conditions, Lake Elsinore suffered from the worst flooding in recorded history; a souvenir flood booklet quickly sold out. The 6,000 acre lake and back basin fills with runoff from the San Jacinto River, flooding parts of Grand Avenue and Corydon Road, which knocked out power for days; several homes are lost and rebuilding is banned.

In 1984, the Lake Elsinore Management Project is lobbied for in Washington, D.C. by Elsinore Valley Municipal Water District and the City, who are successful in obtaining a US Bureau of Reclamation Small Projects Act loan and grant of $39.6 million to build the project. The project is sold to residents as ending the cycle of flood and drying, fish kills and algal 23

CIVIC CENTER DESIGN COMPETITION

DREAM EXTREME

A Civic Center Design Competition was held in 2007 to decide the location and design for a new city hall, council chambers, post office, public library, business incubator, and other government offices within the downtown. Two sites were identified by the City for the proposed Civic Center. The first site included 9.54 acres on Main Street and Heald Avenue by the Cultural Center, and the second site included approximately 17 acres extending to the lake at the south end of Main Street. Of the design teams shortlisted for the project, 22 of 24 selected the lakefront property. In July 2007, three finalists were selected including Brian Healy Architects of Boston, Hanna Gabriel Wells Architects of San Diego, and Koning Eizenberg Architecture of Santa Monica. However, during a public meeting, citizens criticized and voted against the proposed designs. A consensus for location and design of the new Civic Center was not reached. As a result, the City halted plans for the Civic Center and pursued a greater downtown master planning effort.

For the third time since the City’s founding, a distinctive brand identity was developed to position the City for the future: Dream Extreme! The branding slogan, “Dream Extreme,” was designed with “deep roots in the history and culture of Elsinore and continues to build on those attributes that make Elsinore a viable town.” The new logo and slogan ‘Dream Extreme’ were adopted in 2006 to catch up the City’s image with robust economic progress during the largest growth boom in the City’s history. Lake Elsinore’s population is nearly 50,000 in 2007. Major “big box” retailers and dozens of new retail and commercial businesses open between 2006 and 2008.

GENERAL PLAN UPDATE

CELEBRATE 120 YEARS

The Downtown Lake Elsinore Master Plan was spurred by several events. Firstly, the City of Lake Elsinore has been making revisions to their General Plan. It is envisioned that the proposed General Plan will be ”based on a vibrant vision of Lake Elsinore for the 21st century” and plans for “a city that has remembered, retained, and recreated the important qualities of its rich culture and history.” Some specific goals of the General plan are to be “more than a bedroom community…a balanced urban community, capitalizing on the lake as a tourist destination” and “develop a sustainable City that will be able to meet the needs of its current residents without compromising the ability of future residents and visitors of the City to enjoy a quality of life that meets or exceeds their expectations.”

In 2008, the City celebrated its 120th anniversary, choosing the theme ‘The Spirit of the Dream’ to honor the founders and those who have forged the City’s progress to date.

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