Local History: lido isle in the early years

Photos provided by Newport Beach Historical Society circa 1928

If you owned a home on Lido Isle during its early years, you were likely quite lonely. Few people wanted to live there. 

The island opened in 1928 to much fanfare (it was one of the first master-planned communities in California), but interest in home lots was almost nonexistent. After several years of pitiful sales, the original developer raised the white flag and surrendered, and the new owner left holding the bag immediately held a years-long liquidation sale to dispose of the then-white elephant as quickly as possible.

But a century ago, Lido Isle’s remoteness made potential home-lot buyers hesitant, even with eye-popping incentives like 80% off the original price (the adjusted amount equates to $11,000 today), buy-one-get-one-free home-lot promotions, and free architectural designs from an internationally renowned Swiss architect. 

In the end, it took nearly three decades for lots on Lido Isle to sell out.

William Lobdell is the historian laureate for the City of Newport Beach. He is also the founder of Newport Beach in the Rearview Mirror, which produces a local history podcast and 90-second videos (with over 10 million views) that appear on Instagram.

Follow on IG @newport.in.the.rearview.mirror