Chula Vista History Trivia

A Vintage Inspired Collection of 100 Factual Questions

Group One: Railroads, Land, & Real Estate

Answer: Santa Fe Railroad
Answer: Excursion trains
Answer: 1930, it went down G Street to the bay
Answer: 1910s
Answer: The 1916 Flood included both the failure of the lower Otay Dam as well as the collapse of the side support on the Sweetwater Dam. The valleys below both Dams flooded and lives were lost.
Answer: Electric streetcar
Answer: Third Avenue corridor
Answer: Reliable irrigation from Sweetwater Dam
Answer: Sales Brochures titled "Guide to San Diego Bay Region'.”
Answer: Free lemon saplings

Group Two: Postwar Boom & Suburb Growth

Answer: 1950s
Answer: Housing tracts
Answer: Strip malls
Answer: Elementary and middle schools
Answer: 1985
Answer: Broadway/Highway 101. Highway 101 historically ran along what is now Broadway in Chula Vista through the mid-20th century.
Answer: Chula Vista Bowl
Answer: Over 30,000 residents
Answer: Ranch-style houses
Answer: Veterans returning from WWII

Group Three: Deep-Cut Extreme CV History

Answer: John J. Montgomery
Answer: Since 1999, the parcel containing the salt works has been owned by the San Diego Regional Airport Authority, leased to the South Bay Salt Works company. Before that, it was initially operating under the name La Punta Salt Works operations dating back to at least 1871, for a period of time it was the sole supplier of salt for Southern California. In 1902 it was purchased and renamed Western Salt Company, and later had narrow-gauge rail installed.
Answer: The Seville Theatre opened showing silent films in 1927. It had a big celebration for the first movie with sound in 1930.
The Vogue Theater opened in 1945
Answer: Daley family
Answer: 1888
Answer: The Blue Bombers
Answer: Fiesta de la lLuna
The original Festival was organized to help pay down the debt on the Chula Vista Women’s Club; the event was suspended during WW 2. After the war, the festival was supported by the packing houses and the citrus industry. Later on, the citrus groves were sold for housing and the. Festival de la Luna ceased
Currently on the Third Ave Business Association sponsors the Lemon Festival, which honors Chula Vista’s citrus heritage.
Answer: Chula Vista Hospital
Answer: The old wooden Bonita Bridge
Answer: Sweetwater Valley Riding Club

Group Four: Early Settlement & Founding

Answer: 1911
Answer: Rancho de la Nación
Answer: The Kumeyaay people
Answer: Dry-land farming
Answer: Frank Kimball
Answer: Sweetwater River
Answer: 1880s
Answer: Agricultural colony layout
Answer: F Street School

Group Five: Lemon Capital Era

Answer: Lemon Capital of the World
Answer: Coastal breezes and fertile soil
Answer: Sunkist
Answer: Throughout what is now Western Chula Vista.
Answer: Lemon packing houses
Answer: Santa Fe Railway refrigerated cars
Answer: Local orchard fairs
Answer: 1920s
Answer: Residential neighborhoods
Answer: Grapes

Group Six: Lower Otay Dam Disaster

Answer: 1916
Answer: Charles Hatfield, the 'Rainmaker'
Answer: Up to 40 feet in places
Answer: Otay Valley and the South Bay
Answer: Sweetwater and Otay infrastructure
Answer: Claims against the City of San Diego
Answer: Agriculture and dairy farms
Answer: San Diego newspapers and early photographs
Answer: Uncontrolled runoff overflow
Answer: Reinforced dam safety standards

Group Seven: Schools & Early Education

Answer:
Chula Vista's first school was the Old Grammar School which opened in January in 1889 at 270 F Street, at the current site of the Norman Park Center. The two-story schoolhouse served grades 1 thru 7. Miss Lillian R. Jones was the first teacher.
Answer: 1947
Answer: The School for the Creative and Performing Arts
Answer: Sweetwater School
Answer: Rohr-supported technical classes
Answer: Farm and orchard work
Answer: Eastlake High School
Answer: Wood-frame structures
Answer: Multiple elementary schools added
Answer: Rural domestic science classes

Group Eight: Transportation & Automobiles

Answer: Old Highway 101
Answer: 1920s–1930s
Answer: Third Avenue
Answer: San Diego Electric Railway streetcar
Answer: The early SD transit coaches
Answer: Interstate 5
Answer: State Route 125
Answer: Otay Valley Road
Answer: Ford Model T
Answer: Strip mall lots

Group Nine: Downtown Third Avenue

Answer: Third Avenue
Answer: The Leader Department Store
Answer: Vogue Theater
Answer: 1940s–1960s
Answer: Appliances and clothing
Answer: The Fiesta de la Luna + Starlight Parades. The Fiesta de la Luna was a historic annual celebration in Chula Vista, initiated by the Chula Vista Woman's Club in 1930 to raise funds for their clubhouse. The event featured dinner-dances and a parade, running regularly until 1942, when it was interrupted by World War II.
Answer: Grocery and hardware stores
Answer: The Third Avenue Arch
Answer: Third Avenue Village
Answer: Boutique restaurants and breweries

Group Ten: WWII & Rohr Aircraft

Answer: 1940
Answer: Aircraft parts and engine components
Answer: Over 9,000
Answer: World War II
Answer: West Chula Vista subdivisions
Answer: 24-hour factory operations
Answer: Rubber, steel, aluminum
Answer: Jet engine components
Answer: Goodrich Aerospace
Answer: Mass population growth

Group Eleven: Lightning Round - True or False

Answer: True
Answer: False
Answer: True
Answer: True
Answer: False

Group Twelve: Bonus Chula Vista Trivia

Answer: True
Answer: Celery
Answer: May 1887
Answer: Feb 1888. It was originally located at 138 Third Avenue, then the home was remodeled and moved to 138 Landis.
Answer: 1926
Answer: True
Answer: True
Answer: True
Answer: Triue
Answer: True
Answer: True

Chula Vista History Trivia

Group One: Railroads, Land, & Real Estate

Group Two: Postwar Boom & Suburb Growth

Group Three: Deep-Cut Extreme CV History

Group Four: Early Settlement & Founding

Group Five: Lemon Capital Era

Group Six: Lower Otay Dam Disaster

Group Seven: Schools & Early Education

Group Eight: Transportation & Automobiles

Group Nine: Downtown Third Avenue

Group Ten: WWII & Rohr Aircraft

Group Eleven: Lightning Round - True or False

Group Twelve: Bonus Chula Vista Trivia

Links

Hours

Chula Vista Museum and History Center

Chula Vista History Trivia

Group One: Railroads, Land, & Real Estate

Which railway first connected Chula Vista to the region?

What transportation method helped sell early parcels?

When was the first public sewer line installed in Chula Vista?

Which decade saw the first major real estate boom?

What natural disaster briefly slowed land development in 1916?

Which mode of travel linked CV to San Diego pre-automobile?

Which corridor became a major stage route?

What made CV attractive to early settlers?

What type of advertisements sold early lots?

What early incentive was sometimes offered to land buyers?

Group Two: Postwar Boom & Suburb Growth

Which decade saw explosive suburban growth?

What replaced citrus groves?

What shopping trend emerged?

What new school construction was needed?

What year did the voters approve the Montgomery Annexation which included Castle Park, Harborside,Otay, Broderick Acres and Woodlawn Park neighborhoods?

What road became a commercial hub?

What entertainment venue opened mid-century?

What population milestone occurred?

What style were many new homes?

What economic factor fueled growth?

Group Three: Deep-Cut Extreme CV History

Who tested early gliders on Otay Mesa?

What is the history of the salt operation currently known as South Bay Salt Works?

Name at least one of the first two movie theaters in Chula Vista?

Which family once owned vast Otay lands?

What year did Sweetwater Dam first open?

When a Parkview Little League baseball team from Chula Vista went on to win the Little League World Series in 2009 the team was affectionately known as?

What festival celebrated citrus harvests?

What medical facility served an early CV?

What bridge once spanned Sweetwater River?

What early attraction featured horse events?

Group Four: Early Settlement & Founding

In what year was Chula Vista officially incorporated as a city?

Which Mexican land grant originally included Chula Vista’s land?

Which indigenous nation first inhabited the area?

What early industry supported the first local settlers?

Who purchased Rancho de la Nación and initiated early development?

Which water source originally supported settlement in the area?

Which decade saw the first major subdivision of land?

What was the earliest planned design of the city based around?

What early building served as a school and community center?

Group Five: Lemon Capital Era

Chula Vista earned what national nickname in the early 1900s?

What conditions made CV ideal for lemons?

Which company helped standardize lemon packing?

Where were citrus groves primarily located?

What structure processed most lemons?

How were lemons shipped nationwide?

What festival often celebrated citrus harvests?

Which decade saw lemon production peak?

What replaced groves after WWII?

What crop preceded lemons?

Group Six: Lower Otay Dam Disaster

In what year did the Lower Otay Dam fail?

Who was controversially linked to the storm causing the flood?

How high was the wall of water that rushed through the valley?

What communities were devastated?

What water system was rebuilt after the disaster?

What major lawsuit resulted from the flood?

Which industry was impacted most?

What source documented the destruction?

What engineering flaw contributed?

What long-term change occurred after the flood?

Group Seven: Schools & Early Education

What was Chula Vista’s first school?

What year did Chula Vista High School open?

Which program became famous at CV High?

What school served Bonita early on?

What offered early vocational training?

What did early students often miss school for?

Which high school opened to serve Eastlake growth?

What style were many early schoolhouses?

What major education expansion occurred in the 1950s?

What early program taught agriculture?

Group Eight: Transportation & Automobiles

What major auto route passed through CV?

When did automobiles become common downtown?