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: John H. Downing

  • 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: Agricultural prosperity brochures

  • 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: Hotel Del Mar (CV version)

  • 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: F Street School

  • 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