|
Wonder Weavers
2008 marks the 60th anniversary of Wonder Weavers, located at 2222 El Cajon Boulevard. Ms Beatrice V. Nelson moved from Louisiana to California in 1944, during World War II, for a job building war ships. Once the war ended, women were
pushed out of the workforce. Beatrice found herself unemployed in San Diego. The dress that she wore on interviews had a hole, so she visited Jeanette Marten at the original Wonder Weaver in La Mesa. Beatrice was astonished by the price
of mending the hole and realized that this was a business she wanted to learn. She worked with Jeanette for three years learning the trade. In 1948, Beatrice bought the business.
Beatrice married George W. Strafford shortly after, and the two sought out a new location for the business. Beatrice did some background investigation and discovered the future plans for San Diego entailed the development of major
highways. She foresaw that El Cajon Boulevard would become a center of activity in San Diego and sought out a site which allowed the family to live and work in the same location. Beatrice's family from Louisiana flocked out here to help
with the business and many of them became weavers.
After years of driving a taxi cab, George and Beatrice became business partners. Beatrice ran the shop and weaved while George ran the pick-up and delivery service with stops in La Jolla, El Cajon, Imperial Beach and Coronado. This
service was the key to gaining new clients and eventually landing corporate accounts with hotels and high-end department stores.
Their son Stan has great memories of growing up on the Boulevard. He got his haircut across the street at Mike's Barbershop and hung out with the Chargers when they worked out at the Ed Marcus Studio, which were both located inside the
Lafayette Hotel. He knew one day he'd run the business, but with a surfer's lifestyle, he never really wanted that day to come. After years of weaving, arthritis took a toll on several family members, and all of a sudden, his time had
arrived. With long blond curly hair, his mom did not feel he was suited to work the counter, so for almost twenty years, Stan lived in OB, surfed during the day and weaved at night.
In 1991, Beatrice Stafford no longer wanted to run the business full-time. Beatrice, at the age of 88, with her daughter Carla still run a knitting business which is only open to the public on Fridays. After twenty years in OB, Stan
moved back to the neighborhood to meet the demand for weaving.
click here for full article
From Blank to Beautiful on The Boulevard
By Jennifer Vigil
UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER
SAN DIEGO - Isaias Lopez walked along the stretch of El Cajon Boulevard between Florida and Alabama streets, assessing weeks of work on one wall of a vacant old supply store. He dubs the piece "intuitive art."
The North Park resident, who as an artist goes by the name Crol, has spent four weeks with other artists turning the blank expanse of the former San Diego Stage & Lighting into a mural bursting with music and ethnic iconography.
"It's kind of like jazz, experimental, getting off people's energy,¨ said Lopez, 30, as he viewed flowers flowing into the image of a trumpeter, whose notes glide on the air until they touch the hair of a Latina matriarch.
The temporary mural is part of a growing effort to beautify El Cajon Boulevard between Park Boulevard and 54th Street, a span that includes four large and diverse communities, and a sometimes ungainly mix of old businesses and new
developments.
click here for full article
INTERESTED IN MAKING A CHANGE...
To the exterior of your commercial building?
The City of San Diego's Office of Small Business and the El Cajon Boulevard Business Improvement Association cordially invites all small business owners in the El Cajon Blvd Business Improvement District to attend a meeting about the
City's Storefront Improvement Program.
Tuesday September 9, 2008
6:00 PM
The El Cajon Boulevard BIA
3727 El Cajon Boulevard
What will we talk about?
• The program goal of stimulating economic development through visual enhancements of storefronts, including signage.
• The benefits and requirements to participating in the program
• How to prepare for your FREE design assistance
• Up to $20,000 of financial assistance available for small businesses and property owners.
Please RSVP to Beryl at 619.283-3608 by September 7, 2008.
University Heights Arts Open
The 3rd annual, University Heights Arts Open (UHAO) is a free self guided tour of the arts. On September 6th and 7th, the weekend festival showcases the works of over 100 new as well as celebrated artists, playwrights, performers and
musicians from the San Diego region enlivening the historic University Heights community. The event spans a 2 mile radius incorporating businesses, schools, churches, theaters, and a shuttle tour of over twenty artist studios in the area.
A complimentary color brochure of the UHAO exhibits including photos of artwork and a walking/trolley tour map is produced and available to visitors. The program includes a schedule listing times and locations of the performances by the
diverse collection of musicians, performers and writers. Birney Academy of International Studies's outdoor facilities (4345 Campus Ave) serves as the starting point for the tour featuring San Diego visual artists, chalk artists, student
artwork exhibitions and activities. A block down the street, at the historic Swedenborg Hall, features visual artists, musicians, performers, and live theater. For the second year in a row, the El Cajon Boulevard Business Improvement
Association is showcasing a collection of 30 painted utility boxes at the Lafayette Hotel. Other participating businesses along El Cajon Boulevard include Eclipse Chocolat, Route 44 and The J.A. Cooley Automotive Museum.
Free shuttle service will assist the visitors on their tour throughout the day. Program maps will be available online at www.UHarts.org.
Yelp about The Boulevard
 Cali Baguette Express
5125 El Cajon Blvd
Yelper: I came here for the first time last week, and returned 2 more times within a few days. The sandwiches are delicious, I can speak for the BBQ pork and the regular pork. The bread has a perfect crust/crunch and the interior
has a nice soft texture, not at all crumby (as in dry).
You can't beat a sandwich for under $3 that's extremely filling and tasty or their spring rolls that are around $2.50!
click here for more yelp reviews
Upcoming Public Forum
Join us for an Open House to provide input on the Rapid Bus stations on Park Blvd. at University Ave. and El Cajon Blvd.
September 11, 2008 (3-6 p.m.)
Lafayette Hotel
2223 El Cajon Blvd.
Community Forum on Mid-City
Rapid Bus Project
The Project: The Mid-City Rapid Bus Project is a 10-mile rapid bus line from San Diego State University (SDSU) to downtown San Diego along El Cajon and Park Boulevards. The line will provide residents of and visitors to North Park, City
Heights, College Area, University Heights, Normal Heights, Kensington, and Talmadge with a high-quality service. The project will provide faster travel times and increased reliability by using bus-only pockets at key intersections,
priority lanes, traffic signal improvements, and enhanced stations.
Transit Priority: On El Cajon Boulevard, buses will have special pockets at key intersections to get them to the front of the line. They also will have in-street stations to let them easily merge back into traffic. Traffic signals will be
coordinated to expedite travel and will give buses a few seconds of extra green time to cross busy intersections.
Project Status
• Preliminary engineering plans have been completed for most
of the bus line.
• An environmental document is planned for public release in
summer 2008.
• Detailed design plans will be initiated in late 2008.
Featured Utility Box
Bekin Storage opened a buildings on 3727 El Cajon Boulevard in 1938 and there were actually another 66 identical ones built across the United States. Bekin was the first company in the United States to open temporary storage
facilities, a needed service for people and families who were relocated because of work. The company was founded in 1891, in the days of horse and buggy. Artist Emily Mathers selected this logo to demonstrate the early history of an
innovative company that once existed on El Cajon Boulevard.
 |
