Entrance to El Toro
Artist
Jerry Burchfield
(American, 1947 - 2016)
Date2007
MediumFuji crystal archive print
DimensionsUnframed: 24 1/2 x 36 in. (62.2 x 91.4 cm)
Framed: 29 1/2 x 39 in. (74.9 x 99.1 cm)
ClassificationsPhotography
Credit LinePurchased with acquisition funds
Object number2007.10.1
Label TextThis photograph is part of The Legacy Project, a project dedicated to producing comprehensive documentation of the shuttered El Toro Marine Corps Air Station and its transformation into one of the nation's largest metropolitan parks, the Orange County Great Park. This non-profit documentary project began in April 2002 and continued for over a decade as the park was being built. The Legacy Group (comprised of Jerry Burchfield, Mark Chamberlain, Jacques Garnier, Robert Johnson, Douglas McCulloh, and Clayton Spada) employed photographs, video, and oral histories to provide a unique record of this extraordinary development in the history of Southern California. Before becoming the El Toro Marine Corps Air Station, this plot of land was known as the Irvine Ranch. It was assembled from three Spanish-Mexican land grants purchased by James Irvine Sr. in 1864. Making up nearly a third of present-day Orange County, these 110,000 acres dominated the region's agriculture and, by 1919, was known as one of the state's most productive growing enterprises (and one of the top producers of lima beans in the world). In May 1942, after the beginning of World War II, Lt. William J. Fox identified the expansive fields of Irvine Ranch as an ideal location for a new Marine Corps air base. During World War II, the Marine Corps Air Station El Toro served as a training base for pilots, aircrews, and ground personnel, as well as a major debarkation location for military personnel being deployed. After the war ended, the Marine Corps Air Station El Toro maintained an active status until its official closure on July 2, 1999. In 2001, Orange County voters passed "Measure W," authorizing the former air station to be used as a central park and nature preserve. The Great Park was designed to preserve the Marine Corps Air Station's World War II-era atmosphere and much of the original architecture has been repurposed.
Status
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