Downtown Brea, California. My first time here — what a great place! The first introduction to Brea was their free ‘parking garages’ — the city has these parking areas that are free, so that visitors can park and then walk around their beautiful downtown area to enjoy the many shops, restaurants, bars, theaters, etc. Brilliant! FREE parking to ease the mind of the visitor.
The above shot was taken as we were waiting to cross the street heading towards TAPS Fish House and Brewery for an amazing foodie event. Behind me is a Farrells restaurant, something I haven’t seen since I was a young child in the Northgate Mall area of Seattle, Washington. In fact, while we were waiting for the light to cross the street, the Farrells crew came out with a birthday Zoo dessert to celebrate someone’s birthday. That brought back some memories. Brief moments of joy, from childhood, are always nice.
Brea is an interesting town, be sure to check out all that the Wikipedia has listed for this city, but here are a few highlights that caught my eye:
- The city began as a center of crude oil production, was later propelled by citrus production, and is now an important retail center because of the large Brea Mall and the recently redeveloped Brea Downtown.
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Notable natives and residents
- Stephanie J. Block, Broadway actress/singer
- James Cameron, film director/producer/screenwriter
- Travis Denker, Major League baseball player (San Francisco Giants)
- James Hetfield, musician (Metallica)
- Walter Johnson, Major League baseball pitcher for the Washington Senators
- Joe Maddon, Major League baseball manager (Tampa Bay Rays)
- Alli Mauzey, Broadway actress/singer
- Evan Moore, Pro Football player (Green Bay Packers)
- Jeanette Pohlen, Women’s National Basketball Association player (“Indiana Fever“)
- Cruz Reynoso, jurist
- Caroline Zhang, figure skater
- Nikki Ziering, model and actress
- Norma Zimmer, singer. The famous “Champagne Lady” of the long-running Lawrence Welk Show