Balboa Museum Newport Beach celebrates 100 years of Theodore Robins Ford

By Pete Weitzner

Henry Ford rolled his first cars off the assembly line in 1893. That same year, Theodore Robins Sr. was born. Thirty years later, Robins sold his first Ford, a 1918 Coupe, out of his dealership near the Fun Zone on Balboa Peninsula.

This spring, the Balboa Island Museum Newport Beach is honoring 100 years and four generations of family-run Theodore Robins Ford with a comprehensive, upfront gallery exhibit, Celebrating 100 Years – Theodore Robins Ford.

“As far as we know, it was the first dealership in Newport Beach and one of the first in Orange County,” said grandson and Theodore Robins Ford co-owner David Robins.

Seattle émigré and World War I pilot-turned-entrepreneur, Theodore Robins Sr. entered the car business in 1921, with an auto shop repairing Model Ts on Bay Street on Balboa. The rent was $15 per month.

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Photos courtesy of Balboa Island Museum Newport Beach

Theodore Robins Sr. wearing coveralls in front of a Ford Model T

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Theodore Robins Sr.’s Bay Avenue service garage on Balboa Peninsula in the 1920s

Two years later, Robins drove up to Los Angeles – in a Model T – when he heard of a chance to buy a Ford franchise. He signed the deal on February 7, 1923. One week later, Valentine’s Day, he sold his first Ford for $637.10.

Business boomed. Robins expanded twice in Newport – first to 22nd Street, across from what today is the Crab Cooker Restaurant, then in the mid-1950s, to 3100 Pacific Coast Highway. In the ‘60s, they moved to Costa Mesa’s Harbor Boulevard, where Robins Ford has been a mainstay.

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Ford priced its Model Ts so most people could buy one, including the $260 Runabout, complete with waterproof gypsy curtains

The exhibition includes wonderful artifacts stretching more than 100 years of the Robins family and Ford, including a parchment display of all the Model Ts. Ford manufactured these “first cars that most people could buy” from 1908-1927, including the economy car of the portfolio – the $260 Runabout, complete with waterproof gypsy curtains.

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Theodore Robins Sr. receives a Four Letter Award in 1950

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Artifacts on display span the 100 years of Robins and Ford, most recently a Motorola Bag Phone on the right, a free manufacturer’s promotional item in the ‘80s with the purchase of a new Ford

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Photos of Theodore Robins Sr. include one in his trademark top hat, riding in one of the first Costa Mesa Fish Fry Parades in the 1950s (top row second from right)

 The first-edition Motorola bag phone is also on display; it appears Ford gave those away with new cars in the ‘80s. Photos of Robins Sr. include one in his trademark top hat, riding in one of the first Costa Mesa Fish Fry Parades in the 1950s.

The foundation for success was laid early. “Always be respectful of each other in the family. The great work ethic has made it through the generations,” said David Robins.

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The Robins Family (Top): Patriarch Theodore Robins Sr.; (Bottom L-R): Grandson David Robins, Son Theodore “Bob” Robins Jr. and Grandson Jim Robins

“[It has received] a great reaction so far and a few inquiries if we’ll have an event or speaker,” Museum Executive Director Tiffany Pepys Hoey said.

The Theodore Robins Ford exhibition is on display through June.

Balboa Island Museum Newport Beach is open daily and located at 210B Marine Ave., Balboa Island. Visit the museum store, or shop online at https://balboaislandmuseum-shop.square.site/.

For more information, visit https://balboaislandmuseum.org. 

Pete Weitzner is the co-producer of “The Golden Age of Newport Harbor,” a 45-minute film that covers Newport Harbor from the 1940s-1960s.