By Cassandra Reinhart, Special to the Independent
As a high schooler from Mission Viejo, Chris Tebbutt remembers discovering part of his own identity in the thriving gay culture of Laguna Beach. But when Tebbutt moved back here two years ago from New York City with his husband Bob Fouhy, he noticed something had changed.
his spouse, Bob Fouhy, far right, with
their blended family, from left, Owen,
Charlie, Aidan and Malcolm.
“We quickly discovered that our life experience was not as reflected in the culture of Laguna Beach as we expected,” Tebbutt said. “I was kind of like, ‘Where’d Laguna go?’” Tebbutt decided to do something about it. Two months ago, he established the Laguna Beach LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender) Heritage & Culture Committee, comprised of community leaders from Visit Laguna, the Laguna Beach Chamber of Commerce, the Susi Q Senior Center and other committed businesses and residents.
As a first step, Tebbutt’s group got the city of Laguna Beach to declare the month of June as LGBT Heritage and Culture Month.
“My vision for the LGBT community in Laguna Beach is the possibility of being embraced, included, known, honored, celebrated, respected, and loved,” Tebbutt said.
“Having this resolution is very important for the City of Laguna Beach.”
The gay scene in Laguna Beach has waned in recent years, something Tebbutt and others in the gay community attribute to more integration and acceptance in surrounding areas that provide more options for affordable housing.
“Real estate values we can’t control, and it has become absolutely unaffordable for young LGBT people,” said realtor and long-time gay advocate Audrey Prosser. “If you haven’t been here a while it’s not affordable for anyone, and that is part of it.”
Prosser also says the 2007 closing of Laguna’s long time iconic gay bar the Boom Boom Room in the Coast Inn shuttered the gay scene to an extent. The Boom opened in the 1920s as a serviceman’s bar, and over the years became a major destination for the Southern California gay community starting in the 1940s.
“It is difficult to have a gay destination when you don’t have a gay gathering place,” Prosser said.
The Main Street Cabaret gay bar has forged on as Laguna’s only remaining gay business establishment. Main Street Manager Craig Cooley remembers Laguna’s gay glory days, when the town was as eponymous as Key West or Fire Island as a gay destination.
“In the ‘70s and ‘80s, it was just tremendous what was going on,” Cooley said. “If you were in L.A. and gay, God said you would go to Laguna Beach on the weekend and party.”
Cooley says he has seen the effort to celebrate Laguna’s gay culture fade over the years, notably taking a downturn after Bob Gentry’s tenure on the council from 1982 to 1994 ended. Gentry was the nation’s first gay mayor, and also a champion of a robust gay community during his tenure.
“The culture and the contribution was being dismissed,” Cooley said. “Fortunately we have a mayor and a City Council now that is embracing this culture and say this is a big part of what put Laguna Beach on the map.”
Tebbutt says gay crowds to Laguna are fewer, perhaps because of increasing overall integration and social acceptance. Gay bars have become less of a safe place of refuge, he says, and that actually reflects progress that deserves to be celebrated.
”We are a destination for same-sex weddings at our resorts. We have more LGBT parents and families. We have children coming out in middle school,” Tebbutt said.
The community’s gay history also has significant ties to the evolution of the arts community, and the AIDS epidemic of the 1980s. In 1989, Laguna Beach had the highest rate of new AIDS cases per capita of any city in the country, a tragic part of the city’s history but one that Tebbutt says should not be forgotten. He wants his group to honor that legacy, by improving historical records, creating heritage tours, public and private art and history exhibitions, and educational resources for families.
“OC Shanti has been providing HIV/AIDS counseling and education for decades,” said Tebbutt, referring to a non-profit formerly based in Laguna Beach. “HIV/AIDS is still a crisis, but in a different way by now affecting more young people than before.”
The LGBT Heritage and Culture Committee’s mission is to see the lives of LGBT visitors and residents of Laguna Beach reflected in its culture, policies, arts, businesses and celebrations, Tebbutt said.
“A lot of people think it will never be what it was,” Cooley said. “No, it won’t be what it was; it’ll be a new dynamic of sharing and caring and being a part of the community in a way we never have.”
There was no edit button, so I have to . . .
That’s a joke. I’m 73 years old and I’ve been here all through the 70’s 80’s 90’s, I’m still here. The Gay’s actually had power in the 70’s and 80’s, and were a dynamic part of the community. It was not the cost of rent or the value of the property, nor was it an increasing overall integration and social acceptance. The beginning of the end was back when the city tore down the old boardwalk in the 70’s. It became a struggle between the Gays and the City Fathers. The Gays prevailed through the 70’ and 80’s, but make no mistake, the City was determined to run the Gay Crowd out. Year by year and inch by inch they finally got what they wanted.
That’s not entirely true although social norms were not as liberal as the are now. Bob Gentry was orange county’s first elected official and Mayor of Laguna . You can blame it on the city all you want, but it doesn’t help to have adult men in groups demonstrating their sexual preference on the sand in broad daylight between Main Beach and Sleepy hollow. The tap room at the Cost Inn and the Little Shrimp all lived their life span and had an established clientele , the economy is the biggest factor for everyone looking for greener pastures, in the 60’s a two bedroom home cost 30,000 today it’s worth 1.5 to 1.8 million your math and your history lesson is now over.