Know Laguna, Love It More
By Ann Christoph
We know Laguna, right? That’s what I thought. After living here for over 50 years, I should know all the neighborhoods and have seen all the houses, and its history should present no surprises.
As house-finding chair for the Charm House Tour this year, I found myself adventurously going off the beaten path onto streets I knew only by signs from the main road. Views that seemed like those from a national park unfolded—where was I? Grand Canyon? Has this been there all along? And the varied lives of our residents! Each house different, revealing creativity, personal quirkiness, and evidence of the free spirits Laguna is known for.
Three upcoming tours have been carefully arranged so that you can easily share in the kinds of revelations I have had working behind the scenes. On two Saturdays and the following Sunday, Laguna organizations offer tours that invite you to walk through Laguna’s gardens, learn about the work of a respected early architect, experience out of-the-way neighborhoods and visit the interiors of some of Laguna’s special homes.
On Saturday, May 4, the Laguna Beach Garden Club presents the Gate & Garden tour from 10 a.m. until 3 p.m. This is the perfect time of year to be inspired by thriving and blooming plants and to see how local gardeners have enhanced their home settings in a personal way. Buses will take us to now unrevealed neighborhoods. We’ll take leisurely walks from the drop-off points to several gardens at each stop. The club has also added food, drink and a hat contest to the mix. Tickets are $60-80, depending on the time of purchase. Go to LagunaBeachGardenClub.org for tickets. The tour starts at the Laguna Beach Water District headquarters at 306 Third Street.
The city’s Heritage Committee is presenting a tour on Saturday, May 11 featuring the work of Aubrey St. Clair (1889-1968), the architect of that very Water District Building.
St. Clair family archives included a clipping celebrating the completion of this building in 1927.
“The Laguna Beach Water District is a thing of beauty and should be a joy forever to Lagunans who believed that the city by the sea is entitled to the best there is in artistic quality and excellence of workmanship…When Aubrey St. Clair was chosen to work out a plan he brought to his job the memory of days, when as a boy, he used to walk two miles out the Laguna Canyon Road with a bucket in each hand and bring back enough water for himself and his brothers. . . So Aubrey St. Clair knew all the trials and tribulations of Lagunans over water. That is probably the reason for the exquisitely beautiful well fountain in the portico, where the water, the best in California, trickles each hour of the day, drop, drip, drip, symbolizing the undisturbed plenty of days to come.”
Aubrey St. Clair also designed the fire station, city hall, the Prisk residence now known as the Bette Davis house, the Christian Science church (now the Hare Krishna temple) and much more.
The bus tour is free, and because demand was high for last year’s tour about the homes of the early artists, the committee added a second tour. Already both tours are “sold out.” Even the waiting list is crowded! But for those who don’t make the tour, the narrators for the tour will be making a guide to St. Clair’s work available to the public. Be sure to check with the staff person for the Heritage Committee, Heather Steven at [email protected] to request that guide and to inquire about the Heritage Committee’s tour next year.
Lastly, on Sunday, May 19, Village Laguna invites us to the Charm House Tour, from noon to 5 p.m. A tradition that began in 1973! Generous homeowners share their living environments and creations. A cast of docents guides visitors and describes the interesting features. Over a hundred volunteers, each doing their part, expand our knowledge of our city as we view our town from the windows and insights of some of our most artistic neighbors. The bus tour leaves from the front of the Festival of Arts grounds at 650 Laguna Canyon Road and will have several stops to tour individual homes and a surprise visit for refreshments. Tickets are $70 on presale and $80 on the day of the tour. Go to VillageLaguna.org for more information about the tour and Village Laguna.
How we appreciate our town when returning from a trip! These tours provide trips right here at home to see what has been here all along but not revealed to us until now. To know Laguna is to love it even more.
Since its founding in 1928, the Laguna Beach Garden Club has been a force behind beautifying Laguna Beach and stimulating interest and knowledge about gardens and landscaping. Visit lagunabeachgardenclub.org to learn more.
The city council appoints the Laguna Beach Heritage Committee to oversee the city’s historic preservation program. The committee is the force behind Heritage Month activities every May. For a complete list of Heritage Month activities, visit the Town Crier section of the Indy.
Village Laguna grew out of the movement to limit high-rise construction, which resulted in a successful initiative (1971) to limit building heights to 36’ city-wide. The organization has been working to preserve and enhance Laguna Beach’s unique village character ever since. See villagelaguna.org for more background.
Ann Christoph is a landscape architect, a former council member and former mayor of Laguna Beach. She is a Laguna Beach Garden Club member, a narrator on the Heritage Committee trolley tour and part of the Village Laguna team that produces the Charm House Tour.
