Laguna Beach California
Laguna Beach California is one of the most beautiful coastal communities in Southern California. Located in Orange County about 1 hour south of downtown L.A, this quiet coastal community boasts some of the best private & public coastal beaches, gardens, great restaurants and shopping.
The City of Laguna Beach is well known as a unique beach community and artist's colony with seven miles of City beaches running along its nine square miles. The resident population enjoys the ambiance provided by the sandy beaches, canyons and coastal hills. During the summer, several million visitors are drawn to the resort environment for its picturesque beaches, art festivals and the Pageant of the Masters. Laguna's village scale shopping district, blufftop walkways and tram system create a pedestrian environment and scale which is unique in Southern California.
The City provides a broad array of services, including police, fire, paramedic, marine safety, recreation, parks, public works, community development, transit, information technology and animal control. The City employs more than two hundred full-time employees and an additional hundred part-time employees during the peak summer months.
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Laguna Beach Real Estate For Sale
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in and around the Laguna Beach area click here
For more information on real estate in Laguna Beach contact:
Western Realty Associates at www.1CaliforniaHomes.com
or at (888) 930-4223
Laguna Beach Restaurants
Laguna Beach has some of the best restaurants and dining in
Southern California. Click the link below for a complete list
of restaurants in the Laguna Beach area.
Laguna Beach Restaurants click here
Laguna Beach History
The area was named Lagonas by the coastal Indians who first lived there, and who were attracted by two rare freshwater lagoons in the nearby canyon.
Laguna got its name lfrom the Ute-Azteca Indian word for lakes, Lagonas. Spaniards who arrived later called it Canada de las Lagunas (Canyon of the Lakes) and in 1904, the area became known as Laguna Beach.
But by the time the first non-Indian settlers arrived in the 1870s, the area now known as Laguna Beach had more than mere physical allure. Unlike most of the rest of Orange County, it was never included in any of the Spanish land grants.
Under the Timber-Culture Acts of the 1870s, anyone who agreed to plant 10 acres of trees in the area over 10 years and live there while they grew was granted 160 acres to call his own. The cove-filled coastline attracted a handful of homesteaders. But the land was too steep and rocky for agriculture or ranching.
Instead, Laguna quickly gained a reputation as a beachfront resort. Even in the days of mule trails and stage coaches, inlanders from such new towns as Santa Ana and El Toro would make the daylong trek to the quaint seashore village. They'd set up tents and stay the weekend. Some would build summer homes - hasty clapboard cottages with few embellishments, but spectacular views. A few still stand.
By 1888, Laguna Beach was the permanent home to about 15 families, but come summer, the beaches would be lined with rows of canvas tents. Today, a similar influx arrive. Civic officials estimate the city of 24,000 attracts 40,000 visitors daily during the summer.
The community's long-standing status as one of the county's biggest art colonies can be traced back to shortly after the turn of the century, when a San Francisco watercolorist named Norman St. Clair arrived by stage and started painting the surroundings.
Back in San Francisco, St. Clair became a one-man visitor's information bureau, persuading fellow artists to follow his trail. Within 10 years, more than 30 artists had settled in the coastal village. In 1918, they created the Laguna Beach Art Association, a body that exists today.
In the early 1930s, the artists created two of its most popular and enduring annual events: the Festival of Arts and the Pageant of the Masters. Over the years, the city's reputation as a creative getaway has attracted such notables as Bette Davis, John Steinbeck, Victor Mature, Erle Stanley Gardner, Tennessee Williams and Timothy Leary.
The city now claims more than 75 art galleries. In addition to great art there is also a large number of excellent hotels, resorts, shopping and of course great restaurants.
Check out some of the sights and links for the Laguna Beach area below.
Laguna Beach Photos
With 7 miles of ocean beachfront, Laguna Beach holds the distinction of having one of the greatest number of localized beaches of any city on the California coast. The list includes the northern beaches of Irvine Cove, Crescent Bay, Shaw's Cove, Boat Canyon, Diver's Cove, Picnic Beach and Rockpile. Central Beaches include Main Beach, Sleepy Hollow, St. Ann's Street, Thalia Street, Oak Street, Brook's Street and Mountain Road Beach. Southern Laguna Beach (South Laguna Beach) beaches include Bluebird Canyon, Pearl Street, Wood's Cove, Moss Point, Rockledge, Victoria Beach and Treasure Island. Guarded by a premier force of lifeguards, Laguna Beaches are operated under the City of Laguna Beach Lifeguard Services. www.lblg.org
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