EVENTS

HERITAGE MONTH 2024

The City of Laguna Beach alongside the Heritage Committee has designated the month of May as ‘Heritage Month’.

Explore below for additional information.

A group of people sitting on wooden benches inside a covered trolley or tram during a guided tour. The interior features a wooden ceiling, large windows, and some signs indicating caution with opening air vents. The guide, a man holding a paper, is standing at the front, and the audience is looking at him, some holding pamphlets or brochures. Outside the windows, a residential neighborhood with houses and trees is visible.

Aubrey St. Clair Trolley Tour

May 11, 2024, 9:00 AM & 11:00 AM

The Laguna Beach Heritage Committee will be providing guided tours of some of the historic commercial buildings and residences designed by Aubrey St. Clair.

THANK YOU TO EVERYBODY FOR JOINING US!

A vintage trolley bus painted in blue and beige, with large windows and decorative arches, appears to be used for sightseeing or transportation.
  • Eschbachs by David Solomon

    OPENING NIGHT CELEBRATION

    Thursday, May 2
    5:30 PM - 7:00 PM

    Join the Heritage Committee in Celebration of Heritage Month at Tango Restaurant. Light Hors d’oeuvres provided. No charge!

    Tango Restaurant -
    305 Forest Avenue, Suite 103

    Image - “Escbachs by David Solomon”

  • A man in a suit and tie, wearing glasses and a fedora hat, standing outdoors near a building with large windows.

    Trolley Tour: The Works of Architect Aubrey St. Clair

    Saturday, May 11
    9:00 AM and 11:00 AM

    Guided trolley tour celebrating the works of Laguna Beach architect, Aubrey St. Clair.

    Click here for more information and to sign-up!

    Photo of Aubrey St. Clair provided by Kathryn Crawford

  • A panel of five people sitting at a long wooden desk in a government meeting room. The room has a large clock on the wall behind them and an American flag to the left. Each person has a nameplate: Clarkson Collins, Linda Morgenlander, and James Henry II, with two other unnamed panelists. A seal with the logo of the City of Laguna Beach, California, is on the front of the desk.

    HISTORIC PROJECT FORUM

    Thursday, May 16
    6:00 PM - 8:00 PM

    Design, construction and real estate professionals share experiences with historic properties, including Mills Act calculations and Q&A Find out about the rewarding process of historic preservation!

    City Council Chambers -
    505 Forest Avenue

  • A man painting on a canvas by the ocean coast, standing among bushes, with ocean waves behind him.

    Laguna Beach Living History featuring No Square Theatre

    Saturday, May 18,
    10:00 AM - 1:00 PM

    Celebrate Heritage Month with the Laguna Beach Historical Society!

    Partnering with No Square Theater, the historical society plans to stage a reenactment at the bungalow to see firsthand how early Laguna residents lived and contributed to the early decades and unique character of our town.

    Murphy Smith Bungalow
    278 Ocean Avenue

    Image - Frank Cuprien, Calisphere.

  • Group of eight smiling adults, mostly women, standing on a porch in front of a white house, posing for a photo.

    LAGUNA CHARM HOUSE TOUR

    Sunday, May 19
    12:00 PM - 3:00 PM

    Experience a taste of the heritage of Laguna Beach as you tour houses in neighborhoods dating from homestead days in the 1800s. Visit cottages and bungalows, working artists’ homes and studios. Experience the rustic canyon environments and see how creative residents have crafted their home environments to reflect their own unique talents and interests.

    Click here for more information and to purchase tickets.

    Image - Charm House Tour 2023

  • Public Tours of the Hortense Miller Garden

    Come visit and fall in love with Hortense Miller, her home, and garden!

    Click here for more information or to schedule your docent led tour.

    You may also call (949) 464-6645 to book a tour most Saturdays and Thursdays at 9:45 AM – 12:00 p.m. No charge.

    Image - Hortense Miller Garden

  • Beach scene with sandy shore and houses on a hillside, palm trees, and partly cloudy sky.

    Crystal Cove Historic District – Self-Guided Walking Tour

    This charming, quaint Historic District will take you back in time!

    Check the website below for park hours, activities, and parking information.

    For more information: https://www.crystalcovestatepark.org

    Image - Crystal Cove Historic District

About the Architect

Black and white portrait of a woman with short hair, wearing glasses and a checked coat, facing slightly to the right.

Aubrey St. Clair, 1934.
Photo courtesy of Kathryn Crawford.

Aubrey St. Clair was born in Massachusetts in 1889. His family moved to Pasadena when he was a boy. Creative talents ran in the family. His father, Norman St. Clair, was an architect, an illustrator, and an artist. His younger brother, Malcolm St. Clair was a well-known Hollywood movie director. Aubrey honed his professional skills apprenticing with some of the leading architects in Los Angeles and Pasadena including Greene and Greene, Irving Gill, Wallace Neff, and Marston and Maybury.

He developed an appreciation for traditional architectural types while traveling in Europe. Although he began his design career in Pasadena, his family spent a great deal of time in Laguna Beach. His earliest commissions in this coastal community were in the late 1920’s.

His work spanned five decades and encompasses civic, commercial, religious, and residential projects. St. Clair had a special affinity for English style buildings, but his designs reflect many different genres including Spanish, Cottage, Monterey, and Streamline Moderne. Many of his projects were featured in Architectural Digest and Sunset magazines. Aubrey and his wife Dolly settled permanently in Laguna Beach in 1935 and raised a daughter and two sons here. He died in 1968 but his work lives on in dozens of buildings all over our city.

Black and white sketch of a two-story house with a porch, surrounded by trees and shrubs.

Explore the tour route below!

  • A white two-story house with a red-tiled roof, wooden shutters, and a front porch, surrounded by a garden and trees, with a mountain in the background and a sign that reads 'Laguna Beach County Water District'.

    Water District Building

    306 Third Street
    1929

    Laguna Beach County Water District Photo Archive

  • Black and white photo of a group of people gathered in front of a two-story building with arched openings at the Laguna Beach Fire Station. Several vintage cars are parked in front. Trees, hills, and utility poles are visible in the background.

    Fire Station

    501 Forest Avenue
    1931

    1930’s Photo from the Laguna Beach Historical Society

  • City Hall

    505 Forest Avenue
    1951

    Photo by Hunter Fuentes

  • Illustration of a three-story building with balconies, four flags on top (American, and two other unidentified flags), surrounded by trees and fencing, with a clear sky overhead.

    Laguna Federal Savings and Loan

    260 Ocean Avenue
    1961

    1960’s Postcard - Original design by Josten’s

  • Laguna Federal Savings and Loan

    222 Ocean Avenue
    1945

    South Coast News, June 28, 1945

  • A black and white photograph of a building with arched windows or arcades on the ground level, trees on the rooftop, and a clear sky with the moon visible. The structure appears historical or architectural, with the arches and trees suggesting an outdoor or courtyard setting.

    Isch Building

    329 South Coast Highway
    1928

    South Coast News, February 14, 1930

  • Black and white photo of an old building with Tudor-style architecture, two vintage cars parked in front, and a lamppost in the street.

    Builders' Guild

    1185 South Coast Highway
    1936

    Architectural Digest, 1938

  • Black and white illustration of a large house with several people and trees in front.

    The First Church of Christ, Scientist

    285 Legion Street
    1938

    South Coast News, January 11, 1938

  • A multi-story house with a beige and green exterior, steeply pitched roof, and pointed arched window on the front facade, set against a partly cloudy sky.

    Neighborhood Congregational Church

    340 St. Anns Drive
    1950

    Photo by Hunter Fuentes

  • A white single-story house with a gray shingled roof, black-framed windows, and a front door painted orange. The house has a two-car garage with a white door, and there is a white picket fence in the front yard. The yard is landscaped with various green bushes, flowering plants, and trees. A flagpole with a waving flag is near the garage. The street in front of the house is paved and the sky is cloudy.

    Woodworth Residence

    350 Center Street

    1940

    Photo by Brad Engelland

  • A house painted white with black shutters and a bright red door. There are large potted plants and flowers in the front yard. The roof is shingled, and there are tall palm trees and other green trees in the background under a cloudy sky.

    Beery Residence

    495 Mountain Road

    1935

    Photo by Hunter Fuentes

  • Front yard of a house with lush greenery, potted plants, and white outdoor chairs on brick steps.

    Gazda Residence

    455 El Bosque

    1932

    Photo by Hunter Fuentes