Visit Laguna Beach Visitors Guide 2020 - 41

ABOVE AND RIGHT: MARK CHAMBERLAIN/BC SPACE

1970

1946
The Seahorse, located in the back
of the Pearl St. General Store, was
Laguna's first gay bar and operated
for many years in secret for the local gay community. Sit at the original bar that served as a centerpiece
in the 1940s and order microbrews,
wine and unique bar plates.

1950
Hobie Alter started his surfboard
business and the Brooks Street
Surfing Classic soon followed.

1969

The genesis of the Sawdust Art &
Craft Festival began as a reaction
to the nearby Festival of Arts' (FOA)
recent policy to jury in its artist
exhibitors and to jury out the experimental artists. Some FOA exhibitors and media called exhibit, "The
Rejects Festival."

During the Nixon years, when
President Nixon visited his
home in San Clemente, the
White House press corps took up
residence at Surf & Sand Resort.
Reporters like Tom Brokaw, Dan
Rather and Diane Sawyer were
frequent guests.

1967

1970

Known as the "Hippie Mafia,"
the Brotherhood of Eternal Love
produced and distributed drugs
from Laguna Beach, in hopes of
starting a psychedelic revolution in
the United States. Timothy Leary
lived in a beach house on Gaviota
Drive and the Utsava Rajneesh
Meditation Center was located on
Laguna Canyon Road (at the site
of the Anneliese school), the last
remaining commune in the United
States for followers of the spiritual
teacher and guru Osho, Bhagwan
Shree Rajneesh.

Worldwide attention was on the
25,000 people who attended
a free open-air rock concert in
December-The Christmas Concert
-in Laguna Canyon by El Toro
Road ("Woodstock West") that
lasted several days. At one time
during the event, a small plane
swooped over the gathering and
dropped thousands of Christmas
cards, each containing a dose of
Orange Sunshine, the Brotherhood
of Eternal Love's brand of LSD.

1968
The city of Laguna Beach purchased 1,000 feet of beach frontage from various property owners,
an area now known as Main Beach
Park, which opened up the village
directly to the beach. All structures
were removed and an open park
was later dedicated in 1974.

Mid-1970s
Laguna Beach was home to the
Boom Boom Room, a gay bar
that was once a place where Rock
Hudson and Paul Lynde partied. The
bar has been closed for years, except
during Laguna Beach Pride, when it
opens for a one-day party event.

A Walk
Through Time
Free, self-guided walking tours
by David Shermet and Debra
Henninger begin near the Festival of Arts grounds and end at
Heisler Park, with guides sharing
interesting facts and insight into
the history of Laguna Beach
while walking to the tour's
various destinations. There
is no established fee for the
local tour, and participants are
encouraged to simply "pay what
they feel like" for the guides'
time. For more information or
to book a tour of your own, call
949-372-8157 or send an email
to info.lbfwt@gmail.com.
(lagunabeachfreewalkingtour.com)

DOUG MILLER

1965

VISITLAGUNABEACH.COM I DESTINATION GUIDE 2020

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Visit Laguna Beach Visitors Guide 2020

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