Laguna Beach was founded in the 1870s with her first homestead, Thurston Homestead, at The Ranch at Laguna Beach. Since that date, Laguna Beach has created quite a story for herself (officially naming herself “Laguna Beach” in 1904), and you will find plenty of historians and historic markers to help you learn more about this jewel of California.

Be sure to stop in at the Hotel Laguna, originally a wooden structure built in 1888, and visit the historic Murphy-Smith Bungalow built in 1923 (now the Laguna Beach Historical Society) in downtown Laguna Beach on Ocean Avenue. Then, be sure to saunter just a block back to Main Beach to have your photo taken with Eiler Larsen’s statue, our official Laguna Greeter for decades.

You’ll find our new (and very animated) Greeter in South Laguna now at the corner of The Old Pottery Place, which is also a historic landmark.

This was initially the site of the “Yum Yum Tea Room” in 1936 and expanded to “The Pottery Shack” for the next 66 years. In 2006, the Pottery Shack was reopened as The Old Pottery Place, having been lovingly restored and turned into a bustling block of popular shops and restaurants.

Just a block down the street and on the other side of Coast Highway, you’ll see the still-elegant Hotel La Casa del Camino, which was built in 1929 as a seaside retreat for Hollywood celebrities.

As you can see … anywhere you wander in Laguna Beach, you’re going to find great historical stories and landmarks.

For a trip down memory line, check out a timeline of Laguna Beach, California.