Crystal Cove Historic District

Crystal Cove is a small beach colony of 46 wood-frame cottages tucked into a cove at the mouth of Los Trancos Canyon, on the Pacific shore at Laguna Beach. Most of the buildings began as single-wall cabins built between about 1924 and 1936, some starting from tent frames, and later evolved into cottages with plumbing, gas and electricity. Each was built by its owner to suit personal needs, giving the district the character of architecture without architects. Board-and-batten, shingle and tongue-and-groove siding, sash windows, picket fences and driftwood walkways remain common. The nomination holds that Crystal Cove is significant because it survives intact as the prototype beach colony of the late 1920s and early 1930s, after other coastal communities grew into commercial centers or were altered or demolished. Its setting remains largely undeveloped, and only a few cottages have been remodeled insensitively. The district is also linked to early film-making in California, and two prehistoric archeological sites lie within it.