Bindi Patel Blandford
2019-03-11 · 4 min read
After the Pacific Coast Highway opened in the 1920s, Laguna Beach quietly became the preferred retreat of Hollywood's biggest names — and some of their legendary homes still stand today.
After the Pacific Coast Highway was built in the 1920s — connecting Los Angeles to Laguna — the area became a retreat for the Hollywood A-list. What the studios offered in glamour, Laguna offered in escape: rugged cliffs, hidden coves, and a community that prized art and privacy in equal measure.
The town's legacy as a celebrity hideaway is written into its architecture, its lore, and the walls of homes that still stand along its coastline.
Bette Davis
The legendary actress lived in a California English Tudor home built in 1929. During the 1950s and 1960s, Davis performed at the Laguna Playhouse, cementing her connection to the town's artistic community. Her home remains one of the most recognizable historic properties in the area.
Bette Midler
Midler owned "The Norman House," also known as "La Tour," a striking property featuring a 60-foot French Norman tower constructed in 1926. She acquired it in 1988 and sold it in the late 1990s. The tower remains a distinctive landmark visible from the road.
Ozzie and Harriet Nelson
The Nelson family — icons of mid-century American television — lived in Lagunita, an exclusive gated oceanfront community. They initially rented before eventually purchasing their home, making Laguna Beach a permanent part of their family story.
John Wayne
The Duke owned a beach house above Thousand Steps Beach from the late 1950s through 1973, sharing it with his wife Pilar. For over a decade, one of Hollywood's most enduring figures had a front-row seat to the Pacific from this storied stretch of the Laguna coastline.
Diane Keaton
Keaton owned a 1928 Spanish Mediterranean oceanfront property in North Laguna, a home distinguished by its beach garage access and its sweeping ocean views. She sold the property in 2003.
A Town That Kept Its Character
Other notable figures who called Laguna home at various points include Judy Garland, D.W. Griffith, Mary Pickford, and Mickey Rooney. Yet despite the starpower that moved in and out over the decades, Laguna Beach never transformed into a showplace for celebrity. It remained — as it remains today — a community defined by art, nature, and a particular kind of quiet pride.
