Laguna Beach, California

Ordinance 1624 was imposed by the Beach Council to prohibit smoking in all public places in the city.

The area of Laguna Canyon was named on an 1841 Mexican land grant map as Cañada de las Lagunas (English: Glen of the Lagoons).

=== American Era === After the Mexican–American War ended in 1848, the area of Alta California was ceded to the United States pursuant to the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo.

Following a drought in 1864, Sepúlveda sold the property to James Irvine.

In 1871, the first permanent homestead in the area was occupied by the George and Sarah Thurston family of Utah on 152 acres (62 ha) of Aliso Creek Canyon.

In 1876, the brothers William and Lorenzo Nathan "Nate" Brooks purchased tracts of land in Bluebird Canyon at present-day Diamond Street.

Hubbard Goff built a large hotel at Arch Beach in 1886, which later was moved and added to Joseph Yoch's Laguna Beach Hotel built in 1888 on the main beach.

Laguna Beach was settled in the 1870s, officially founded in 1887, and in 1927 its current government was incorporated as a city.

Starting in 1913, dozens of silent films were made at local coves with Harold Lloyd, Mary Pickford, Douglas Fairbanks Jr., and others.

The first art gallery opened in 1918 and later became the Laguna Beach Art Museum.

Although there only were approximately 300 residents in 1920, a large proportion of them worked in creative fields.

In his book, History of Orange County, California (1921), Samuel Armor cited the permanent homestead of Nate Brooks as the beginning of the modern day town and described Brooks ...

The small town remained isolated until 1926 because the long, winding Laguna Canyon road served as the only access.

The municipal government for Laguna Beach incorporated as a city on June 29, 1927.

In 1933, the first fossilized skull of a paleoindian found in California was uncovered during construction on St.

The city adopted the council–manager form of government in 1944.

The Brooks Street Surfing Classic, begun in 1955, is a "contender for the world's longest running surf competition," according to the Encyclopedia of Surfing.

It was founded in 1961 by the Festival of Arts and Laguna Art Museum as the Laguna Beach School of Art.

The Sawdust Art Festival was founded in 1965 as a counterculture alternative to the Festival of Arts.

The Art-A-Fair began in 1966, built an exhibition site in 1977 and exhibits juried works of 125 artists from outside the area.

In early 1967, John Griggs and other founding members of the Brotherhood of Eternal Love relocated from Modjeska Canyon to the Woodland Drive neighborhood of Laguna Beach, whic...

In 1968, local conservationists founded Laguna Greenbelt and began a drive to conserve a horseshoe of hills and canyons surrounding Laguna Beach.

== In popular culture == The 1972 instrumental by Black Sabbath "Laguna Sunrise" was inspired by a sunrise guitarist Tony Iommi witnessed after a night of partying.

Started in 1976, the 'Vic' Skimboarding World Championship is held at Aliso Beach in Laguna Beach and is the longest running skim boarding contest on the pro circuit.

Between 1980 and 1981, the city conducted the Laguna Beach Historic Survey, a citywide block-by-block study which noted the location of pre-1940 buildings and determined which h...

Gentry in 1982 marked the first openly gay elected official in southern California and the first openly gay mayor in the state.

=== 1993 fire === In October 1993, a fire in Laguna Beach destroyed or damaged 441 homes and burned more than 14,000 acres (5,700 ha).

In 2004, MTV created a reality television show entitled Laguna Beach: The Real Orange County, which aired for three seasons.

The Boom Boom Room of the Coast Inn was a nightclub and disco that predominately catered to the gay community until it shut down in 2007.

In 2008, Laguna Beach was one of only four incorporated cities in Orange County (along with Aliso Viejo, Costa Mesa, and Irvine) to reject Proposition 8, the ballot initiative t...

During 2009–2013, Laguna Beach had a median household income of $94,325, with 6.3% of the population living below the federal poverty line.

=== 2010 === The 2010 United States census reported that 22,723 people, 10,821 households, and 5,791 families resided in the city.

In 2011 Ken Frank retired after 31 years, one of the longest-serving city managers in Orange County history.

The Laguna Beach State Marine Reserve (LBSMR), which extends from Irvine Cove to Treasure Island Beach, was established in 2012, to make most of the coastal area a no-take zone.

In 2013, enrollment was approximately 450 students.

The Aliso Creek Water Reclamation Facility went into operation in 2014.

An exhibition on the Laguna Canyon Project, titled "The Canyon Project: Artivism," was held at Laguna Art Museum in 2015–16.

The city was deemed a smoke-free place by Laguna Beach Council on May 23, 2017.

In 2023, the US Census Bureau estimated that the median household income was $140,508, and the per capita income was $110,736.

One incident occurred on Jan 31, 2025 and resulted in temporary closure of Thousand Steps Beach.