"I have always felt that every city should have a piazza, and this is now our piazza," local sculptor Gerard Basil Stripling told the Laguna Beach Independent at the Forest Avenue Promenade's dedication on September 25. He described the piazzas he had visited in Italy as places "where people gather, meet, have fun, drink, eat, and talk."
His description fits a square people use every day, without needing a band on the schedule. That's the test the promenade faces this fall. The permanent plaza was dedicated almost four weeks after its summer music series ended. Between now and the holidays, the calendar shows two scheduled moments. The rest of the time, the promenade has to work the way Stripling described.
The summer series ended before the ribbon-cutting
The order of events matters. The temporary promenade opened on June 15, 2020. The City awarded the construction contract for the permanent version on January 13, 2026, and work started February 17. According to the Orange County Register, the public got its first look at the new space right before the Fourth of July, when the perimeter fencing came down.
The City's Promenade on Forest stage series followed right away. Live music ran Friday through Sunday, 5:30 to 7:30 p.m., from July 10 through August 30. Then the stage went quiet, and the official dedication came almost four weeks later.
Mayor Mark Orgill explained the timing to the Independent. The plaza had been finished for more than a month, but he said, "We thought that it was an appropriate time to do the ribbon cutting and announce the grand opening of the promenade before we get into the fall and winter months where we start to have hospitality night and some of the other events."
So the official opening was aimed at the off-season. That's when downtown is mostly locals, and it's when the plaza will show what it's like without a summer crowd to fill it.
What $7.2 million built that $250,000 didn't
The Register put the 2020 temporary plaza at about $250,000, including $10,000 for security. The Register reports the permanent version cost $7.2 million, which City Manager Dave Kiff said was under budget. The Daily Pilot gives slightly different figures: a $5.5 million construction contract and an estimated overall cost of $7.3 million.
Either way, the money replaced barricades with permanent fixtures. The roadway, curbs, sidewalks and parking spaces were all removed. Here's what's there now:
- Rustic tumbled brick paving across the full plaza
- A kelp-forest-inspired fountain, described in Stu News Laguna's photo coverage as the feature that anchors the new streetscape
- Umbrellas for shade and new light poles, both listed as completed on the City's project page
- A nautilus bench, bike racks and more art pieces, added in the final week, according to Kiff
- Tile work by Laguna artist Marlo Bartels, noted in the Daily Pilot
- Planted gardens, widened storefront walkways and areas set aside for temporary performances, all part of the approved design
As of the Register's September 24 report, a few items were still unfinished: some interior brickwork, switching on the Wi-Fi speaker system and some adjustments on the Coast Highway end.
Not everyone wanted the permanent version. The Register reported that some community members opposed it over lost parking, the town's historic character and possible flooding. Kiff said the decomposed granite used in construction should help with drainage. He also said the eucalyptus trees removed this summer were unstable and unhealthy, and that the new landscaping is better suited to a "saline" environment. The young plantings help explain something Orgill told the Independent: "The trees will grow. It's going to be more beautiful over time."
The fall calendar has two dates on it
From now through December, the promenade's public schedule is short:
| When | What happens on the promenade | Details |
|---|---|---|
| Through Sunday, Oct. 25 | Films on Forest, part of the Coast Film & Music Festival | Free outdoor screenings and live music. Nightly times are on the festival schedule. |
| Friday, Dec. 4, 6:30 to 6:45 p.m. | Anneliese School performs on the Forest Ave. main stage | Part of Hospitality Night |
| Friday, Dec. 4, 7 to 9 p.m. | Susannah B & the Lowkeys and Earl Thomas on the main stage | Part of Hospitality Night |
The Coast Film & Music Festival runs October 16 to 25, and the weekend of October 24 and 25 is its last. The festival's press release describes Films on Forest as "free outdoor screenings and live music under string lights on the Forest Avenue Promenade." The Register's October 13 preview of upcoming film festivals also lists it as public-plaza programming. Check the festival schedule for the remaining screening times before you head downtown.
Hospitality Night is the bigger night. Under the City's tentative schedule, downtown street closures start at 3 p.m., covering parts of Forest Avenue, Ocean Avenue, Beach Street, Glenneyre and the Peppertree Lot. Free trolley and on-demand neighborhood service runs from 4 to 11 p.m. Santa lights the tree in the Peppertree Lot, Lot 2, at 6:10 p.m. Businesses hold open houses from 5 to 9 p.m. This year will be the first time the Forest Avenue main-stage acts play on the finished brick instead of a closed-off street.
The City's published promenade stage series ended August 30, and its calendar shows no recurring fall series. That leaves about five weeks between the end of Coast and Hospitality Night with nothing on the schedule.
The plaza's anchors were open long before the brick went down
During those five weeks, the businesses along the block do most of the work, and the most important ones aren't new.
Bushard's Pharmacy turned 80 this year. Brothers Joe and Earl Bushard opened it in 1946. Joe's daughter, Sheila Bushard-Jamison, took over in 1986, and her daughter Marisa Fader now runs the business side. Fader described it to the Register as an apothecary that carries specialty items you won't find at chain drugstores, many of them from France. She also told the paper that since part of the promenade opened in July, "We've seen an uptick in people shopping and eating and enjoying the promenade."
Moulin, the French café, is celebrating its 10th anniversary. It handed out free crepes at the joint celebration with Bushard's that the Register previewed.
Alessa, at 234 Forest Ave., was already open on the block before the permanent plaza, and the Daily Pilot photographed diners there for its coverage. At the dedication, attendee Tom Joliot told the Independent he and his wife might "grab a bite at Alessa if we can find a table."
The newest neighbor is just off the promenade. The Surfing Heritage and Culture Center opened its Laguna Beach location to the public in September. The Register lists its address as 239 Broadway St. and describes historic surfboards, cameras, swimwear, surf films, an interactive "Stoke Machine," and a public library and conference area. SHACC's own visitor page gives 232 Ocean Ave. as the address for its parking lot and main entrance. Joliot had it on his list for dedication night too, since it's "open now."
None of these businesses depends on an event to fill its tables. On a weekday in early November, they're the reason people will be on the promenade.
The uses nobody scheduled
Orgill is already seeing the kind of everyday use Stripling described. "Reading circles, kids at the high school talked about using it as a meeting space," he told the Orange County Register. "There are a couple other groups I see meeting there now and it's becoming a place where people see others they might not run into in a year."
The idea goes back further than the 2020 street closure. Orgill told the Independent that the community's Vision 2030 plan, written 27 years ago with more than 2,000 residents taking part, called for closing Forest Avenue to create a downtown social space. He added that the permanent design passed the Coastal Commission unanimously.
George Dubin, a local artist and planning commissioner who helped bring the project to completion, described his own way of using it to the Independent: "I come down here and sit and just enjoy watching the sun go down." In November, sunset comes before dinner, so his routine fits in between a stop at Bushard's and a table at Alessa. Our summer guide to the canyon festivals covered Laguna's busy season. This fall is the first chance to see the new piazza with mostly locals in it.
Leslie Thompson keeps track of how downtown changes like the Forest Avenue Promenade affect daily life across Laguna Beach, from what's new on the block to the businesses that have been there for decades. If you'd like to talk about what the new downtown means for your own plans, Leslie Thompson would be glad to schedule a private consultation.
