THE SEGERSTROM FAMILY

Jenifer Ragland

SEEDS OF A LEGACY

It was impossible to know in the early 1900s that a small dairy farm --

and later lima bean fields -- in a largely undeveloped area south of Los

Angeles would eventually turn into one of Southern California’s most

powerful retail and cultural dynasties.

That’s why it could have only been accomplished by visionaries -- in this

case, they came from five generations of Segerstroms, who saw their land

as more than just a chunk of dirt to eventually sell off.

“When I think about the Segerstroms, I think of two things -- leadership

and vision,” said Allan Roeder, Costa Mesa’s city manager for the past 20

years. “It started early on in the agricultural field. They were leaders

in this area in the agricultural business, building the foundation of

Costa Mesa and the county.”

That leadership and vision, Roeder said, characterized the family in

everything else it has touched, including the business world at the end

of the 20th century, the performing arts and other charities.

“You’d have a hard time finding a city where one family has left a mark

as indelibly as the Segerstroms have on Costa Mesa,” said former mayor

and Daily Pilot columnist Peter Buffa. “They have a values system which

is very hard to find these days.

In 1882, Charles John (C.J.) Segerstrom, 28, and his wife, Bertha,

scooped up their three young children and moved from their homeland of

Sweden -- where C.J. had learned to farm -- to the United States. They

arrived in Orange County in 1898, leasing 20 acres of land to grow

apricots in what is now the city of Orange.

The story goes that on a wagon trip to present-day Costa Mesa, C.J. saw

the land he wanted -- flat and rich enough to grow anything he wanted.

They at first leased the 40 acres, growing alfalfa to feed cows and began

a dairy. The couple had 11 children -- five daughters and six sons -- all

who helped on the farm.

As C.J. Segerstrom was able, he bought the 40-acre piece of land on

Fairvew Road north of the San Diego Freeway, which the family still

refers to as the “home ranch.” They began purchasing more land starting

in 1940.The family -- after finding numerous well locations, four of

which were later used at no charge by the Costa Mesa water district --

then began its lima bean empire. At one time they had 2,500 acres of farm

land spread out across nearly half of what’s now Costa Mesa.

During the 40s and 50s, the Segerstrom family pioneered the commercial

production of lima beans. The dairy farms were sold, but the family

continued to buy parcels of land considered good for bean growing. They

quickly became the largest independent producer in the country, and the

quality for which their product was known set standards in the industry.

When they were old enough, C.J. Segerstrom brought his sons into the

business. As he got along in years, his activity in the business slowly

diminished and the boys took over. C.J. Segerstrom passed away in 1927 in

the ranch house.

The family was dedicated to working the land -- the sons in the fields

and the four girls who never married in the two-story farmhouse that

still stands on Fairview Drive.

THE TRANSITION

While the first generation of Segerstroms were pioneers and successful

entrepreneurs, the family’s real genius came much later.

His name is Henry T. Segerstrom, and he is part of the third generation

of the family -- son of Anton and Ruth Segerstrom. He led the family’s

successful transition from agriculture, though they are still farmers, to

the world of development -- mainly retail and office high-rises.

“For an area to have two families (the Segerstroms and the Irvines) who

moved across that economic span is quite a unique accomplishment,” Costa

Mesa resident and historian Hank Panian said.

When Anton Segerstrom Sr. -- Henry’s father -- died in 1963, Orange

County’s population was booming. Henry, a Stanford graduate, knew a

freeway close by would be essential if he was going to successfully

develop his family’s farm land into a giant shopping center. So he

lobbied the state to get the San Diego Freeway put through their

property. He also worked closely with the city of Costa Mesa, which had

just incorporated in 1953, to annex the land in 1959. Segerstrom had

discussions with the city of Santa Ana about annexation, but Costa Mesa

reportedly gave the family a better deal.

The mall alone, which does nearly a billion dollars in sales, produced

roughly $8.5 million in sales tax for the city in 1998. That is up from

$5 million in the late 1980s -- and the figure is growing still.

“In our city now, a lot of the revenue collected for services is

generated at South Coast Plaza,” Councilman Joe Erickson said. “It’s also

a tourist stop for California, which brings people here and again helps

us provide quality services.”

A strong underlying theme in the Segerstrom story is continuity of

quality and commitment.

“Whether it’s business, the arts, or philanthropy, whatever the

Segerstroms do, it’s world-class,” former Mayor Buffa said.

South Coast Plaza -- which became Orange County’s first enclosed regional

shopping center -- opened in March 1967, still surrounded by lima bean

fields.

The San Diego Freeway, which would be its primary transportation link,

hadn’t even been built. Retailers such as May Co. and Sears had to be

persuaded to come down to Costa Mesa. As an incentive, the Segerstrom

family sold the companies the land for $1.

Six years later, the shopping center was successful enough to add a new

wing, anchored by Bullock’s and 70 other specialty stores. Later, in

1978, came Nordstrom -- the first California store -- after Henry

Segerstrom himself lobbied company officials in Seattle. After that, Saks

Fifth Avenue. Then a new, bigger Nordstrom. The new Crystal Court annex

housed The Broadway, Macy’s and Robinson’s May, until a revitalization

just this year with the largest Crate & Barrel store on the West Coast.

Through it all, Segerstrom never swayed from his vision, which was for an

upscale retail center that would stand out among the many shopping malls

that he foresaw sprouting up all over Orange County.

“South Coast Plaza has achieved an international reputation and

recognition among the select quality retailers,” Segerstrom said in 1997.

His words are backed up by numbers. The shopping center’s total sales

volume is more than $800 million annually -- a figure comparable to

Beverly Hills and Union Square shopping areas.

Despite the phenomenal success of the family’s ventures, there have been

some missteps along the way. The most notable was the proposal to erect a

32-story office building on the Home Ranch at Harbor Boulevard and the

San Diego Freeway. The city OKd the development but the voters rejected

it in a referendum.

“Back in the ‘80s, I think they learned a few things about being

responsible citizens in Costa Mesa,” Councilman Erickson said. “Based on

that loss, their development is now more community friendly and they do a

better job of outreach.”

EDUCATION, ARTS AND CULTURE

The other part of the Segerstrom vision was to bring culture -- something

once relegated to Los Angeles -- to Orange County.

South Coast Plaza sits in the heart of South Coast Metro, which is 2.2

million square feet of not only upscale retail, but the nationally

acclaimed South Coast Repertory Theatre, the Orange County Performing

Arts Center, parks, theaters and restaurants.The first goal was to bring

public art to the center, which is something the family saw as important

to the success of urban centers abroad. One of the most known and

impressive works is the 1.6-acre outdoor sculpture garden done by Isamu

Noguchi.

“If you study South Coast Plaza, you will see the family has excellent

taste,” said historian Panian. “I doubt if there are many public places

in the United States that have the variety and the beauty of the

sculptures in the public garden that they have out there.”

In 1975, Henry Segerstrom was approached by David Emmes and Martin Benson

with what seemed like a bold request: Would the family donate land at

South Coast Plaza for construction of a modern theater?

The Segerstroms responded, donating an acre of land, providing parking

facilities and giving them $50,000 in cash to kick off the fund-raising

effort for the building. The family also pledged a donation of $200,000

for an expansion of the South Coast Repertory theater.

The Segerstrom’s initial gift was the catalyst for what would become a

$3.5 million fund-raising effort -- one that was well beyond any previous

arts groups efforts. It proved successful, when, in 1981, the theater

opened. It now has a national reputation, and in 1990 won a Tony Award

for best regional theater.

In 1979, the family was approached again by arts advocates -- this time

for an even larger undertaking -- the Orange County Performing Arts

Center, which had been started by a group of residents who felt the need

for a concert hall where the Orange County Philharmonic and other groups

could perform. Impressed by the group’s support, the Segerstroms donated

the land and $1 million to get it going.

The Segerstroms would chip in another $5 million before The Center opened

in 1986. It includes Segerstrom Hall -- a 3,000-seat concert hall that

serves as the venue for Broadway productions, international dance shows,

opera and the Pacific Symphony Orchestra -- and Founders Hall, which is

used by cabaret singers, single performers and a jazz club. Technically

and acoustically, it is one of the finest performing arts centers in the

nation.

“What the Segerstroms have brought to Orange County is they have taken

the vast fortune made off of the land, and rather than just hoarding it

for their own pleasure and use, they have consciously and systematically

become involved in every aspect of life in the county,” said B.W. Cook,

the Daily Pilot society columnist and the editor of the Bay Window

magazine. “And their fingerprints are everywhere.”

One of those fingerprints is in law education. C.J. Segerstrom & Sons

sold land to Whittier Law School so it could open a new campus on Harbor

Boulevard in Costa Mesa. It was the first law school accredited by the

American Bar Assn. to come to Orange County.

“There are more than 500 attorneys practicing law within 500 feet of

where we’re speaking,” Segerstrom said at the time, referring to the

high-rise office complexes that surround South Coast Plaza.

The Segerstroms would later give the college a $500,000 grant for a

reading room within the college’s high-tech, 45,000-square-foot law

library. The school named it, appropriately, the Segerstrom Family

Reading Room.

Observers say that despite the family’s very public philanthropy, the

Segerstroms have remained very private and humble.

“It’s one thing to publicize accomplishments, but it’s another to do it

in a gratuitous way, and I have never seen that from Henry or any member

of the family,” Roeder said. “Their contributions are very much genuine.”

The family’s contributions to the arts are what have distinguished Costa

Mesa from just being any other city along the San Diego Freeway.

“We would not be listed alongside Paris, London and New York were it not

for them,” Roeder said.

Cook added that what is key is the vision.

“It’s a great vision, and their impact will be felt for at least the next

100 years.”

WHERE THE DYNASTY ENDS

As the Segerstrom family -- now five generations -- heads into the 21st

century, one thing is clear: Henry Segerstrom, considered by all as the

visionary and the genius behind the most recent chapters of the family’s

success story, is not yet finished with his masterwork.

At the beginning of this year, the Performing Arts Center announced an

ambitious, $200 million expansion plan that will include a music hall, a

visual arts center and expansion of South Coast Repertory. The concert

hall will seat 1,800.

Just this December, the Segerstroms officially announced they would

donate six acres of prime Orange County real estate to accommodate the

expansion. And many are convinced he still has more up his sleeve for

South Coast Metro.