State to offer tours of Crystal Cove Historic District

Paul Clinton

CRYSTAL COVE -- For the next several weeks, anyone who wants an inside

glimpse of the historic district will have an opportunity to get it.

California State Parks has begun leading the public through the

district in a series of guided walking tours.

“Our goal with this whole thing is to have as many people come down to

the district,” said Winter Bonin, who is organizing the tours. It will

allow the public “to have a final chance to get close to the cottages and

to go into a few of the cottages.”

The tours, expected to last about 90 minutes, will take the public

into areas of the district not usually open to them. Shortly after the

district’s former residents left their cottages July 8, state parks

representatives nailed up orange “Area Closed” signs on the buildings.

The 46 cottages have been closed to the public since the state bought

the land from the Irvine Co. in 1979 for $32.6 million.

The state agency has implemented an interim plan to secure and

preserve the cottages until a plan can be developed via public workshops

for the district’s future. The state is spending about $1 million to bolt

up the dwellings, repair roofs, install lifeguards and rangers,

weatherproof the windows and fix other minor problems.

The cottages, since the residents left, have been inspected by parks

officials, the media and the public.

Jeannette Merrilees, a Laguna Beach activist also leading a tour, said

she was shocked at the deteriorated state of the cabins.

“The Parks Department wants people to see the cottages, so people have

a realistic idea of what [California] State Parks is up against,”

Merrilees said. “People need to see just how decrepit they are.”

Bonin said five more tours will be given Wednesday, Saturday, and Aug.

8, 11 and 15. The Saturday tours will begin at 8:30 a.m.; the Wednesday

tours will begin at 11 a.m. No reservations are required.

FYI

To learn more about the Crystal Cove Historic District guided walking

tours, call Winter Bonin at (949) 497-7647.