Crystal Cove may become a piece of history

Paul Clinton

CRYSTAL COVE -- To preserve the history of the cottages at the state

park and the heritage of the community that spent its summers there, a

former resident is leading an effort to create a public archive at UC

Irvine.

Laura Davick, who spent most of her life living in a cottage

overlooking the beach, has begun assembling old photographs, letters and

other memorabilia for the archive.

Davick said she has also signed a contract to develop a coffee-table

book called “California’s Crystal Cove . . . The Way it Was” to document

the community that lived in the 46 cottages until July 8, when they were

evicted by the state.

“It’s really a period of simpler times, when people were bound

together in a community here,” Davick said. “There’s a special

camaraderie.”

Last year, that community threw its last Fourth of July bash on the

publicly owned land, which the Irvine Co. sold to California State Parks

in 1979.

Davick has made inroads with UCI officials who are excited about the

wealth of firsthand accounts and material available.

“One of the areas we collect very heavily is documenting the history

of Orange County,” said Jackie Dooley, the head of special collections

and archives at UCI. “A very strong thread of that effort is

environmental movements.”

On Saturday, Davick will hold an unveiling of her book project at the

cove. Davick is the founder of the Alliance to Rescue Crystal Cove.

At 3 p.m. Saturday, Davick will lead a tour of the cove’s historic

district. At 4:30 p.m., Douglas Westfall, who has agreed to publish the

book, will give a lecture about the history of the cottages and the

community.

Davick has prepared poster board collages of historic cottages

starting in 1917, when the district had a South Sea island look. It was

used by Warner Bros. and other studios in films during that era.

So far, Davick said she has raised $36,000 for the book and needs

another $12,000. She is also seeking other vintage photographs of life at

the cove for the book.