Design and Dana Point Harbor

A view of the north turning basin at Dana Point Harbor today.

Architect and historian Alan Hess will discuss Dana Point Harbor's architectural design and development at the Orange County Historical Society's season kick-off meeting, Sept. 12, 2013, at the Sherman Library & Gardens, 2647 E. Coast Highway, in Corona del Mar. The event will begin at 6:30 p.m. with an optional appetizer and dessert potluck, followed by the program at 7:30 p.m. (Everyone participating in the potluck is asked to bring a dessert or appetizer for six people.) The program is free to the public. Additional program details and updates will be posted to OrangeCountyHistory.org.

Dana Point Harbor is one of the most successful mid-century master-planned developments on the West Coast. Alan Hess will speak on "why it is such an important example of 1970s architecture, how it captures a unique time in Orange County history, and why its integrity is worth preserving."

Dana Point Harbor on its dedication day, July 31, 1971.

Hess is the architecture critic of the San Jose Mercury News and a contributor to the Architect’s Newspaper. He has written nineteen books on Modern architecture and urbanism in the mid-twentieth century, the most recent being, Frank Lloyd Wright: Natural Design, Organic Architecture. Hess was a National Arts Journalism Program Fellow at Columbia University and has a M.Arch degree from the Graduate School of Architecture and Urban Planning, UCLA.

(On a personal note, let me say that I've never heard Alan give anything less than a fascinating talk. And it's no exaggeration to say that his books about Googie Architecture changed my life in very positive ways.)

Jetty construction, Dana Point Harbor, Jan. 1967.

This program will be followed with a related lectures and a self-guided tour of Dana Point Harbor on Oct. 5th, sponsored by Docomomo SoCal. (See their website for details.) This will be the inaugural event for this new chapter of Docomomo, an international organization dedicated to the "documentation and conservation of buildings, sites and neighborhoods of the Modern movement."

I hope to see you at BOTH events!

Dana Point Harbor, seen from the Doris Walker Overlook at Heritage Park.