"You go to the Playhouse, you're in seating," Mayor Mark Orgill told the Daily Pilot the day after the Promenade on Forest was dedicated. "You go to the Cultural Arts Center, you're primarily seated. It's a different experience. At the promenade, you can listen to music and you can socialize at the same time."
His point covers more than one plaza. On Saturday, Sept. 19, the Surfing Heritage and Culture Center opened its new home on Broadway to the public. Six days later, the city held the ribbon-cutting for the permanent Promenade on Forest. Both are free and need no ticket, and both stay open after summer ends. They're two blocks apart. Downtown Laguna has long run on a seasonal calendar of festivals and ticketed nights, and this fall it has two fixed places you can visit on an ordinary Tuesday.
A $250,000 Experiment Became a $7 Million Plaza
The promenade began in June 2020 as a pandemic stopgap so restaurants could keep serving customers outdoors. According to the OC Register, that temporary setup cost about $250,000, including $10,000 for security. The permanent version on lower Forest Avenue, between Glenneyre Street and Coast Highway, cost roughly 28 times as much. In January, the City Council awarded a $5.5 million construction contract to Superb Engineering. The Daily Pilot puts the total conversion at about $7.3 million. The Register reports $7.2 million, and City Manager Dave Kiff said the project came in under budget.
The money went into what the street itself is made of. The roadway, curbs, sidewalks and parking spaces are gone. In their place are tumbled brick paving, seating areas, a fountain inspired by a kelp forest, a nautilus bench, bike racks and new art pieces. Local tile artist Marlo Bartels was there at the opening with one of his pieces. Kiff said the decomposed granite used in construction should help with drainage. The new landscaping was chosen to suit a salty coastal environment and replaces eucalyptus trees removed this summer. The plaza also has a fountain, an audio system and Wi-Fi. A few days before the dedication, Kiff said the speaker system still had to be activated.
The project had opponents. Appellants took it to the Coastal Commission, arguing about lost downtown parking, flood risk and community character. The commission found no substantial issues. Tree removals during construction drew more protests.
The businesses facing the plaza give it a mix of old and new. Bushard's Pharmacy opened in 1946 and marked its 80th year at the dedication. Moulin marked its 10th. Alessa served diners under umbrellas that evening. Brussels Bistro at 222 Forest and 230 Forest Avenue are on the same block. Bushard's still runs as a neighborhood apothecary, selling hard-to-find cosmetics and perfumes, many from France. Third-generation owner Fader told the Register the effect started once the fences came down near Coast Highway in July:
"We've seen an uptick in people shopping and eating and enjoying the promenade. After seeing the fence and the jackhammer for so long, I'm happy to see people down here."
Orgill described early uses that fit his "socialize at the same time" idea, including reading circles and high school students using the plaza as a place to meet.
Two Blocks Over, Surf History Moved Onto a Main Street
The Surfing Heritage and Culture Center, known as SHACC, used to sit in an industrial part of east San Clemente. The Laguna Beach Independent noted that the old site was hard to find and drew little walk-in traffic. The new home is a 1941 downtown building that once housed a Sprouse-Reitz store. It has 12,000 square feet, with about 9,500 of them on the ground floor for exhibits and events under wood beams and red brick walls. Executive Director Jeff Alter, son of Hobie Alter, said the move puts SHACC in a retail area and lets it host many more events.
The Register lists the building at 239 Broadway. SHACC lists its main entrance and parking lot at 232 Ocean Ave. Admission is free. Regular hours are 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., Tuesday through Sunday, and it's closed Mondays. The featured exhibit is "PAE KA NALU: Catch the Wave." SHACC's site notes that hours change for holidays and private events, so check shacc.org before you go.
October Shows the Difference Between Ticketed and Free
The first full month with both places open is also a rough month for downtown's ticketed events. The Taste of Laguna Food & Music Festival, set for Oct. 1 at the Festival of Arts grounds, was canceled. Organizers cited unforeseen circumstances and said they plan to return in 2027. Stu News Laguna reported that the Coast Film & Music Festival postponed its Oct. 3 Preservation Hall Jazz Band and Oct. 4 Aloe Blacc concerts at the Irvine Bowl and was processing refunds. The festival itself still runs Oct. 16 to 25. In that Sept. 18 report, its Oct. 23 to 25 Irvine Bowl concerts were still expected to go ahead, though Festival of Arts licensing questions remained open.
There's also a gap on the promenade's own calendar. The city's live music on the promenade stage ran Fridays through Sundays from July 10 to Aug. 30, and the city's posted schedule has no fall dates. For now, the plaza's programming comes from occasional local events. One published community listing shows "Forest Under the Lights" tonight, Wednesday, Oct. 7. It starts at 5:30 p.m., Anesha Rose plays free from 6 to 8 p.m., and community-table dinners can be booked at nearby restaurants. Performers who want to play on the plaza need a permit from the Cultural Arts Department, an assigned performance area and a three-hour cap, and they have to follow the city's noise rules.
These are the October dates that involve the two new spaces:
- Wednesday, Oct. 7: Forest Under the Lights on the promenade, with free music from 6 to 8 p.m.
- Oct. 16 to 25: Coast Film & Music Festival runs.
- Saturday, Oct. 17: Big Wednesday screening, 4:30 to 7 p.m., SHACC Theater.
- Oct. 17 to 25: SHACC is open only to Coast Film Festival ticket holders.
- Sunday, Oct. 25: Surfboard sale in the SHACC parking lot at 232 Ocean Ave. Members enter at 8:30 a.m. and the public from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.
- Thursday, Oct. 29: Jeff Divine book launch, 7 to 9:30 p.m., SHACC Theater.
During the festival week, the free surf museum becomes a ticketed festival venue for nine days. SHACC's own site posts that change, so the dates are easy to check before you walk over.
Getting There Without the Forest Avenue Spaces
Forest Avenue's lower-block parking is gone for good, which makes the off-season transit schedule more useful than it used to be. The city's free Coastal Route trolley runs its non-summer schedule from Sept. 8, 2026, to June 25, 2027. It connects North Laguna, downtown, South Laguna and Mission Hospital, and continues to the Ritz-Carlton in Dana Point. Hours are 7:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 7:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. Friday, 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. Saturday and 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Sunday. The Friday and Saturday late hours cover an evening on the promenade. On Sunday, the last trolley runs an hour after SHACC closes.
For drivers, the city's beach parking page lists off-season rules through June 21, 2027. Lot 23 opens to the public after 7 p.m. Monday through Thursday, after 5 p.m. Friday and Saturday, and all day Sunday. Enforcement runs from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. On weekends, the Canyon Route runs from Lot 16 at Act V, where parking is $5, with a free trolley into downtown from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m.
The Holiday Calendar Comes to the Same Blocks
The next big downtown dates will put the plaza to work at holiday-season crowd sizes. The Sawdust Winter Fantasy runs Fridays through Sundays from Nov. 20 to Dec. 20, 2026. The city lists Hospitality Night for Friday, Dec. 4, from about 5 to 9 p.m. Downtown street closures start at 3 p.m., and trolley and on-demand neighborhood service runs from 4 to 11 p.m. The city still marks that schedule as tentative. It will be the first Hospitality Night with a finished, car-free Forest Avenue at the center of downtown.
If you live in Laguna and these new downtown blocks have you thinking about how you use the town, whether that's walking more, keeping a second home here or planning around the trolley rather than a parking space, I'm happy to talk it through. Kara Duffy follows changes like the Promenade on Forest closely because they shape daily life here. Let's Connect.
