Historic Walking Tour
Self-Guided · Under 2 Miles · Dana Point Lantern District
Stroll through the oldest and most attractive section of Dana Point. Enjoy views of the harbor and coastline while exploring S. H. Woodruff's visionary 1920s Mediterranean village by the sea.
Tour stops
18 stops, in the order they appear on the Society's map. Tap Directions to open a stop in Google Maps.
Open the tour in Google Maps (opens in a new tab)Endless Summer production office
The movie Endless Summer by Bruce Brown was partially filmed in Dana Point and surrounding beaches. It was edited in this building.
DirectionsHistoric Auditorium
Corner of Golden Lantern and Del Prado
We start at the corner of Golden Lantern and Del Prado where you will find one of the oldest buildings in Dana Point (now Stillwater restaurant), which was built as an auditorium c. 1926-1928 and was used by Woodruff as a regular gathering place for the many prospective buyers he brought down from Los Angeles. It has been divided into a shop in front and, behind, a restaurant with outdoor garden.
DirectionsOld Golden Lantern
Note that the short street across Del Prado is called “Old Golden Lantern.” The original street ran beside the Auditorium Building (now Stillwater restaurant) over to the bluff. The new Golden Lantern angled away from the building and down the slope toward the Harbor. Hence the name “Old Golden Lantern.”
DirectionsDoris Walker Overlook
End of Old Golden Lantern, Heritage Park
Go to the very end of Old Golden Lantern where you will find a large compass in Heritage Park overlooking the Harbor. The Harbor was built in the late 1960s by constructing the breakwaters to enclose the harbor area. The water was pumped out, the landfill completed, the bridge built and boat basins constructed. The harbor entrance was opened and the water flowed back in. Shops, restaurants, sport fishing boats, kayaking, and special events lure visitors to the Harbor.
DirectionsHistoric homes
Turn back now to the corner of El Camino Capistrano where across the street you will see two of the earliest houses, one in Provincial Revival style and the other in the Spanish Colonial Revival. Historic photos tell us the former house had a front bay addition years ago while the corner house had a small octagonal wing added to its original construction.
DirectionsHistoric homes
24622 El Camino Capistrano
Further along El Camino Capistrano on the left side are two original houses in the Spanish style. Note the wrought iron grill (over the) window, the arches, vintage tile roofs—this house at 24622 was Woodruff’s guest house for important prospective buyers. One of the original street lanterns is preserved in the garden.
DirectionsHide Drogher sculpture
At the end of El Camino Capistrano continue straight to the walkway along the bluffs, where you will find the Hide Drogher Statue along the way. Here you will once again find magnificent views of the Harbor below. Read the inscription that tells you the history of the purchasing of hides from the mission properties that were then transported back to Boston to be made into boots, saddles, harnesses and the many other needs for leather goods. R. H. Dana tells this story in his compelling book, Two Years Before the Mast.
DirectionsHotel ruins
Continue along the bluff-top walkway to pass through the pointed arches. These are the remains of a grand hotel that Woodruff planned for his Mediterranean Village. It had an elevator shaft down through the cliff to give access to the beach. The elevator’s permanently sealed facade can be seen from Harbor Drive below. Look for the ruins of the 1923-24 scenic bluff trail constructed by the San Juan Point Corporation which included the Scenic Inn below today’s Blue Lantern Gazebo at the Ken Sampson Overlook.
DirectionsS. H. Woodruff home
24401 Santa Clara Avenue
The end of the walkway brings you out on Amber Lantern. Walk to Santa Clara Avenue, site of other early houses built by Woodruff. Turn left to see one for his own use at 24401. This house has been enlarged but much of the old part remains. A one-story house next door was built by Woodruff for the managing editor of the L. A. Times.
DirectionsBlue Lantern Gazebo
End of Blue Lantern
At the end of Blue Lantern you will find one of the oldest structures in Dana Point—the Gazebo built c. 1926-27. The first developer provided an earlier viewing area of the magnificent coastline to prospective buyers before the gazebo was built. A walkway descended from this point to the beach below where the Scenic Inn picnic pavilion was built to entertain those buyers.
DirectionsOcean Institute
Below is the Ocean Institute, an excellent facility to teach young and old about our neighbor, the ocean.
DirectionsSpirit of Dana Point
The Ocean Institute owns the Spirit of Dana Point, a tall ship which you see below. Their Sea Explorer is used for excursions into the ocean with students and adults to study its importance in our lives.
DirectionsStreet names
The colored lantern named streets in Dana Point are associated with early developer Anna Walters due to her street being named Green Lantern the year her home was completed in 1925. However, it was Woodruff’s Dana Point Syndicate that would promote the nautical theme and install the ship’s lantern street lights from 1926-1930. Historic photos and underground wiring remnants show that Woodruff’s “ornamental” lantern street lights were throughout Dana Point when the completion of the Roosevelt Highway (PCH) was celebrated July 18, 1929. Woodruff’s descendants have told the Historical Society that landscaping along the lantern streets was to follow the same color scheme as the street names.
DirectionsOldest commercial building
Corner of Blue Lantern and Del Prado
Stop at the corner of Blue Lantern and Del Prado to admire the oldest commercial building in Dana Point. Originally, the Blue Lantern Fountain Lunch and Gas Station when it opened in 1927, the building has existed for these many years in several different guises. The building exterior is essentially the same with the former gas station bay enclosed. As reported in the Los Angeles Times, April 3, 1927, the building was designed by Fay R. Spangler of Santa Ana and built by Western Construction Company an affiliate of Woodruff’s Dana Point Syndicate. The building was owned by early developer Anna G. Walters who leased it to Carroll Lynch who operated the service station while Mrs. Lynch ran the restaurant. The building was restored and opened as the Coastal Kitchen restaurant in 2016.
DirectionsWoodruff sales office
Where Del Prado meets Pacific Coast Highway
Walk along Del Prado to the charming building at the point where it meets Pacific Coast Highway. This building, a low one-story Spanish style building with decorative tile, was the sales office of Sidney Woodruff for his Dana Point development efforts. Restoration was begun on the building’s exterior in 2020.
DirectionsOriginal commercial building
34130 Pacific Coast Highway
Another original commercial building in Dana Point is on the left side of Pacific Coast Highway at 34130. This two-story building has housed a number of restaurants over the years. It retains its basic original structure with the remains of the second story wrought iron balcony railings and window grill on the second floor.
Directions1920s Telephone office
The Woodruff-era telephone office where the operator would have connected the calls until 1929 when it was closed for a couple of days when the service was converted to dials. An addition has been added and the tile roof was removed.
DirectionsHobie Alter’s original surf shop
This is the building where Hobie Alter opened his first surf shop in 1954, purchased by his father for $1500.
Directions
About the Tour
Welcome
This walk is an easy stroll of less than 2 miles through beautiful Dana Point. It will take you through the oldest and most attractive section of the city, with views of the harbor and the coastline.
History of Dana Point
Development in Dana Point dates from the 1920s — first in 1923–24 by a syndicate from Laguna Beach. Their plans soon fell into financial difficulty, and the 900 acres they owned were purchased by S. H. Woodruff, the Los Angeles builder and developer of Hollywoodland.
Woodruff appreciated the unspoiled setting of Dana Point with its unobstructed ocean views from the bluffs. His master plan envisioned a Mediterranean village by the sea — recreational facilities and houses of varied designs. On this walk you will see some of those original houses, the earliest commercial buildings, and learn about the streets bearing lantern names.
Woodruff's grand plans were brought to an end by the Depression of the 1930s. Development in Dana Point did not begin again until the 1960s.
Join a Guided Tour
The Dana Point Historical Society leads annual guided walking tours during the Festival of Whales each spring. Contact us to find out about upcoming dates.
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