For years, the 12,000-square-foot building between Broadway and Ocean Avenue sat abandoned. It opened in the 1940s as a Sprouse-Reitz store and later became a drugstore. Before anyone could move in, it had to be gutted down to new walls and new floors. Since September 19, it has held more than 800 surfboards, and five of them are connected to Duke Kahanamoku.
Six days later, a few blocks away, the city cut the ribbon on the permanent Promenade on Forest. Downtown Laguna already had good seated culture: the Playhouse, the Cultural Arts Center, and dinner reservations. These two openings add large, free spaces where you can stay for an hour with no ticket, no assigned seat and no check. This fall is the first season with both open, and that changes how the rest of the calendar fits together.
A former dime store that can hold 400 people
The Surfing Heritage and Culture Center, known as SHACC, spent more than two decades in the hills of San Clemente before it moved. The Orange County Register reported that the old site sat in an industrial area about 2.5 miles from the coast. The new one is about 200 yards from Main Beach.
The size of the building is a big part of why it works. In Stu News Laguna's coverage of the opening, Councilmember Sue Kempf said the space was "so big that it wasn't attractive to a lot of different types of businesses as is." She predicted it is "going to be a hangout place for a lot of people." The renovation kept the original high ceiling.
The Register's walkthrough shows how the space is set up for hanging out:
- A flat screen 10 feet wide and 16 feet tall, for movies and live surf contests. The Lexus Trestles Pro was streaming on opening day.
- An upstairs conference room and library, open to the public, with every issue of Surfer and Surfing magazines.
- Exhibits in the center space that can be moved aside to fit up to 400 people, plus a bar and restaurant for events.
- A parking lot, which founder Dick Metz said is "beyond" what he expected in downtown Laguna.
"This is not a subdued museum."
That was Metz, speaking to the Register. Metz grew up across the street from the new building. He told Stu News that his father owned a bar and restaurant where the Main Beach lawn is today. He calls the Kahanamoku boards "the crown jewels of the surfing world." The Register adds a local detail. Two of those boards were shaped in Corona del Mar when Kahanamoku visited Southern California.
For a visit this week, use SHACC's official visitor page. It lists free admission, Tuesday through Sunday from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., and closed Mondays. The main entrance and parking lot are at 232 Ocean Ave. Opening-week coverage printed 239 Broadway and shorter hours, so go by the official page. The same page says that from October 17 through 25, the building is open only to Coast Film & Music Festival ticket holders. Regular hours pick up again once the festival closes on October 25. SHACC's calendar also lists a book launch for Jeff Divine on Thursday, October 29.
From pandemic seating to a $7.2 million plaza
The Promenade on Forest began in June 2020 as a temporary pedestrian zone. It was set up to help downtown businesses get through COVID restrictions with outdoor dining and retail displays. Making it permanent took years of council votes. The council chose to keep the location in 2021, stated its intent to move ahead in April 2024, reaffirmed that intent in February 2025, and approved the permanent Slow Street closure in June 2025.
The Laguna Beach Independent reported the funding. The city awarded a $5.5 million construction contract. It had first set aside $2.86 million, then moved $4.4 million from inactive or delayed capital projects to cover the full cost.
| Feature | What went in |
|---|---|
| Surface | Rustic, tumbled multicolor brick |
| Seating | Custom tables and chairs, umbrellas with heaters |
| Atmosphere | Lighting and piped-in audio |
| Greenery | Landscaping, 20 replacement trees, decomposed-granite areas |
| Art | A kelp-forest-inspired fountain topped with an art piece, a nautilus bench and other installations |
The brick is the reason the plaza opened in stages. City Manager Dave Kiff told the Register in July that the tumbled bricks need precise installation. Together with an emergency tree replacement, they pushed completion past the Memorial Day target. Crews opened about 60% of the plaza for the Fourth of July weekend. Kiff put the project at $7.2 million and said it was still under budget. The Daily Pilot reported $7.3 million at the September ceremony. Alessa, Bushard's Pharmacy, Moulin and Faherty are among the businesses tied to the plaza in that coverage.
What the mayor means by "a different experience"
Mayor Mark Orgill explained the plaza's purpose to the Daily Pilot by comparing it with the town's other venues. "You go to the [Laguna] Playhouse, you're in seating," he said. "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."
SHACC is built on the same idea. This fall, the hours before and after the ticketed shows have two free places to go.
| Date | Event | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Oct. 27 to Nov. 22 | The 39 Steps, Laguna Playhouse | Ticketed |
| Nov. 1 to 9 | Art + Nature Celebration Week, Laguna Art Museum | Varies by event |
| Nov. 5 | First Thursdays Art Walk, 6 to 9 p.m. | Free |
| Nov. 5 to 9 | A Flag Walk for Our Future, Heisler Park | Free path |
| Nov. 20 to Dec. 20 | Sawdust Winter Fantasy, Fridays to Sundays | $5.50 to $12.50 single day, $35.50 Winter Pass |
| Dec. 3 | First Thursdays Art Walk, 6 to 9 p.m. | Free |
| Dec. 4 | Hospitality Night, about 5 to 9 p.m. | Program listed as tentative |
| Dec. 4 to 27 | Aladdin & Yasmin's Winter Wish, Laguna Playhouse | $101 to $140 adult seats for the Dec. 5 noon show |
November 5 shows how the new spaces fit together
The first Art Walk with both spaces finished falls in the middle of Laguna Art Museum's Art + Nature Celebration Week. On that Thursday, all of the following are free:
- SHACC is open from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.
- Kim Manfredi's A Flag Walk for Our Future runs along an accessible 0.7-mile path in Heisler Park from November 5 through 9.
- Manfredi gives an artist talk at the museum at 6 p.m. It's free, and advance registration is recommended.
- Art Walk runs from 6 to 9 p.m., and Laguna Art Museum offers free admission during the walk.
Manfredi's exhibition View with a Grain of Sand runs at the museum through January 18, 2027. Executive Director Julie Perlin Lee told Stu News Laguna that the paintings "reward time, attention and curiosity." The permanent-collection show Radiant Terrains, with work by Lita Albuquerque, Peter Alexander and Helen Pashgian, runs through January 10, 2027.
The holiday season will be the first real test
December will show how much these spaces get used. Hospitality Night on Friday, December 4, starts at Peppertree Lot with Santa and a tree lighting at 6:10 p.m. The city's tentative program includes music, crafts, business open houses and a free trolley. The Playhouse panto opens the same night. Sawdust Winter Fantasy runs weekends from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. at 935 Laguna Canyon Road through December 20.
Both projects also point past this winter. Stu News noted that SHACC opened ahead of Laguna Beach's 2027 Centennial and the 2028 Olympics, when surfing is expected at nearby Trestles. Metz told the Register he hopes the center can become a meeting place for Olympic organizers and teams from other countries.
If you own near downtown and wonder what a finished Promenade on Forest and a free surf museum a few blocks away might mean for your home's value, Jerry Del Mauro can give you a straight answer based on recent nearby sales. Request your free 1% home valuation, and if you ever decide to sell, keep more of your equity with a flat 1% listing fee.
