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By Skip Hellewell
Much to the disappointment of early developers , the railroad never came to Laguna . When the ATSF railway extended from Santa Ana to San Diego in the 1880s , there was hope it might come down Aliso Canyon , where a resort hotel was contemplated . When Heisler and associates developed north Laguna in the early 1900s , they hoped the electric railway connecting Long Beach to Los Angeles might extend this far , and the first plans for Cliff Drive called it “ Electric Way .” This brings us to a little-known benefactor to Laguna ’ s
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development : The Auto Club .
The first gas-powered automobile in Los Angeles was built in 1897 by resident inventor J . Philip Erie . The Los Angeles Times report , “ Without Horses ,” claimed it was the first auto built west of the Mississippi . Funds ran out before the car could be perfected , and an 1899 article lamented , “ Los Angeles has had to be content with reading about the popularity the up-todate vehicle is attaining in Europe and throughout the East . This was galling to the pride of the city , which had the first commercial electric street railway in the country .”
Angeleno pride was restored with the arrival in 1899 of the first factory-built auto , the three-wheel “ Duryea ,” built in Peoria , Ill . The article reassured readers it was “ safer for a city street than a skittish horse .”
Ten visionary businessmen created the Auto Club of Southern California in 1900 to “ handle any and all matters arising out of the ownership or operation of a motor vehicle .” That first year they organized a “ country run ” of the steam- and gas-powered autos in town ( the distance being too far for electric autos ) to show what autos could do . Traveling the forty or so miles from
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Los Angeles to Ontario on the first day , they spent the night there and returned by way of Glendale , which required fording the San Gabriel River . A new age was dawning .
In a society built around horse-drawn vehicles , there were many needs for the Auto Club , which argued for better roads ( a factor in the 1915 paving of a single-lane road through Laguna Canyon ), sent cartographers out to make maps for distribution , and put up direction signs . In 1915 the Auto Club organized caravans to San Diego to see the Panama Exposition , which promoted San Diego as the first U . S . port of call for ships using the newly opened Panama Canal . One caravan traveled by way of Riverside , the other taking the newly paved road to Laguna Beach , touting the ocean views . From Laguna , the route south was a single-lane dirt road ; Coast Highway wouldn ’ t be built for another ten years .
As auto ownership grew , the Auto Club argued for higher speed limits ( existing laws were apparently written to discourage galloping horses ), laws to register vehicles , license drivers , and protect the public from reckless drivers . They also argued for traffic police to wear uniforms for identification and a
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tighter definition of “ reckless driving .” The Auto Club issued insurance to cover towing ( a common need then ) and repairs ( limit of $ 25 ) and help recover stolen autos ( horse thieves were moving with the times ). The Auto Club sponsored a newspaper column telling fishermen and hunters where the prospects were good and advising of road conditions . Similar articles touted beach destinations . Early Laguna attractions included the Victor Hugo Inn with its landscaped grounds , the White House Café ( especially after its 1926 remodeling ), and the Arch Beach Tavern .
In 1958 the Auto Club of Southern California opened an office in South Laguna in recognition of south county development , which they maintained until 1993 . Today the building is the site of the accounting firm Kinsman & Kinsman . Looking back , it was the auto , not the hoped-for train , that , for better or worse , made Laguna accessible and drove its growth . There ’ s meaning in that .
Skip fell in love with Laguna on a ‘ 50s surfing trip . He ’ s a student of Laguna history and the author of “ Loving Laguna : A Local ’ s Guide to Laguna Beach .” Email : skip @ lovinglaguna . com .
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