Coast Inn - Laguna Beach

The Coast Inn in Laguna Beach has been a legendary Southern California resort destination built in 1927 by John H “Poppy” Smith. Located along South Coast Highway and Mountain Road, this Project site consists of a 14,000 square foot site that initially served Laguna Beach tourists and locals with a 24-room hotel, a liquor store, a café, a restaurant/bar/cocktail lounge, a nightclub, office, and retail spaces. Over the past 95 years, the Coast Inn property has contributed to this neighborhood's overall character and history, from the streetscape to the social-cultural importance in local history. This hotel has undergone significant changes, from a fire that destroyed the front portion of the structure in 1956 to rebuilding this section into a Mid-Century Traditional style and becoming the premier gay nightclub and social center from the late 1970s to the early 2000s. Today, Coast Inn will again go through another Historic Renovation by retaining its original form, massing, and spatial relationships, including its street-level restaurant space.

With its significant important role in Laguna Beach's history, the new renovation will undergo a less than 50% modification of the structure and preserve its appearance from the 1930s – its Period of Historical Relevance. Working alongside the City of Laguna Beach, the California Coastal Commission, our Historian, and Dornin Investment Group LLC, SMS Architects will restore the Coast Inn’s former character of the 1930s. The goal is to remove the 1960s renovations and bring back aspects of the Spanish Colonial Revival from the arches leading up to the guest rooms, clay tile roofing, turrets, restore its original wood framing for doors and windows, bring back the original wood railing along Mountain Road, and recreating the original Coast Inn signage.

From a community perspective, this Project will represent the opportunity to revitalize one of the prominent structures in Laguna Beach by rehabilitating Coast Inn into a favorable, thriving, relevant social and cultural structure that will continue to serve Laguna Beach, locals, and tourists.