Capistrano Beach or Capo Beach is a coastal neighborhood in the city of Dana Point in

Orange County, California Orange County (officially the County of Orange; often initialized O.C.) is a county (United States), county located in the Los Angeles metropolitan area in Southern California, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, the population ...

. It is bordered by

San Clemente San Clemente (; Spanish for " St. Clement" ) is a coastal city in southern Orange County, California, United States. It was named in 1925 after the Spanish colonial island (which was named after a Pope from the first century). Located in the O ...

to the south and

Doheny State Beach Doheny State Beach (known colloquially as Doho) is known as the first state beach in the California state park system. Located on the Pacific Ocean in the city of Dana Point, the beach is adjacent to several surf spots and scenic beaches includ ...

to the north. Capistrano Beach is situated along the coast on the southern end of Dana Point. Some homes are situated atop a cliff overlooking Coast Highway and Capistrano Beach Park. Several celebrities live in the town area, notably on Beach Road, where Hobie Alter conceived of the popular Hobie Cat catamaran.

History

Rancho Boca de la Playa, granted to Don Emigdio Vejar, was the initial land title issued in the area now known as Capistrano Beach. The land was sold to Juan Abila in 1860, and then purchased by Marcus A Forster in 1886. Forster sold a strip of the land to the San Bernardino and San Diego Railway. The railway, in collaboration with the

California Central Railway The California Central Railway was incorporated on April 23, 1887, with headquarters in San Bernardino, California. George O. Manchester was the President of the corporation. At its peak it operated of rail line with 14 steam locomotives, 14 ...

, built a rail line between Los Angeles and San Diego, with a station at Capistrano. The station was initially named San Juan by the Sea, but in 1910 was changed to Serra, the name of the newly formed school district. Development of Capistrano Beach started in 1925 with residential homes on the bluff. The Capistrano Beach Club was built along the shore of the new development. In 1929, the Petroleum Securities Company (owned by Edward L. Doheny) became the new owners of the Capistrano Beach development. In 1931, following the death of Doheny's son, he donated over to the state for

. Capistrano Beach became part of the city of Dana Point in 1989. During the excavation of the land during development in 1929, the bones of a

mastodon A mastodon, from Ancient Greek μαστός (''mastós''), meaning "breast", and ὀδούς (''odoús'') "tooth", is a member of the genus ''Mammut'' (German for 'mammoth'), which was endemic to North America and lived from the late Miocene to ...

(or possibly a mammoth) were discovered. The bones were taken to the Los Angeles Natural History Hall for display. The wooden pier was popular for strolling, sightseeing, and fishing. The pier was severely damaged by waves in 1964, after which it was condemned and demolished in 1965. The Capistrano Beach Club became rundown and, in the late 1960s, was dismantled. During storms in 2018, a boardwalk collapsed and an outdoor basketball court was severely damaged after being undermined by erosion caused by the waves. The storm exposed old cars put there decades prior as part of a now corroded sea wall. More boulders were placed to protect the basketball court that was damaged. The Serra Siding project is proposed along the shoreline that would build of additional siding track. The project would create additional train capacity along this busy corridor.

Gallery

File:Dana Point and the bluffs at Capistrano, California, ca.1900 (CHS-1548).jpg, Capistrano Beach from the sea, File:Laguna Beach surf and Arch Rocks between Laguna and Capistrano, 1910 (CHS-1311).jpg, Rock arches at Capistrano Beach in 1910 File:Laguna Beach surf and the rock arches at Capistrano Beach, "The Lady of the Sea", 1910 (CHS-1303).jpg, Rock arches at Capistrano Beach in 1910 File:Capistrano Beach Dana Point California photo D Ramey Logan.jpg, The

San Juan Creek San Juan Creek, also called the San Juan River, is a stream in Orange County, California, Orange and Riverside County, California, Riverside Counties, draining a watershed of .7.5 Minute Quadrangle Map, U.S. Geological Survey, San Juan Capistr ...

's southwestern mouth at Capistrano Beach File:Capistrano Beach.jpg, Capistrano Beach sea bluffs in 2005 File:San Diego Steam Special II along Coast Highway in Capistrano Beach, May 2010.jpg, Santa Fe 3751 in Capistrano Beach in May 2010 File:Capistrano Beach, California (3436693609).jpg, A lifeguard stand at Capistrano Beach

References

{{Authority control Dana Point, California Neighborhoods in Orange County, California

History

Gallery

See also

References