"We thought that it was an appropriate time to do the ribbon cutting and announce the grand opening of the promenade before we get into the fall and winter months where we start to have hospitality night and some of the other events," Mayor Mark Orgill said at the September 25 dedication, as reported by the Laguna Beach Independent. The paper reported that the plaza had been finished for more than a month before the ribbon was cut. The date was chosen to face the cooler season.
That choice is now being tested. The city's summer schedule of live music on the Promenade ended August 30. Starting today, Laguna Art Museum's Art + Nature celebration runs five days of free programs from Main Beach through Heisler Park. Laguna Beach's permanent street plaza was designed for exactly this time of year. This week gives it a full downtown calendar with no summer crowds behind it.
Heaters in the Umbrellas
The temporary version of the Promenade began on June 15, 2020, with temporary chairs, tables and structures set up on a closed street. Construction on the permanent version started February 17, 2026. The Orange County Register reported a project cost of $7.2 million.
Several of the features the city described when the first section opened in July are built for evenings after summer. The Register's July report listed them:
- Sun umbrellas with built-in heaters "for cooler weather"
- New lighting and piped-in audio throughout the space
- Custom tables and chairs of wood and coated metal, embossed with "Forest Avenue Laguna Beach"
- A fountain at the center, topped by artwork modeled on the floor of a kelp forest
The landscaping is meant to grow in over years. Twenty new trees, mostly eucalyptus plus some live oaks, were planted over suspended pavement cells that keep the soil from compacting around their roots. Six original trees remain, including a large eucalyptus near the Candy Baron and a very tall one at the Glenneyre Street end. The city also told the Register that the space was meant to adapt to different uses. "We talked about having a community meal where you line up all the tables down the middle, and you just bring your food and sit next to anybody," a city official said in that report.
The punch list may not be finished yet. The city's capital projects page still says remaining elements will be built "over the next couple of weeks." The Register's September 24 coverage named the open items as interior brickwork, turning on the Wi-Fi speakers, and adjustments on the Coast Highway end.
Thursday Through Monday, Main Beach to Heisler Park
Art + Nature takes place on the coast, a short walk from Forest. Kim Manfredi's commission, "A Flag Walk for Our Future," puts four outdoor flag installations along a 0.7-mile route from Main Beach through Heisler Park. It is free and open to self-guided visits, with maps available on site. According to the museum's schedule, the week runs this way:
| Date | Time | Program | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Thu. Nov. 5 to Mon. Nov. 9 | 8:45 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. | Flag installations, Main Beach through Heisler Park | Free |
| Thu. Nov. 5 to Mon. Nov. 9 | 10 to 11 a.m. | Guided walk with Kim Manfredi, meeting at the museum | Free, no reservation |
| Thu. Nov. 5 | 5 to 6 p.m. | First Thursdays Art Walk viewing of "View with a Grain of Sand" | Free |
| Thu. Nov. 5 | 6 to 7 p.m. | Manfredi artist talk | Free, registration required |
| Sat. Nov. 7 | 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. | Art activities, DJ and food on the Main Beach cobblestone area | Free |
| Sat. Nov. 7 | 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. | Museum admission | Free |
| Sat. Nov. 7 | 6 p.m. | Dr. Lucy Jones keynote, "The Science of Resilience" | $35 members, $40 nonmembers |
Two of these programs run into the evening, after the flag route closes at 4:30. The artist talk ends at 7 p.m. tonight, and the Lucy Jones keynote starts at 6 p.m. Saturday. Both fall in the hours that the Promenade's lighting and heated umbrellas were designed for. The museum notes that 2027 will be the 15th annual Art + Nature, and that its outdoor commissions have filled the public spaces around the museum during the first week of November for more than a decade. This year is the first time those November dates have a permanent street plaza nearby.
The Storefronts That Stayed Through the Construction
What the plaza feels like day to day depends on who is open along it, and the block's longest-running tenants have been there for decades. The Register reported that Bushard's Pharmacy, opened in 1946 by pharmacist Joseph Bushard, still operates in the building he built on Forest Avenue, in its original footprint with no remodeling. The pharmacy marked its 80th anniversary on the night of the ribbon cutting. Moulin, a Parisian-style café nearby, celebrated its 10th anniversary at the same party and served free French crepes.
Alessa came up in the Independent's dedication coverage, where one attendee planned to eat there "if we can find a table." The newest arrival is Faherty, the surf-inspired clothing brand founded by twin brothers, which opened on Forest in April during construction. The Register reported in July that two more food businesses were expected to open next door, one serving specialty frozen yogurt and the other paninis.
Downtown's dining options also changed off Forest this fall. The Deck and Driftwood Kitchen closed on September 7 after more than a decade on Sleepy Hollow Lane. The closures clear the way for redevelopment of the Pacific Edge Hotel complex, which the Independent reports includes a new hotel building, a garage and a new café. The article gave no completion date. So this off-season, Laguna has two fewer oceanfront dining rooms and one new public outdoor room on Forest.
Getting Downtown With 48 Fewer Spaces
The permanent design replaced Forest Avenue's roadway, curbs and parking with brick paving and landscaping. The Register reported in June 2025 that the project would remove 48 parking spaces. The trolley is the main way to get downtown without using those spaces. The city's off-season trolley schedule runs from September 8, 2026 through June 25, 2027. The Coastal Route is free, and the weekend Canyon Route links downtown with Lot 16, where parking costs $5. For a Saturday that combines the Main Beach activities, free museum admission and the evening keynote, a weekend trolley ride avoids hunting for one of the remaining downtown spaces.
December 4 Is the Next Date on the Stage
The event Mayor Orgill named in September is the next scheduled program on the Promenade. Hospitality Night is set for Friday, December 4, and the city's tentative schedule puts Anneliese School on the Forest Avenue main stage from 6:30 to 6:45 p.m., followed by music on the Promenade main stage from 7 to 9 p.m. The logistics are published on the city's Hospitality Night page:
- Downtown street closures begin at 3 p.m.
- Free trolley and neighborhood on-demand service run from 4 to 11 p.m.
- Parts of Forest, Ocean, Beach and Glenneyre, along with the Peppertree Lot, close to vehicles.
Mayor Orgill traced the Promenade back 27 years to the community's Vision 2030 plan. That plan called for closing Forest Avenue to create a downtown social space, and the pandemic street closure served as the trial run. The Coastal Commission approved the permanent design unanimously, according to the mayor. Between the flag walk this week and the Hospitality Night stage on December 4, Laguna will have its first full stretch of fall evenings to see how the space performs.
If you'd like to talk about what the new Promenade means for downtown Laguna Beach, or about any part of the coast, Barbra Stover would be glad to hear from you. Let's Connect.
