Honoring the many people who help beautify Laguna

The Beautification Council of Laguna Beach honored 32 businesses and

homeowners Tuesday at the Awards of Merit Breakfast and Slide Show.

The awards are distributed every other year.

All the award-winning properties can be viewed from public

right-of-ways.

Nominations for awards are made by council members Ben Blount, Joy

Dickerson, Ed Drollinger, Gilda Elk, Eleanor Henry, Mary Jeffries,

Harry Lawrence, Cossie Mechling, Jan Osborne, Yank Sefton, “Dutch”

Vanderhoff, Karl Von Muff; award judges Bob Borthwick, Ora Sterling

and Max Brown; and Director of Public Works Steve May.

Mechling, who for years did the photography of the honored

properties, and Blount were unable to attend the award presentation.

Mechling is ailing, and Lawrence was out of town, guiding one of his

tours of China.

The following are honorees, with brief committee comments, in

order of presentation:

* Hortense Miller Garden, 22511 Allview Terrace: Tours of the 2

1/2 -acre garden can be arranged through the city’s community

services, (949) 497-0716.

* Laguna Beach Garden Club: Honored for maintenance of Main Beach

Park garden and the pocket park on Forest Avenue between Livewire

Cleaners and the Laguna Beach Presbyterian Church. Cost of the upkeep

is contributed by the members. Walt Von Gremp financed it in the

1980s. The late Hal Pastorius created the centerpiece sculpture

honoring motherhood. Borthwick was the landscape architect.

* Las Brisas Rose Garden, 361 Cliff Drive: A Laguna Beach icon,

the judges said.

* Laguna Beach County Water District, 306 Third St.: An example of

an addition blending with the original, made better by the garden.

* Presbyterian Church, 415 Forest Ave: An oasis downtown.

* Stearns Architecture, 500 Broadway: A blue-light special.

* Tuvalu, 295 Forest Ave.: Mark Christie is the owner. Kirk

Saunders was the architect. Plans for the remodelling were

drastically changed when the water table was hit at 39 inches below

ground.

* Annaliese’s School, 758 Manzanita Drive: Originally a monastery,

beautifully maintained with a whimsical touch.

* Harte Brownlee & Associates, 962 Glenneyre St.: The building was

moved to its present site from the Broadway side of the old Laguna

Federal parking lot (now Wells Fargo Bank), according to Borthwick.

* Peace Garden, Mountain Street beach access: Created and

maintained for 20 years as a labor of love by Michel Martennay.

* Art Center, 1492 S. Coast Highway: In the top 10 of Laguna

icons, it is owned by Steve Kalthhoff.

* French 75, 1464 S. Coast Highway: Owned by the French family.

* Cafe Vienna, 31542 S. Coast Highway: The Craftsman-style cafe

adds life to the South Laguna streetscape, according to Sterling.

Owned by Ferdinand Lettner.

* Award-winning city projects: Main Beach Lifeguard Tower (a

former gas station moved from across the street), Brown’s Park,

Frederick M. Lang Park and Community Center, South Coast Highway

medians designed by Ann Christoph, and special recognition of

Treasure Island Park.

“Aliso Viejo Mayor Karl Warkomski was so impressed by the highway

medians, he had them copied in his city,” said award judge Brown, who

photographed most of the properties honored Tuesday.

* Wendy and Paul Meyer, Myrtle Street: An English-style garden

that was an easy call for the judges, Borthwick said.

* Pamela Horowitz: She spends 40 to 50 hours a week tending her

garden on Circle Way. It shows.

* Patricia Carpenter: The property on Linden has been on the

Laguna Beach Garden Tour.

* Lauren Mayes and Craig Hockenberry: A 1921 Cypress bungalow

completely remodeled in a three-year project.

* David Mason: Cliff Drive residence is proof that

drought-tolerant plants can be elegant and beautiful, Borthwick said.

* Jerry Moushey Jr.: Laguna Canyon Road site was reclaimed from

junk-yard status.

* Boyd Family: This Virginia Park Drive house has been in the

family for three generations. The site was once a test garden for

avocados.

* Annette and Hans Rindfleisch: Landscaping complements the Mark

Singer architecture of this Tyrol home.

* Nadine Nordstrom: Neighborhood children call this Brooks Street

property the Butterfly Garden. The cat mailbox came with the house.

* Marcella and Harvey Rosene: The Brooks Street house was 800

square feet when the owners bought it in the 1980s. They added 450

square feet that blends beautifully with the original structure. Jim

Harvey designed the second-story addition.

* Deborah Ogilvie Kind: Greg Abel designed the major remodelling

of this historic Mountain Road home.

* Mary Margaret and Steven Park Grant: Deer dine on the roses in

this garden on Palmer Place. Visitors feast their eyes.

* Laguna Shoals Condominiums, South Coast Highway: Morris

Skenderian, project architect; Larry Steinle, landscape architect.

The tea tree in the front was transplanted from a Glenneyre Street

project that was previously honored by the Beautification Council.

* Lizanne and Matthew Witte, Tablerock Drive: She maintains the

city’s water easement parcel. It’s her Adopt-a-Park project.

The council has been honoring property owners who contribute to

the city streetscape since 1967.

“Harry Lawrence founded the council in 1950,” Borthwick said.

“Harry said Laguna was pretty disheveled at the time.

The members met at Andres. Revered landscape architect Fred Lang

was on the original committee.

“Initially, they just wanted to clean up the town. So they

borrowed a Pottery Shack truck and drove around and picked up trash.”

The Beautification Council became part of the Chamber of Commerce

in 1952. When the tent city on Broadway was dismantled, the council

transplanted trees from the site to Main Beach.

* OUR LAGUNA is a regular feature of the Laguna Beach Coastline

Pilot. Contributions are welcomed. Write to Barbara Diamond, P.O. Box

248, Laguna Beach 92652; ; call (949) 494-4321; or fax (949)

494-8979.