Dana Point, CA

Dana Point is a city in Orange County, California. It has one of the few harbors along the Orange County coast, and is a popular surfing destination.

The city was named after the headland of Dana Point, which was in turn named after Richard Henry Dana, Jr., author of Two Years Before the Mast, which included a description of the area. Dana described the locale, including neighboring San Juan Capistrano, as “the only romantic spot on the coast”. Although Dana described the anchorage as poor, it is now a developed harbor and contains a replica of his ship, the Pilgrim.

History of Dana Point, CA

Dana Point was a popular port for ships involved with the hide trade with nearby Mission San Juan Capistrano, with trading reaching its peak in the 1830s and 1840s. In 1818, Argentine sailor Hippolyte de Bouchard anchored here while conducting his raid on the mission. Richard Henry Dana then visited the area in 1835 while serving aboard the sailing brig Pilgrim on their voyage along the California coastline.

In 1923, Los Angeles Times publisher Harry Chandler and General M.H. Sherman, director of the Pacific Electric Railway Company, created a major real estate group to develop what is known today as the Hollywood Hills. Sidney H. Woodruff, already a prominent Los Angeles home-builder, was hired to lead the project. In 1926, Woodruff, Chandler and Sherman created the Dana Point Syndicate. They invited other heavy hitters, company presidents, movie producers and real estate investors to join them in purchasing 1,388 acres of land, some of which includes the “Headlands” of today. Promising tree-lined and paved streets, electricity, telephones, sidewalks, water mains, storm drains, sewers and other amenities, Woodruff built 35 homes and a number of commercial buildings.

Most of these “Woodruff” houses are concentrated in a Dana Point’s historic core, also called Lantern Village. The streets are named after the different colored lanterns, street of the Violet Lantern, Blue Lantern, etc. (colored lanterns were used by ships 200 years ago to advertise their fares when pulled into the Dana Point natural harbor).

Population of Dana Point, CA

The population of Dana Point was 33,351 at the 2010 census.

Dana Point, CA Zip Codes: 92624, 92629

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