There is only one ideal street in Laguna Beach.
One street that lives and breathes. One street that is not a façade or freeway. One street that wakes up quietly without regard to noisy tourists or unrealistic expectations.
It’s Ocean Avenue. Like its namesake, Ocean in spirit is deep and wide and unfortunately taken for granted.
Unlike Forest Avenue, which is more like a brittle, worn piece of polished bottle glass, Ocean is broad shouldered, rugged and nuanced.
If you look closely, there is everything you need on Ocean. It is the only remaining full-service street in Laguna.
You can:
Ocean hasn’t really changed that much over the years, unlike other parts of Laguna. Just ask the ones who’ve been there, such as Richard Upchurch. His dad started Del’s Upholstery on Ocean in 1949. It has since moved to the canyon, but Upchurch remembers growing up on the street.
He also remembers when the city took a couple of his family’s lots through eminent domain to help build the bus depot.
“We kind of feel like we got screwed,” Upchurch said, especially since it’s no longer a real bus depot.
“Ocean has been one of the last to change,” he said. “But who knows how long it will last.”
Upchurch’s daughter, Denise, lives in the family’s house on Ocean and runs an online clothing store.
But the reality is there’s fewer resident-serving businesses on Ocean – or in Laguna as a whole.
“There’s no service industry because there’s no parking,” Upchurch said.
Despite the unrelenting pace of change throughout the city, Ocean Avenue is undergoing more of a slow metamorphosis.
Visit now before it’s gone. Visit now before there is no real reason to see it.
