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Dana Point, CA
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Dana Point is a city located in southern Orange County, California. The population was 35,110 at the 2000 census. As one of the few harbors along the Orange County coast, and with ready access via State Route 1, it is a popular local destination for surfing and is home to a legendary surf break called Killer Dana.
The city was named after the headland of Dana Point, which was in turn named for Richard Henry Dana, Jr., author of Two Years Before the Mast, which included a description of the area. Dana describes the locale, including neighboring San Juan Capistrano, as "the only romantic spot in California." Although Dana describes the anchorage as poor, it is the best available in the vicinity, and is now a developed harbor containing a museum replica of his ship, the Pilgrim. This area is designated California Historical Landmark 189.
One of the very few known specimens of the megamouth shark was caught off Dana Point in 1990.
GeographyAccording to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 76.2 km² (29.4 mi²). 17.2 km² (6.6 mi²) of it is land and 59.1 km² (22.8 mi²) of it (77.45%) is water.
The city was named after the headland of Dana Point, which was in turn named for Richard Henry Dana, Jr., author of Two Years Before the Mast, which included a description of the area. Dana describes the locale, including neighboring San Juan Capistrano, as "the only romantic spot in California." Although Dana describes the anchorage as poor, it is the best available in the vicinity, and is now a developed harbor containing a museum replica of his ship, the Pilgrim. This area is designated California Historical Landmark 189.
One of the very few known specimens of the megamouth shark was caught off Dana Point in 1990.
GeographyAccording to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 76.2 km² (29.4 mi²). 17.2 km² (6.6 mi²) of it is land and 59.1 km² (22.8 mi²) of it (77.45%) is water.
PoliticsIn the state legislature Dana Point is located in the 35th Senate District, represented by Republican Tom Harman, and in the 73rd Assembly District, represented by Republican Mimi Walters. Federally, Dana Point is located in California's 48th congressional district, which has a Cook PVI of R +8 and is represented by Republican John Campbell.
Emergency servicesFire protection in Dana Point is provided by the Orange County Fire Authority with ambulance service by Doctor's Ambulance. Law enforcement is provided by the Orange County Sheriff's Department.
Year round marine safety services are provided by U.S. Ocean Safety Lifeguards on county beaches and California State Lifeguards on state beaches.
EducationThe city is served by Capistrano Unified School District.
HistoryDana PointIn 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 homebuilder, 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, paved streets, electricity, telephones, sidewalks, water mains, storm drains, sewers, and other amenities, Woodruff built 35 homes and a number of commercial buildings. His crowning structure was to be the Dana Point Inn, a Mediterranean-like resort hotel. After a celebratory groundbreaking in 1930, a three-story foundation was poured and a 135-foot elevator shaft was dug. Unfortunately, the Depression caused construction to halt. Although Woodruff continuously sought financial support through the years, this project was abandoned in 1939. Subsequently, he sold the remaining holdings of the Dana Point Syndicate. Thirty-four of the original Woodruff residences are still occupied.
Capistrano BeachIn 1928, a corporate entity of the American industrial giant Edward Doheny, who had built his fortune in oil production in Southern California and Mexico, purchased a number of lots in Capistrano Beach. Doheny's son, Ned, formed a development company, the Capistrano Beach Company, which included his wife's twin brothers, Clark and Warren Smith and Luther Eldridge, a contractor, to build a community of Spanish style houses. According to Dana Point historians Baum and Burnes, Eldridge favored two dominant characteristics in his homes, a typically Spanish roof line and the use of large ceiling beams in the houses' main rooms. The roofline, covered with red ceramic tiles, incorporated a low-pitched gable, spreading out to one short and one long roof. The ceiling beams were stenciled artwork painted by artist Alex Meston. Eldridge was able to complete the original Doheny family house on the bluffs, four houses on the beach, and 18 other homes scattered throughout the area before tragedy struck the ambitious project. Edward Doheny was preparing for his criminal trial for bribery in the Teapot Dome Scandal, and on February 16, 1929, Ned Doheny and, Hugh Plunkett, his friend and secretary, who were to testify in the trial, were killed in a murder that still remains unsolved. In 1931, as a memorial to Ned, Petroleum Securities Company, Doheny's family-owned business, made a gift of 41.4 acres to the State of California, which is now Doheny State Park. The unimproved Capistrano Beach properties passed back to Edward Doheny, and, upon his death in 1935, to his wife and heirs. By 1944, all of the properties had been sold to private parties.
The Doheny family also funded the building of the what was then called St. Edward's Chapel in Capistrano Beach; it was the first Catholic worship space constructed in either Capristrano Beach or Dana Point. The Chapel soon grew, received canonical status as a parish (St. Edward the Confessor Roman Catholic Church and Parish School), and moved to its current bluff-top location in Dana Point, over looking Doheny State Beach. The original site of St. Edward Chapel and building that was built by the Dohenys still functions as San Felipe de Jesus Roman Catholic Church. Since 2002 San Felipe de Jesus has shared St. Edward the Confessor's clerical staff (the pastor of St. Edward's is the administrator of San Felipe) due to the priest shortage in the Diocese of Orange.
External linksCity of Dana Point websiteDana Point Visitors BureauDana Point Times, local newspaper
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Tags:
museum, oceanview, water
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By Ingrid
5 days
Enjoy this romantic 4-Day Weekend getaway to the charming village of San Juan Capistrano (& then add another day to check out Coronado Island & the gaslamp district in San Diego!).
Each March, the swallows return to the old mission. And people, in turn, celebrate their arrival. The Swallows Festival or "Fiesta delas Golondrinas" is a two-month long celebration of the return of the swallows (Cliff Swallows) to San Juan Capistrano on March 19 of each year. The festival begins in late February with the "Taste of San Juan Reception". In mid-March, Swallows Week is kicked off with the President's Ball followed by a week of events such as the Hairiest Man Contest, Pets on Parade, Hat Contest, Hoos'gow Day, pancake breakfast, and the annual Swallows Day Parade & Mercado.
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1 person reviewed Dana Point
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at 8:10PM March 24, 2009
nice surf spot
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