NEIGHBORHOOD PROFILE: SOUTH COUNTY : FOCUS : Spanish-style Living By the Sea
San Clemente was tagged the Spanish Village-by-the-Sea by its founding father, Ole Hanson. The one-time politician and full-time real estate developer dreamed of building a Spanish-style village with mandatory white stucco houses and all wearing red tile roofs. Most residents thought him to be somewhat crazy, but in December, 1925, he put his 2,000 acres in lots up for sale. By August, 1926, all his units were sold for more than $3 million. On the first day alone, sales totaled $125,000.
Today, this portion of the county is heavily populated by retirees and executive commuters. The southernmost tip is the oldest and most established section of the city. It features wide streets meandering throughout, always conforming to the contours of the hills. For many, houses are situated to provide a great ocean view.
Landscaped with palm and other exotic trees and shrubs is the 100-acre San Clemente State Beach. At present, the campground has 85 sites for conventional vehicles and 72 spots for recreational vehicles and all the usual campsite amenities. The beach is about to undergo a $1.5 million face-lift with completion scheduled for sometime in the summer of 1989.
Trestles--located southeast of the Orange County-San Diego county line--is one of the most widely known surfing beaches on the California coast. This world-class surfing spot was named by surfers for the wooden train trestles that rise above the sand inland from the waves. On any given day, you can still see the Santa Fe and Amtrak trains crossing the trestles as surfers glide through the waves just off the point. Sometimes, migrating whales can be spotted.
The 1,200-foot San Clemente Municipal Pier was built in 1928 by Hanson. The pier was severely damaged by a storm in 1983, but was totally renovated in 1985. The pier is adjacent to the Amtrak station, which is a popular disembarking point for beach-goers from Los Angeles.
La Casa Pacifica (which means “house of peace” in Spanish), a 28-acre, bluff-top estate once called the “Western White House,” was opened in August 1969 by former President Richard M. Nixon. The constant influx of visiting dignitaries kept Orange County in the news. Five years after resigning from the presidency in the wake of Watergate in August, 1974, Nixon sold the property and left California.
This small, sleepy community is constantly growing, but not as rapidly as most Orange County communities. Property owners plan on keeping its growth rate down, so as not to lose its national recognition or its ocean-front elegance.
NEIGHBORHOOD PROFILE: SOUTH COUNTY Population Population: (1988 est.) 6,895 1980-88 change: +23.8% Median Age: 34.8 Racial/ethnic mix: White: (non-Latino): 88% Latino: 8% Black: 1% Other: 3% By sex and age: MALES Median age: 33.0 years FEMALES Median age: 36.8 years Income Per capita: $19,617 Median Household: $35,466 Average Household: $43,405 Household Distribution: Less than $25,000: 34% $25,000- 49,999: 32% $50,000- 74,999: 20% More than $75,000: 14%