The Coast Inn: A Legend 90 years in the Making
The Coast Inn was built in 1927 and owned by John H. “Pappy” Smith an accomplished property manager in Southern California. By the mid-1930s the hotel was expanded to provide additional hotel rooms to keep up with the demand by tourists visiting Laguna Beach. In 1956 a fire destroyed much of the front portion of the building along South Coast Highway. Two of John H. Smith’s four sons became co-owners of the property with their father and oversaw the rebuilding of the fire damaged front section in the Minimal Traditional style which is how it stands today.
Initially the Coast Inn included hotel rooms, a café and bar. Following the rebuild the second floor gained new use as office and retail space for a variety of business as the liquor store moved across Mountain to its own iconic Mid-Century stand-alone structure designed by local designer Chris Abel.
Prior to 1941, tourists formed a substantial portion of the Coast Inn’s clientele, as a formerly secluded beach town rapidly evolved into a resort destination. During World War II and in the post-World War II period, the property’s clientele changed from primarily vacation travelers to members of the military, as it functioned as “a home away from home” for servicemen reporting for duty in southern California. The Smith family operated the Coast Inn as a hotel, café, bar and nightclub, as well as the Coast Liquor store through the late 1970s.
In 1977 the original cocktail lounge and dining room of the Coast Inn were operating as the Boom Boom Room, a nightclub and disco before the two businesses were sold to family friend, Sidney Bryan in 1978. Gradually, the Coast Inn, including its restaurant, hotel, and bar, catered predominately to the gay community. As the Boom Boom Room continued to grow in popularity over the next few decades, it gained a reputation as one of the area’s premier gay nightclubs and social centers until it shuttered its doors in September 2007.
The Coast Inn is one of the area’s earliest hotels in Laguna Beach, and continues as such today. It is historically significant for its important role in the development of the city and as a tourist and social point for the community beginning in the late 1920s and continuing well into the 1990s. As such it is a physical manifestation of a distinct and important phase in Laguna Beach’s unique history associated with important historical events and group who significantly contributed to the culture and development of Laguna Beach.
