
Courtesy Orange County Archives
Architect and historian Alan Hess will discuss Dana Point Harbor’s architectural design and development at the Orange County Historical Society’s season kick-off meeting on Thursday, September 12, 2013 at the Sherman Library & Gardens, 2647 E. Coast Highway, in Corona del Mar. The event will begin at 6:30 p.m. with an optional appetizer and dessert potluck, followed by the program at 7:30 p.m. (Everyone participating in the potluck is asked to bring a dessert or appetizer for six people.)
Dana Point Harbor is one of the most successful mid-century master-planned developments on the West Coast. Alan Hess will speak on “why it is such an important example of 1970s architecture, how it captures a unique time in Orange County history, and why its integrity is worth preserving.”
Hess is the architecture critic for the San Jose Mercury News and a contributor to The Architect’s Newspaper. He has written nineteen books on Modern architecture and Urbanism in the mid-twentieth century, the most recent one being Frank Lloyd Wright: Natural Design, Organic Architecture. Hess was a National Arts Journalism Program Fellow at Columbia University and has a M.Arch degree from the Graduate School of Architecture and Urban Planning, UCLA.

This program will be followed with a related lecture and a self-guided tour of Dana Point Harbor on Saturday, October 5th, sponsored by Docomomo Socal.
Related topic: Read Alan Hess’ article about Dana Point Harbor:
“The Beauty of Authenticity” from Orange Coast Magazine.