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FOODIE RUSTICA: OCTOBER 2009Train travel: Why OC rail towns remind us of yester-year.
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Riding into San Clemente via train is a popular way to enjoy this coastal hotspot. Photo by Flickr users Jeremy and Taylor. San Clemente« San Juan Capistrano. Richard Nixon inserted San Clemente into the national consciousness in 1969 when he bought a historic hacienda at the southern edge of town that became the Western White House. But it was another politician who dreamed it up. Ole Hanson, a former mayor of Seattle and friend of Teddy Roosevelt, set up a tent in 1925 on an empty bluff where the town now lies and started selling lots in his “San Clemente by the Sea” development. He envisioned an idyllic, resort-style community and his timing was good. The roaring twenties were at their peak and people had money to spend. By the time the stock market crashed in 1929, the town was well established with a pier, beach club, community center and town park. That infrastructure, along with Hanson’s insistence on a uniform Mediterranean style of architecture, made this OC s first master-planned community. And the planning is still paying off today in an almost unbelievably charming, wonderfully compact downtown. One-of-a-kind boutiques and dining options line the blocks along Avenida del Mar. There is a library, Hanson’s original community center, a beautiful Moorish city hall, and a fine Spanish Colonial Revival hotel building that now houses apartments, shops and restaurants. “We have everything we need downtown,” says local photographer Marlene Ritenour. “It is very friendly and personal. You always see your neighbors there.” “We just completed a parking master plan that shows how walkable and self-contained downtown is,” says Community Development Director Jim Holloway. “With more isolated commercial uses, like stand-alone restaurants, you need 10 parking places for every 1,000 sq. ft. of commercial space. Our demand downtown is only 2.4 spaces for every 1,000 sq. ft, because people can park once and do so many things.” There is no train depot downtown, just a whistle stop at the base of the bluff by the pier, but access to transit is still a valued feature of town life. “We have a steady, growing base of rail commuters,” says Holloway. “And I think the train is going to be much more significant as we move into the 21st century, a real amenity for people who want to avoid traffic.” A short half mile walk from downtown, the San Clemente Fishing Pier is one of the town’s treasures, extending hundreds of feet out into the raw blue ocean with surfers swooping on white capped waves beside it and pelicans perched on the railings. Fisherman’s seafood restaurant at the base of the pier is a town favorite. Above the pier to the right is the Beachcomber Motel, a 1940s beauty that steps up the bluffs in easy stages with all its rooms facing the Pacific. Above to the left, surrounded by lush flowers and palm trees, is Casa Romantica, the magnificent Spanish style home that Ole Hanson built in 1928, now a museum and cultural center with poetry readings, concerts and programs for children. Below the white and red Mediterranean town, unspoiled beach stretches away for miles to the north and south, bordered by a new walking trail. “This is one of the few beach towns left that isn’t totally developed,” says Beachcomber Manager Karen Garvey, who has lived in San Clemente for 32 years. “Down here, it is still pretty much like it used to be.” Only HereThe hottest nightspot downtown with live blues and reggae music, 24 kinds of beer, and an killer wine list. The menu includes tacos, burgers, salads, steaks and seafood. Conveniently located halfway between El Camino Real and the pier. A cultural cornerstone in San Clemente, this highly regarded 66-seat community theater puts on six productions each season in a historic downtown building. Tickets are only $19. This brand new multiuse trail is 2.5 miles of aquatic heaven. Running at the base of the bluff from North Beach Metrolink Station to Calafia Park, it offers bracing views of San Clemente Island and the open ocean, with seabirds, surfers and bikinis. The pier village with restaurants and facilities marks the halfway point. Worth a trip to south county all on its own. Numbers1925 (Founded) 20 (Weekday passenger trains) 95 (Walkscore.com rating) « Main| Fullerton | Orange | Santa Ana | San Juan Capistrano | San Clemente Get more Astute ...
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ABOUT THE AUTHORThe VillageOC’s newest old-fashioned downtown When architect Jeff Larson was commissioned by the Irvine Co. to design a new kind of sustainable apartment complex that would reduce dependence on cars and create a sense of community with its structure and aesthetics, he looked at traditional downtowns along rail lines for inspiration. “I graduated from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo so I couldn’t help but be influenced by that great little train town,” says Larson, a principle with MVE Partners in Irvine. His 1,550-unit creation, called The Village at Irvine Spectrum Center, is laid out around a traffic circle and streetscape that he modeled in part on the Plaza in downtown Orange. The urban areas Larson likes feature fine architecture, a sense of history, and a walkable scale with shops, restaurants and activities close enough together that people don’t have to use their cars to get around. Access to public transit is critical. This type of compact, pedestrian-friendly environment is increasingly prized by urban planners because it saves people money on transportation costs, reduces pollution and greenhouse gases, and builds community through daily street-level interactions. “I was excited by the opportunity to promote smart growth principles at The Village,” Larson says. Located across the street from a shopping, dining and entertainment Mecca right in the middle of the Irvine Spectrum, the largest master-planned technology and business park in California, the site had built in advantages. The Irvine Transportation Center, with access to Metrolink, Amtrak and buses, is less than a mile away. “A third of our 3,000 residents work in the Irvine Spectrum and can walk or bike to their jobs,” says Irvine Apartment Community Senior Vice President Kevin Baldridge. “Even those who have to commute to work, when Friday evening comes, they can park their car and leave it for the rest of the weekend. They can walk across the street to dine and shop and seek entertainment. Within the community, we have a grocery store and a Starbucks and a cleaners and other services so that it is very self-contained.” The village offers the amenities of a well-to-do small town: swimming pools, gyms, a movie theater, basketball courts, tennis courts -- even a dog park. There are lectures, art classes and a film series. The finely detailed buildings reflect a variety of architectural styles to create a sense of historical development. The quality of the architecture and the lush landscaping make the complex a place where people are comfortable and want to spend time. “Our goal was to make The Village seem like a traditional town center,“ says Baldridge. “We call it live/work/play -- everything you need in one place.” How well has the community building aspect worked out? “We opened in early 2006,” says Village General Manager Michelle Reines. “That first year we had 25 people at our Super Bowl party. This year we had 250. We had a London street fair-type holiday celebration this year and 750 people came out for it. “Many of our residents are from San Francisco, New York, Chicago and other downtown areas. They were attracted to this community because they missed the experience of living in a self-contained urban area.” ADVERTISEMENT |
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