Laguna Beach theater threatened by flood

posted by Ron Pierce on December 30, 2010 at 11:00 am

LAGUNA BEACH, CA — A dramatic photograph of water and mud creeping up to the entrance of the Regency Laguna South Coast Twin on December 22 can be seen on the Los Angeles Times website. A call to the theater confirmed that they are now open after being closed for three days. They worked 24 hours a day in order to be open Christmas day. The manager said that they pumped a lot of water out of the building but damage was minimal.

Floods have inundated downtown Laguna Beach many times over the years. According to 1930 archives of the Los Angeles Times, one such flood occurred on January 11, 1930. It was said that over four feet of water inundated the Lynn Theater, which then occupied the location. Owner Fred Aufdenkamp said the organ was ruined along with hundreds of rolls of music. Physical damage to the theater itself included the woodwork and floors. It took three days to pump the water out of the building. Aufdenkamp filed suit against the city in the amount of $3,703.25 citing inadequate storm drains. In December of 1930 Aufdenkamp was awarded $1,300 in damages.

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Comments (3)

Simon Overton
Simon Overton on December 30, 2010 at 7:46 pm

Oh so sad… one of my former “favorite haunts.”

MPol
MPol on December 31, 2010 at 11:00 am

They’re lucky that they were able to save the theatre!

CTCrouch
CTCrouch on January 2, 2011 at 7:25 am

Fortunately, not only wasn’t there significant visible damage, I also didn’t note any musty/damp smells whe I stopped by this weekend. So, here is hoping there won’t be any mold or mildew issues down the road.

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