UPDATE:

The County of Orange has responded positively to the DPHS BOD. Thomas (Mat) Miller (Chief Real Estate Officer, County of Orange) said after consulting with the County, he has directed OC Parks staff to work with a company that does historical preservation to get an estimate of what it would cost to take the gazebo down and preserve it, then reconstruct it elsewhere on the property.  Once we get that information, plans will be made to go forward.  We also received a telephone call from the County this morning indicating that this process will take several months to schedule a company and get this estimate, hopefully sometime in November, we will keep you in the loop. 

Before there was a Dana Point city, there was the Blue Lantern Gazebo. Perched above Dana Point Harbor at the end of the Street of the Blue Lantern within the Ken Sampson Overlook park, this historic landmark has been part of our community’s story since the earliest days of Dana Point’s development. It was part of the vision of Dana Point’s early developers, Anna G Walters & Sydney H Woodruff and became a place where prospective buyers and investors came to marvel at Capistrano Bay, ocean beyond and imagine what Dana Point could be. Historic photographs document its completion as 1927 and in 2027, we will mark 100 years of this remarkable piece of Dana Point history. Yet today, this treasured landmark is in danger of slipping off the bluff and is in dire need of preservation.

The Dana Point Historical Society is spearheading the effort to save the Blue Lantern Gazebo, not simply because it is old, but because it represents something much bigger: the people, vision, architecture and coastal character that helped make Dana Point the community we know and love today. Once a piece of our history is gone, we cannot recreate the memories, craftsmanship and stories that came with it. 

We have an opportunity to preserve this landmark for the next generation—to restore it, protect it and ensure that when Dana Point celebrates its history 100 years from now, the Blue Lantern Gazebo is still standing.  The Dana Point Historical Society has taken an Active role and is currently in talks with both the 5th District Supervisor's office and the OC Parks Division to find a solution and remedy. 

WE NEED YOUR VOICE….Please sign this petition and show your support for preserving history and the Blue Lantern Gazebo.

And pass it on to your social circle, family, friends, colleagues and sphere. 

Let’s be the generation that saved it, Preserve the past. Protect our history. Keep Dana Point’s story alive.