Take a day trip from San Diego to this whimsical ‘pirate tower’
SAN DIEGO (FOX 5/KUSI) — There’s a pirate tower located about 71 miles north of downtown San Diego, a day trip worth checking out for those who love all things whimsical.
Quite literally called the “Pirate Tower,” it’s considered a historical landmark in Orange County’s popular coastal city of Laguna Beach. The town is known for its many art galleries, coves, and stretch of sandy beaches.
One beach in particular — Victoria Beach — is home to this majestic tower, which Laguna’s tourism authority said was built in the year of 1926.
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“It’s easy to imagine an 18th century scalawag guzzling tankards of rum on the sand after burying a chest brimming with gold,” the tourism authority wrote while describing the area.
The unending cycle of the ocean’s tides batters the 60-foot-tall tower. When the tide is right, however, visitors can walk right up to the landmark for photo ops.
The truth is, the Pirate Tower was not built by a bunch of freebooters who arrived on a wooden ship from the deep seas of untraveled waters. However, its origins do trace back to a lifelong pirate aficionado, according to the tourism authority.
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The tower was actually built as an enclosed staircase to the beach. It led up to the home of William E. Brown, a former senator from Los Angeles.
The tourism authority said Brown was also an avid painter, noting, “The tower was surely influenced by its owner’s aesthetic tastes and love of Laguna’s diverse geography.”
Brown later sold the home in the early 1940s to a man who reportedly was attracted to “the odd, slightly askew tower.” That man — retired naval captain, Harold Kendrick — embraced the idea of pirate life.
In fact, the tourism authority said records show Kendrick used to dress in pirate clothes and invite locals over for games and pirate tales — some of which included the whimsical tower on Victoria Beach.
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Another fun fact, the Laguna Beach historic register noted that local children used to search the cracks and crevices of the Pirate Tower for coins — hidden treasure they would use to buy candy. The register said, “finders were keepers.”
The tourism authority said the owners have since changed several times, with the Pirate Tower being kept “under lock and key.” Nonetheless, the base of the structure is accessible during low tide for those who walk the beach in search of pirates and treasure.
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