Laguna Niguel (Images of America)

Laguna Niguel is one of America's earliest master-planned communities. In 1958, the Boston-based real estate firm of Cabot, Cabot & Forbes began acquiring over 7,000 acres of sheep-grazing land in south Orange County that had been owned by ranchers, including the French Basque Daguerra family and the Moulton family. Prior to that, the property was the Rancho Niguel Mexican land grant and, earlier, a part of a Niguili Native American village. The Boston firm hired noted architect Victor Gruen as the master planner and brought in investors through the Pacific Coast Stock Exchange. In 1959, the Laguna Niguel Corporation was formed, and the development began. Ansel Adams was hired to provide the original photographs of the property; Ladd & Kelsey, William Pereira, and other noted mid-century modern architects designed the housing, schools, offices, and retail centers. This development's interesting and groundbreaking concepts set the stage for how communities were created in the last half of the 20th century.