Leisure world laguna woods

Leisure World, Laguna Hills
Article contributed by Frank J. Hill, ABR, ASR, CRB, GRI, SRES
Broker/Owner Century 21 Rainbow Realty

Leisure World, Laguna Hills, California (now referred to as Laguna Woods Village in the City of Laguna Woods) is the nation's leading planned residential community for seniors. It was conceived and developed by Ross W. Cortese, who built the first Leisure World in Seal Beach, California in 1960. Cortese, a man of unlimited vision, believed that a void in housing existed for a person age 52 and over.

To find out what Seniors wanted he talked to civic leaders, doctors, clergy and groups of older people. He discovered that Seniors, those 52 and over, wanted a fresh new start in their lives after raising a family, fulfilling a career and, basically, just wanted to be free of household duties and the maintenance and up keep of a home. They wanted to enjoy their "Golden Years"!

Based on his research Cortese, working with a team of planners, architects, builders and designers, started Leisure World in Laguna Hills in 1963. His concept was to build a community that would cater to the needs of seniors.

The first manor (residence) was completed

On March 24, 1999, the City of Laguna Woods was incorporated as Orange County’s 32nd city. In addition to being one of California’s safest cities, Laguna Woods is unique in that the average age of its 18,000 residents is 73.

Laguna Woods, as a community, began in the 1900s when its approximately four square miles of gradual and varying slopes, hills, and low-lying areas were a part of South Orange County’s expansive Moulton Ranch. In the early years, dry farming and cattle grazing dominated the area with a few scattered ranch dwellings and barns.

In 1962, Ross Cortese, a young and energetic developer whose previous projects included Rossmoor and Leisure World Seal Beach, purchased 3,500 acres of the Moulton Ranch. His goal was to create a second Leisure World community, “to supply the basic needs of life for people aged 52 and older; create a serene atmosphere of beauty; and provide security, recreation, and religious facilities – then leave the living to the individual.” His dream materialized and on September 10, 1964, Leisure World Laguna Hills (now called Laguna Woods Village) received its first 10 residents. Since then, Laguna Woods Village h

The Story of the Leisure Earth Globe

1962 – Ross Cortese, the visionary developer of Leisure Earth, announced the Seal Beach Leisure World Globe after the publication of a newspaper article including an architect’s rendering of the then-proposed 120-foot diameter stainless steel Unisphere, the official symbol of the 1964-65 New York World’s Fair in Flushing Meadows in Queens, New York. The Unisphere is a space-age update of the 180-foot diameter Perisphere theme center of the 1939-1940 Fresh York World’s Fair on the same location. Cortese’s Rossmoor Corp. adapted and registered a Unisphere concept as their corporate logotype. Rossmoor Corp. contracted with Q.R.S. Corp. in Los Angeles to build seven, 32-foot diameter galvanized steel-and-fiberglass versions to promote each of its Leisure World developments including the one in Laguna Hills. Commonly called The Globe, Leisure World – Laguna Hills’ version was first situated on a parcel of land facing El Toro Road in the commercial area now adjacent to the east of the Capital of Laguna Hills Civic Center.

Complete with colored lights and a fountain, it revolved slowly on El Toro Road near El Camino Real (later San

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2276 Via Mariposa East D
Laguna Woods, CA 92637

Courtesy Of Surterre Properties

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57 Calle Cadiz C
Laguna Woods, CA 92637