Location: Victoria Beach~Laguna Beach, California

If you ever want to see a storybook sunset, beach and pirate’s tower, come to Victoria Beach in Laguna.  🌅

This incredible seaside tower on California’s Victoria Beach looks like something out of a storybook, and given that it is lovingly known as the “Pirate Tower,” it would seem to live up to the mystique. However, in reality, it was just a rich eccentric’s private staircase.

The lonely spire that is built into the rocky beach cliff face actually belongs to the estate that sits at the top of the cliff. Built in 1926, the 60-foot tower reaches from the edge of the water up to the top of the cliff where the house sits, holding a private staircase inside for the owners to use to access the beach. Unfortunately, there seems to have a been a bit of a design flaw as the exit door and some of the towers become submerged and inaccessible during high tide, rendering the stairs unusable, while the tower remains as lovely as ever.

Photos by Kendra Muecke