For now, the way into Sherman Library & Gardens is on Dahlia Avenue, with signs pointing the way. Inside, some parts of the grounds are fenced off and you may hear construction at times. Outside of posted closures, the gardens open every day from 10:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. If you walk past 2647 E. Coast Highway, the Pacific Coast Highway side looks like a work zone, and it's easy to assume the whole place is shut for the duration. It isn't.
The construction has a direction. Grow The Gardens is a $17 million capital campaign. Several of its biggest pieces sit on the side of the property that faces Coast Highway. The plan includes a new front entrance, a restaurant in a rebuilt building that opens onto the highway, and a refreshed tea garden visible from the dining room. The fall 2026 calendar is already running small versions of that future from the temporary Dahlia entrance.
What the rebuild moves to Coast Highway
Sherman marked its 60th year with a groundbreaking on February 26, 2026. Arnold Haskell founded the institution in 1966. He was a friend and mentee of Moses Hazeltine Sherman, and the site combines a research library on the history of the Pacific Southwest with a botanical garden. Fundraising began in 2022 under co-chairs Janet and Walkie Ray. Gensler designed the project, and it launched with Slater Construction. By April, the Orange County Register reported that demolition had started and that the renovation was expected to finish in late summer 2027.
Four parts of the plan explain where the garden is headed:
- The Julia Argyros Bell Tower Entrance. A new main entrance on Pacific Coast Highway with wrought-iron fencing. It pairs with a new Visitor Center to create a welcoming entry from the highway.
- A restaurant that faces the highway. The garden-to-table restaurant is moving to a new spot on PCH with outdoor seating. The Daily Pilot describes it as a two-story building with its entrance on Pacific Coast Highway and a view of the refurbished tea garden.
- The Gail and Peter Ochs Tea Garden. A rebuilt tea garden with water features, awnings and seating.
- A full-time community building. The current restaurant building will become a space for community and education programs.
The plan also calls for new features in the Central Garden and a new Reflection Garden, plus upgrades to the Tropical Conservatory and the Shade House. Put together, the entrance, the visitor center and the dining room all move to the PCH side, and programming takes over the building the old restaurant used.
Getting in through the side door, as of October 2026
The garden is closed to the public October 2 through 4 for the 2nd Annual Botanical Ball, so it reopens on Monday, October 5. Here's how a visit works right now:
- Entrance. Use the temporary entrance on Dahlia Avenue. It is also the accessible entrance.
- Parking. Parking is free in Lot A at Dahlia Avenue and Pacific Coast Highway or in Lot B at Dahlia Avenue and 3rd Avenue.
- Hours. Open daily 10:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. It closes on New Year's Day, July 4th, Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day.
- Admission. Seasonal pricing started May 15, 2026. Adults are $12, children 4 to 17 are $5, and children 3 and under are free. Members get in free every day. Sherman says a membership usually pays for itself in about three visits.
- The library gallery. The gallery is listed as open daily during garden hours. It can close for classes or events, so call ahead if it's the reason you're going.
- Food. There's no regular dining on site until the new restaurant opens.
Right now the gallery is showing Irina Charny's "Inspired By Nature," on view through November 20, 2026.
Hazeltine's is already serving, a few Sundays at a time
The restaurant has a name and an operator. Sherman picked Damian Orozco, owner of the Tea House on Los Rios in San Juan Capistrano, to run Hazeltine's. The name honors Moses Hazeltine Sherman, who also named his daughter Hazeltine. The plan calls for brunch, lunch, dinner, a full bar and a monthly afternoon tea. When the Daily Pilot first reported the news in May, the opening was set for late summer 2027. Sherman's current notice says Fall 2027.
The new restaurant also connects to the garden's past. In the early days, the Junior League of Newport Beach served lunch to members through a service window in the former visitor center and garden shop. Orozco described the match this way:
"The fit between our two organizations feels incredibly natural; we both care deeply about beauty, tradition, community, and creating experiences guests will remember."
Until the building opens, Hazeltine's appears as pop-up teas in the garden. The 2026 dates were June 14, July 19 and August 16, a Grandparents Day tea on September 13, and a harvest-themed tea with seasonal decor on October 18. The two Sundays this fall when the garden is closed to the public, September 13 and October 18, are the same two Sundays as the Hazeltine's teas. If you planned a regular walk-in visit on October 18, pick another day.
The October 18 tea is sold out on Tock. Tickets started at $59 with tax and service included, and non-members also pay the $12 garden admission. Tock lists the tea from 1:00 to 3:00 p.m., while Sherman's calendar shows 1:00 to 4:00 p.m. The menu the Daily Pilot described for the series included organic loose-leaf tea, strawberries and cream, seasonal tea sandwiches, petit fours, and scones with house-made preserves, clotted cream and lemon curd.
The calendar between now and the Christmas Walk
Sherman's own calendar runs from Halloween through early December. The village's biggest December event, the Christmas Walk, then takes over Coast Highway right outside the construction fence.
| Date | Event | Cost | Details |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oct. 5 | Merry & Bright Nights 2026, member ticket release | Not yet posted | General admission tickets go on sale Oct. 19. December dates not yet announced |
| Oct. 16, 5–7 p.m. | Yappy Hour: Howl-O-Ween Edition | $15 members, $25 non-members | Music, a complimentary drink and snacks, and dogs in costume |
| Oct. 18 | Hazeltine's harvest afternoon tea | From $59 on Tock, sold out | Garden closed to the public that day |
| Oct. 31–Nov. 1, 10:30 a.m.–4 p.m. | Southern California Chrysanthemum Society show | Free with garden admission | Theme: "Chrysanthemums Honor America the Beautiful" |
| Through Nov. 20 | Irina Charny, "Inspired By Nature" | Included with admission | Library gallery |
| Dec. 2, 10–11:30 a.m. | Wreath the Halls with Bexbloomz | $130 members, $170 non-members | Hands-on wreath workshop |
| Dec. 6, 11 a.m.–5 p.m. | 47th Annual Corona del Mar Christmas Walk | Free | Along PCH sidewalks through the village |
The chrysanthemum show includes two talks at 11:30 a.m. "The 13 Chrysanthemum Classes" is on Saturday, and "The History of the Chrysanthemum" is on Sunday. Halloween falls on the show's first day, so a late-morning talk at the garden fits before trick-or-treating.
On Merry & Bright Nights, Sherman's 2026 page lists only the ticket release dates so far. Members can buy starting October 5, and general admission opens October 19. Schedules and prices for the December evenings haven't been posted. Members who want first choice of dates should watch the page from tomorrow on. Older holiday-lights pages on the site still list 2024 information.
A Coast Highway opening to watch this fall
Sherman's restaurant is about a year away, but one Coast Highway dining room in the village may open within weeks. In September, the Orange County Register reported that White Rooster was slated to open in the former Mayur Cuisine of India space in Corona del Mar, with a target of late October or early November. The address is 2931 East Coast Highway. It would be chef Michael Campbell's second location, and the September report gave a target window, not a firm opening date.
The Christmas Walk on December 6 runs from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. along the same stretch of PCH sidewalk, so you'll pass the White Rooster address and the fenced-off future Bell Tower entrance on the same walk.
A garden rebuilding its front door on Coast Highway changes a block that Corona del Mar homeowners pass every day. If you own near Dahlia Avenue or the PCH corridor and want to know how a 2027 Bell Tower entrance and a full-service restaurant could affect your street, the Annie Clougherty Team is happy to talk it through. Request a private consultation.
