After serving the Silicon Valley for over four successful years, HanaHaus is ready to grow its community and expand its impact. On Sunday, April 28, HanaHaus will open the doors of its second location and welcomes you to its unique coworking environment in Newport Beach.
We are looking forward to being an essential part of the fast growing innovation ecosystem of Southern California. Just as its counterpart in Palo Alto, the new location in Newport Beach will offer this emerging community of innovators and entrepreneurs a place to collaborate, innovate, and create new ideas.
Our Goal
It was important for us to find a meaningful place with a rich history, similar to our first location in Palo Alto - the old Varsity Theater on University Avenue, a former movie theater with a distinctive neon marquee and a courtyard - one of the most historic buildings in Palo Alto.
We were able to find a similarly exceptional place in Newport Beach: Our second home is located in one of the most iconic buildings on the Balboa Peninsula. It is just a few steps away from Lido Marina Village and has a direct access to the Newport Bay. The building itself has an exciting history and was able to create a pipeline of success stories.
The Building’s Architecture
The building’s outstanding architecture has already gained international recognition and its dramatic bay front setting creates a buzzing atmosphere that allows people to think unconventionally and to gain new inspiration. Alan Hess - a prominent California architecture critic - once compared the building’s architecture with “a yacht in full sail”. The architect itself, Wenceslaus Sarmiento, referred to the building’s design as a “sea bird returning to safe haven”.
These two quotes perfectly illustrate the purpose that HanaHaus intends to have for its community. On the one hand, HanaHaus supports its community to get started and achieve outstanding results through the inspiring community that is present. On the other hand, HanaHaus wants people to feel at home and in a familiar setting when working from its locations.
The maritime theme outside of the building was translated into the workspace.
The Building’s Former Tenants
Besides its fascinating architecture, the building impresses with its long-lasting history and the fact that it wrote several success histories during its existence.
Before its complete renovation, the premises inhabited the Newport Balboa Savings and Loan Company as well as the new venture Veritone – a leading provider of artificial intelligence technology and solutions – which grew out of the space.
Even today, you can recognize original elements of the building such as the massive vault door that dates back to the building’s usage as a bank.
Image Gallery
The following images show how the building has evolved over time. They are a fun comparison of how the building has transformed from 1954 when it served as a bank and its current state today.
This is the outside view of the building taken on June 6th, 1954 during the opening of the Newport Balboa Savings and Loan Association. Source: USC Digital Library
This is a close-up photograph of the entrance of the old building. Source: USC Digital Library
The picture shows Paul A. Palmer, former president of Newport Balboa Savings and Loan, demonstrating the vault within the building. Source: USC Digital Library
This is what the building looks like today. The great window facade lets in the natural sunlight resulting in pleasant lighting and a welcoming atmosphere inside the building.
Today, the entrance of the building looks a bit different: Our goal was to create an outside seating area that welcomes customers to sit down and enjoy.
The original vault door from 1954 was kept and serves as a white board within our conference room “New York”.
We are proud to offer this special building to our diverse community of entrepreneurs, creatives, students, thinkers, freelancers, and investors as a place to meet and create new success stories!
P.S. During our opening month, we will be offering free open seating and conference room reservations to get to know you and the SoCal community. Sign up to make your free reservation.
We look forward to welcoming you to our Opening Day on April 28. Use this day to explore our workspace, join us in a conversation about our mission and history, or just enjoy our amazing Blue Bottle coffee!