Time was when Costa Mesa amounted to little more than a hill of beans. Or rather a field. It was a small town called Harper when Swedish immigrant Carl Segerstrom started growing lima beans in 1900; two decades later it was renamed for the coastal tablelands on which it’s situated above Newport Bay. The bean fields and dairy farms eventually financed a sprawling shopping mall and a world-class performing arts complex, which earned the town a reputation as “The City of the Arts.” Learn More...