Huntington Beach, California

First known as Shell Beach, then Pacific City, it finally was called Huntington Beach when it incorporated in 1909. Its original developer was the Huntington Beach Company, a real-estate development firm owned by Henry Huntington, a railroad magnate after whom the city is named. The Huntington Company is still a major land-owner in the city. Huntington Beach remained a sleepy seaside town until the famous oil boom in the 1920's.

The initial growth of the city began with the oil boom in 1920. This was the largest California oil deposit known at the time. Wells sprang up overnight and in less than a month the town grew from 1,500 to 5,000 people. After a final oil strike in 1953, the fire department began clearing out oil derricks within the city and along the coast to make room for the population explosion that began in the 1950's. Beginning in the late 1950's and continuing into the 1960's and 1970's, residents by the thousands moved into the City. Huntington Beach became the fastest growing city in the continental U.S. as housing tract after housing tract were built. In the 1970's and 1980's oil production rigs were concealed to improve the beach's image. Forty years ago, Donald Douglas Jr. acquired the bean fields across from the current U.S. Weapons Station bordering Bolsa Chica in HB. He began building the Douglas Aircraft Space Systems Center. The plant produced the upper stage of the Saturn V rocket that took the Apollo astronauts on their successful mission to the moon. Douglas aircraft became McDonnell Douglas, and in the 1990's Boeing purchased the combined firms. Today Boeing is one of the largest employers in HB.

In 1925, Duke Kahanamoku brought the sport of surfing to Huntington Beach and the Southern California shores. The city's first surf shop, Gordie's Surf Boards, opened in 1953. Six years later, the first U.S. Surfing Championships were held in Huntington Beach. The following year, the Surfing Championships were covered on television, which rocketed Huntington Beach's international fame as a surfer's paradise. In 2005, the USA Surf Team adopted Huntington Beach as its official home and the Association of Surfing Professionals-North America moved to the city.

The dynamic coastal City of Huntington Beach, with its sunny Mediterranean climate and idyllic setting, is home to more than 202,250 residents.

Huntington Beach boasts eight miles of scenic, accessible beachfront, the largest stretch of uninterrupted beachfront on the West Coast. Tourism remains a vital part of the economy, as over 11 million visitors flock to the city during the summer, on weekends and for special events.

Our parks and recreation features one of the largest recreational piers in the world, public parks, riding stables and equestrian trails, a marina, and a wildlife preserve, and an eight-mile biking, inline skating, jogging, and walking trail along the ocean. The crown jewel of the recreation system is the wide expanse of beautiful and spacious beaches, where large crowds gather to watch professional sporting events as the U.S. Open of Surfing, AVP Pro Beach Volleyball and the Surf City USA Marathon.

The quality of life in Huntington Beach is enhanced by its reputation as one of the ten safest cities by City Crime Rankings and the quality of the community services offered to its citizens. The Huntington Beach Art Center and the Huntington Beach Playhouse provide a wide variety of fine arts, and the excellent library system and numerous museums provide a strong cultural foundation. The educational system, with five city high schools and 35 elementary schools, is excellent. Huntington Beach is home to Golden West Community College. It is also a short distance to UC Irvine, Cal State Long Beach, and Cal State Fullerton.

The city is located 40 miles south of Los Angeles and provides easy access to Long Beach and all of Orange County.

Santa Cruz and Huntington Beach had been fighting since the early 1990s, when Santa Cruz surfers became outraged at a proposed state bill that would have assigned the Surf City name to Huntington Beach. The suit was part of an ongoing dispute between the two cities over which deserves to be called Surf City USA. Huntington Beach compromised by settling for the more local moniker "Surf City Huntington Beach."

The dispute reignited in 2004, when the city's visitors' bureau announced it had applied to register four trademarks to use the Surf City USA slogan for economic development, apparel, beach bags and printed materials.

The move was the first step of a marketing campaign the bureau has been pushing ever since to increase tourism and secure licensing contracts that Traub hopes will bring the city millions of dollars.

"It was the surf media which first dubbed this place Surf City," says Dean Torrance, half of the singing duo Jan and Dean, who, along with Brian Wilson of the Beach Boys, penned the famous song "Surf City." He says it is Huntington Beach that embodies the song's spirit of freedom and California fun.

Dean Torrance is a resident of Huntington Beach.

In HB Proper:

Huntington Beach Central Library and Cultural Center
Huntington Beach Central Park (it's in two parts)
Huntington State Beach
Huntington City Beach
Bella Terra Shopping Center
Huntington Harbour
Bolsa Chica Wetlands
Dog Beach
Meadowlark Golf Course
Downtown Huntington Beach

Nearby:

Knott's Berry Farm
Disneyland
Bower's Museum
South Coast Plaza
Fashion Island
Aquarium of the Pacific
The Queen Mary
Mile Square Park and Golf Course
Newport Beach
Long Beach
Los Angeles and all it entails!

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