Surf City USA® History

• 1901 A partnership purchases 150,000 acres of prime real estate for $100,000 and names it Pacific City, with the intention of creating a resort to rival Atlantic City.
  
  
• 1902 To enhance the resort theme of the new town, construction of a rough wood pier begins; it will stretch 1,000 feet into the ocean when it opens in 1904.
  
  
• 1903 In appreciation of his commitment to extend daily electric railroad car (Red Car) service from Long Beach, the town is renamed in honor of Henry E. Huntington, owner of the Pacific Electric Railway Company.
  
  
• 1904 The Red Car makes its official first run from Los Angeles on July 4th. To celebrate, the city hosts its first Independence Day celebration for more than 10,000 people, including concerts, horse races, greased-pole climbing contests, a barbecue and fireworks.
  
  
• 1909 The City of Huntington Beach, California is incorporated.
  
  
• 1912 The original pier is nearly destroyed by winter storms and is replaced by a second pier, measuring 1,350 feet, with a café at the end. The new pier was the longest, highest and only solid concrete pleasure pier in the U.S. at that time.
  
  
• 1920 Oil is discovered on Huntington Beach's "encyclopedia lots." The lots were sold by the city in 1905 to an encyclopedia company that awarded the lots to customers who purchased a set of encyclopedias.
  
  
• 1925 Construction of the Pacific Coast Highway reaches Huntington Beach.
  
  
• 1926 A second oil well is discovered, which produces more than 2,000 barrels of oil a day.
  
  
• 1933 Oil strikes for the third time. This time the revolutionary slant-drilling technique is used, and within a year, 90 wells are producing oil down the coast.
  
  
• 1939 A freak hurricane barrels down the West Coast and takes the Huntington Beach Pier and café with it when it leaves. A third pier is constructed by 1941.
  
  
• 1941 World War II starts, and the U.S. Navy commandeers the pier for submarine patrol, complete with machine guns and radar.
  
  
• 1956 Huntington Beach's first surf shop, Gordie's Surf Boards, opens.
  
  
• 1957 Jack's Surfboards opens. Today, Jack's is still one of the city's best surf spots and has expanded into five different locations throughout coastal Orange County. Jack's celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2007.
  
  
• 1959 The first U.S. Surfing Championship is hosted in Huntington Beach, California and continues to be hosted in the city until 1973, solidifying the city's reputation as one of America's best surf spots.
  
  
• 1963 Jan and Dean's single "Surf City" hits number one on the Billboard magazine Hot 100, the music industry's most prominent and recognized popularity chart.
  
  
• 1970 For the next 10 years, Huntington Beach, California earns recognition as the fastest-growing city in America.
  
  
• 1974 Huntington Central Park is dedicated and is the largest city-owned park in Orange County.
  
  
• 1979 The Bolsa Chica Wetlands Ecological Reserve is developed in an effort to protect one of the last remaining habitats of coastal migratory birds.
  
  
• 1988 El Niño causes 20-foot storm waves that destroy 50 feet of the pier.
  
  
• 1990 The International Surfing Museum opens.
  
  
• 1991 The Huntington Beach City Council adopts the nickname "Surf City."
  
  
• 1992 The new pier opens. It measures 1,853 feet and is built in the historic architectural style of its 1914 predecessor.
  
  
• 1994 The Surfing Walk of Fame breaks ground on the north side of Main Street.
  
  
• 2000 The Bolsa Chica Wetlands reach 1,200 acres in public ownership and an extensive rehabilitation project begins.
  
  
• 2002 The Surfers' Hall of Fame is established on the south side of Main Street.
  
  
• 2004 The Huntington Beach Fourth of July parade celebrates its 100-year anniversary and parties with a celebration and fireworks display that draws more than 150,000 spectators.
  
  
• 2005 The USA Surf Team adopts Huntington Beach as its official home and the Association of Surfing Professionals-North America moves to the city.
  
  
• 2006 The Huntington Beach Conference and Visitors Bureau is officially granted three trademarks for Surf City USA®.