The Walking Tour: Review of our 2012 featured spots in the historic downtown

   In the past year, Historic Huntington Beach has featured a few of the stops on the downtown walking tour, along with other tidbits of local history to make your stroll around town.  We haven't always gone in chronological order, because we tend to wander off (we recommend you wander off the beaten trail, also).  We'll get to spots we missed in 2013!  Here's where we've stopped along the way in 2012.

Visitors Information Kiosk
Stop here first (at the foot of our pier along Pacific Coast Highway) to pick up the printed walking tour brochure.  The brochure offers a map and just enough historical information to make you want to learn more!

The Huntington Beach pier and bandstand, circa 1914.  It didn't take long to figure out everyone likes a long walk on a longer pier. (Photo, Library of Congress)

The Huntington Beach Pier
 The pier has been a fixture on our coast for well over one hundred years.  Each time the Pacific knocked it down, we rebuilt.  Take a look at a century of pier-story at http://www.historichuntingtonbeach.blogspot.com/2012/05/huntington-beach-near-pier-and.html

   We've also included some history about the early attempts at pier wave motors and the "Man Angel," the oddest flying machine you've ever seen, "Masters of the Ocean Waves," http://historichuntingtonbeach.blogspot.com/2012/05/masters-of-ocean-waves.html

The Pavalon (this photo circa 1946) is no longer.  It was the place to take your date, jump into the saltwater plunge, and dance like nobody's business.

The Pavalon Ballroom
    We included one of the old photographs and a little information about the famous Pavalon in Smoked Fish and the Surfer Stomp, http://www.historichuntingtonbeach.blogspot.com/2012/05/smoked-fish-and-surfer-stomp.html  More to come in 2013! 

Helme-Worthy House and M.E. Helme House Furnishing Co.
   A treasure for many reasons, this National Historic Register site is the legacy of one of Huntington Beach's first families and remains in their ownership.  The 1904 M.E. Helme House Furnishing Co. is adjacent to the 1880s Helme-Worthy House which was moved to the property by mule team in 1903.  Browse the antiques, soak up the history and watch the progress of a historic site undergoing painstakingly careful restoration.  Read more at http://www.historichuntingtonbeach.blogspot.com/2012/08/historic-walking-tour-6-me-helme-house.html

The horseshoe courts on Triangle Park, circa 1935.  (Photo by Burton Frasher, Frasher Foto Postcard Collection, Pomona Public Library)

Main Street Library and Triangle Park
   Little Triangle Park once played a role in the early 1900s development of Huntington Beach, providing tent housing for newcomers.  "Cardboard Alley" later became part of the new City's civic center, home to a Horseshoe Club, a Red Cross outpost during World War II, and home to many community groups before it became the City's main library in the 1950s.  Read more at http://www.historichuntingtonbeach.blogspot.com/2012/08/historic-walking-tour-12-and-13-main.html and http://www.historichuntingtonbeach.blogspot.com/2012/12/saving-history-main-street-library-and.html

Oil Field Beach Cottage
   A significant part of the quality of life of residential districts in Huntington Beach's historic downtown is the collection of eclectic beach cottages and bungalows on Main Street and the surrounding streets.  Many of them have a story to tell. Read more and view some of our other classic bungalows and cottages at http://www.historichuntingtonbeach.blogspot.com/2012/08/historic-walking-tour-14-beach-cottages.html

The Beach Court
   The Beach Court was built in 1923 during the early days of the motion picture era, the same year the famous Hollywoodland (now Hollywood) sign was installed in the hills above Los Angeles.  It was an escape for a few celebrities from Los Angeles, including silent film star Rudolph Valentino!  Read more at http://historichuntingtonbeach.blogspot.com/2012/09/walking-tour-16-beach-court-and.html 

The Shank House   This 1913 class Craftsman-style bungalow was the home to Dr. George A. Shank, of one of Huntington Beach's first doctors, first City health officer, and member of the City Board of Trustees (predecessor to the city council).  A few steps away is the original city hall and jail that Dr. Shank helped finance.  Today, Dr. Shank's home is a police substation in the historic downtown.  Read more at http://historichuntingtonbeach.blogspot.com/2012/05/historic-walking-tour-19-shank-house.html 

1908 City Hall and Jail
   The original city hall and jail on 5th Street--built in 1908, one year before Huntington Beach incorporated--is now home to HB Top Nails.  What sent you to jail in early 1900s Huntington Beach?  In addition to the usual (horse thievery, murder, allowing your chickens to run wild), it was alcohol (unless you were a licensed pharmacist) and gambling that landed you in the little big house. Read more at http://www.historichuntingtonbeach.blogspot.com/2012/04/historic-walking-tour-huntington-beachs.html

Main Street Post Office
   Seventy-five years after the Pony Express and twenty-eight years before the introduction of the zip code, Huntington Beach opened the doors to the Main Street Post Office in 1935.  It was a big deal.  Specifically, an aspect of the New Deal.  Our Depression-era post office still delivers in the historic downtown. Read more at http://www.historichuntingtonbeach.blogspot.com/2012/10/walking-tour-22-wpa-main-street-post.html

The Golden Bear
    Ask a Huntington Beach local about the Golden Bear and watch them get all misty eyed.  They'll tell you stories about the musicians and comedians, about grabbing a beer and having the night of their life, and then stepping outside to ocean air and crashing waves.  It was a soulful little place that put us on the map.  Read more at http://historichuntingtonbeach.blogspot.com/2012/05/historic-walking-tour-27-golden-bear.html

Off the beaten path...
  Among the stops we've included in 2012 are a few off the beaten path, but rich with local history.   Here's a few of the favorites:

Brewster's Ice: Since 1945
Update: Brewster's Ice is currently being remodeled, although some historic features remain. As of January 2018, we await the "new" ice house.

   Before refrigerators were in every home, there was the "ice man."  At the corner of Lake and 6th Streets, Brewster's Ice has been a family-run business for 67 years. They still sell block ice, dry ice, special orders for events, and they deliver in Huntington Beach...just like the "olden days."  Read more at http://historichuntingtonbeach.blogspot.com/2012/09/brewsters-ice-since-1945.html

The Gordie House
   UPDATE: Gordie Higgins surf shack was remodeled and no longer looks like this, although the structure is still there.

Who is Gordie and why does the tiny building behind 505 Lake Street bear his name?  If you're a surfer, you might already know.  Gordie Higgins was one of Huntington Beach's first surfboard shapers at a time when boards were actually, well, boards.  Read more at http://historichuntingtonbeach.blogspot.com/2012/11/the-gordie-house.html

Fire Pits and Beach Camping 
   Visitors to Huntington Beach always comment on the pit fires dotting the beach at night.  It's routine for locals to celebrate birthdays, reunions or ordinary get-togethers with a circle of friends at a beach fire.  It's also a long tradition, dating back a hundred years to when beach living was a necessity.  Read more at http://historichuntingtonbeach.blogspot.com/2012/05/sea-breeze-auto-camp-circa-1935.html 

   We're now 104-years-old and, well, we're a bit of a character.  Stick with us in 2013....we've got a few more stories to tell as we walk though Historic Huntington Beach.

All rights reserved.  No part of the Historic Huntington Beach blog may be reproduced or duplicated without prior written permission from the author and publisher, M. Adams Urashima.   

National Register-listed M.E. Helme House Furnishing Company and Worthy House

ANTIQUES! The front window of the 1904 M.E. Helme House Furnishing Company antiques and collectibles store hints at the great finds inside.  This is one of Huntington Beach's National Register of Historic Places sites. (Photo, February 2014)

~Updated February 2014 ~

   If you love antiques, then this stop on the walking tour of Historic Downtown Huntington Beach is for you!  It's not only chock full of treasures, the buildings themselves are true gems of Huntington Beach history.

   

    Part of the Helme-Worthy legacy in Huntington Beach, the M.E. Helme House Furnishing Co. building and adjacent Helme-Worthy residence were listed on the National Historic Register (#86003668) in 1987 and are undergoing loving restoration.

HORSE AND BUGGY DAYS - M.E. Helme House Furnishing Company, circa 1907.  The Huntington Beach Historic Resources Board tells visitors to look for the rings used for hitching horses. (Photo courtesy of Orange County Archives)

HIDDEN HISTORY - Embedded in the sidewalk in front of the M.E. Helme House Furnishing Company are the hitching rings used in the horse and buggy days. (Photo, February 2014)

EVERYTHING A PIONEER NEEDS - Interior of the M.E. Helme House Furnishing Company, early 1900s, with the home furniture and decorative items, like birdcages, needed by those settling in Huntington Beach.  The proud proprietor, Mathew Helme, standing midway up the stairs. (Photo, City of Huntington Beach archives)

THE "ANTIQUE ANTIQUE STORE" - Interior of the M.E. Helme House Furnishing Company as it appears today, filled to the brim with antiques. (Photo, February 2014)

Directions to Walking Tour stop #6: Walk northeast up Main Street (away from the coast) and head left on Walnut Avenue.  Just a few steps down Walnut at Sixth Street sits the faded sky blue wooden, two-story commercial building of Huntington Beach's fourth mayor, Matthew Helme, and the goldenrod-colored Helme-Worthy house.  

GREY LADY GETTING A FACE LIFT - Undergoing restoration, but still in business, the M.E. Helme buildng recalls the days of country roads, horse and buggy.  (Photo, May 2012)

   Notes from the approved application to the National Historic Register (NHR) explain, "these two buildings retain their integrity of location, setting, design, workmanship, materials, feeling and association with Huntington Beach's early settlement period. Although the residence is simple in style, it is the oldest house in town. Both provide the only visual picture of early Huntington Beach and its settlement period."

  The M.E. Helme House Furnishing Company is "the only surviving commercial building with the original Western Falsefront architecture remaining in south and central Orange County."  Helme's furniture company sold practical and decorative furnishings for the growing frontier town.

      Constructed in 1904, the M.E. Helme House Furnishing Company building sits adjacent to the 1880s Helme-Worthy residence, also undergoing restoration.  The Helme-Worthy residence is well traveled, having been moved by mule team from the rural countryside between Santa Ana and Huntington Beach to its current location in 1903.  It is reported the house was previously owned by Charles Leatherman--who also shared ownership of the present day Longboard Restaurant & Pub at 217 Main Street (the oldest wooden building on Main Street).

REBIRTH OF A PIONEER - The Helme-Worthy residence undergoing restoration after over 120 years in existence and 109 years in downtown Huntington Beach.  The renovations are in keeping with the structures National Register status. (Photo, May 2012)

A WINDOW INTO THEIR STORY - Photographs thoughtfully posted by the family in the window of the Helme-Worthy residence document the original condition of the house in the early 1900s. (Photo, May 2012)

In the family

   One of the happiest aspects of the buildings' current restoration is the fact it is being conducted by the great granddaughter of Matthew Helme, Susie Worthy, and her husband, Guy Guzzardo.  They run the antique store and live at the residence, a true link to the past.

   Meet Susie Worthy and take a peak inside the "antique antique store" in this 2008 video, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9gZ45y2FOso

FOUNDING FATHERS - Matthew Helme (center, front row) and the first Huntington Beach city council, then referred to as a board of trustees, circa 1909.  They appear to be keeping a close eye on someone out-of-view.  Left to right: David O. Steward, Ed Manning (Huntington Beach's first mayor), Helme, C.H. Howard, and Charles W. Warner.  (Photo, courtesy of Orange County Archives)

Matthew and Mary Josephine Helme

   Matthew Helme and his wife, Mary Josephine, were prominent citizens both for bringing the  seaside village's first furniture company and also for Matthew's role in the community's development.  

   The NHR application explains Helme "fought for incorporation, was elected to the town's first Board of Trustees (city council), worked to get that all-important commodity, water, functioning in a city system, helped to set up a modern fire department, helped set up the city manager system which still prevails, authored an ordinance setting up the sale of the city's first gas bonds, and introduced a substantial street paving and lighting program."

LAND BOOM DAYS - The attractions of Huntington Beach included a new $200,000 water system, oiled streets, and the annual Methodist conference.  In 1905, a lot went for $200 and up, and farm acreage anywhere from $100 to $500 an acre depending on the location.  (Image, Los Angeles Herald, May 21, 1905)

   Helme was elected to the first board of trustees in a hastily organized write-in ballot election.  By the time of the elections of 1912 and 1916, Huntington Beach had fancy printed ballots and Helme was the highest vote getter.  His fellow trustees made him mayor in 1916.  Due to his efforts, "gas street lights were placed along Main Street to the city limits. That stretch of street was paved, as was Ocean Avenue from First Street to Twenty-third Street.  This act recognized the change in methods of transportation from street car, train, and buggy to automobile."

   Helme's daughter, Amy, married Lawrence "Boots" Worthy in 1916, eventually making the Helme-Worthy house their home 1924.

STILL STANDING - The Helme-Worthy complex pre restoration efforts, corner of Walnut Avenue and Sixth Street.  The Worthy house is now a historically-accurate goldenrod color and nearing completion of its renovation as of 2014.  (Photo, courtesy of Wiki Commons)

TAKE A PEEK - A peek through the Helme-Worthy fence at the continuing preservation efforts on all sides of the structures. The Worthy family is carefully researching and matching the historical fixtures and paint colors used in the original structures. (Photo, February 2014)

AN EARLY ENTERPRISE - In between the M.E. Helme House Furnishing Company building and Worthy House is a structure with a stone facade, once a "tool making shop" (likely an early blacksmith). (Photo, February 2014)

   Another interesting historical note about Matthew Helme is his presidency of the Huntington Beach Tent City Company in 1914 (see the May 22, 2012, "Fire pits and tent camping" http://historichuntingtonbeach.blogspot.com/2012/05/sea-breeze-auto-camp-circa-1935.html for a postcard image of the Huntington Beach Tent City).  

   The Tent City Company leased about 13 acres at the Methodist auditorium and grounds, Pecan and 12th Street, to host tent revivals, large groups and the Grand Army of the Republic (GAR, the Civil War veterans).

GRAND ARMY OF THE REPUBLIC - Huntington Beach organizers had to order 100 more tents to add to the existing 250 to accommodate Civil War veterans arriving at the annual encampment in 1910.  A group of 4,000 gathered in the Methodist auditorium to hear keynote speakers. (Image, Los Angeles Herald, August 20, 1910)

   No small campsite, the early 1900s civil war veteran gatherings brought thousands to Huntington Beach.  The Los Angeles Herald reported the Tent City hosted a dance floor, fire pits, veteran speakers on topics such as "Prison life at Andersonville," and "heated prisoners of war meetings."  The 1910 encampment also featured a "sunbonnet drill" by "the ladies from the 'fruit and flower' city (Pomona, California)."

   Bringing thousands of new visitors to camp at Huntington Beach, Helme both helped establish the makings of a town and continued to help put the young village on the map.

WORTHY OF A VISIT - The historic Helme-Worthy complex comprises 513-515-517-519 Walnut Street and 128 Sixth Street in downtown Huntington Beach.  Stop at the M.E. Helme House Furnishing Co. antique store at 517 Walnut Street and meet one of our pioneer families. (Photo, May 2012)


All rights reserved.  No part of the Historic Huntington Beach blog may be reproduced or duplicated without prior written permission from the author and publisher, M. Adams Urashima.