© 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.
Showing posts with label Pier. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Pier. Show all posts
Wednesday, June 14, 2017
Flag Day
© 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.
Saturday, March 8, 2014
Farewell, for now: International Surfing Museum founder Natalie Kotsch
"...smell the sea, and feel the sky
let your soul & spirit fly, into the mystic...”
In New Orleans, the passing of a loved one is remembered with jazz. Along the Southern California coast, it is a paddle out. Surfers with flowers paddle out past the waves, others gather along the shore, and the memories of a life well spent are laid to rest.
Today, there was a paddle out for the founder of Huntington Beach's International Surfing Museum, Natalie Kotsch, who passed away from cancer, February 20, 2014.
The Huntington Beach Surfing Walk of Fame tells Natalie's story:
"The International Surfing Museum of Huntington Beach began as the vision of local realtor Natalie Kotsch. Realizing that surfing was a major part of life for the residents of Huntington Beach, she was stunned to find there was no real local attraction (recognizing) the Surfing Capital of the World."*
Through Natalie's efforts, the first International Surfing Museum opened in 1982 on Walnut Street and in 1987, the Museum moved to its present location in a historic building at 411 Olive Avenue, just two blocks up Main Street from the beach and pier.
The Museum's website explains Natalie's devotion to local surf culture:
"Natalie Kotsch came from a spot in Canada where there really wasn't any surfing. She recognized this incredible beach vibe and a welcoming spirit that made her feel happy in Huntington Beach, and she got caught in a fever that snags many who live in beach areas around the globe. You don't have to surf to love watching the sport, said Kotsch."**
If you hear live surf music in historic downtown Huntington Beach on a Sunday afternoon, April through October, that's mostly due to Natalie. Surfin' Sundays free live music in the parking lot of the Museum are now de rigueur. If you want to see the century-old cornerstone of the 1914 Huntington Beach pier, it's in the Museum that Natalie created. If you want to see vintage surfboards, the bust of Duke Kahanamoku, posters and paraphernalia near and dear to local surf culture, you'll find it in the little Museum that would not be here without Natalie.
Thank you, Natalie, for recognizing the value of local history, the beauty of our distinct surf culture, and for devoting so much of your life to save it. Respect.
*See Surfing Walk of Fame post and photos of Natalie Kotsch at http://www.surfingwalkoffame.com/honor_roll/Kotsch.html
**Learn about the International Surfing Museum at http://www.surfingmuseum.org/history.html
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.
Thursday, January 31, 2013
Overhead: A bird's-eye view of Historic Huntington Beach, 1938 - 1968
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.
Tuesday, January 15, 2013
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
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 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!
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
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
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 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 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
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
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:
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
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
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.
Wednesday, May 9, 2012
Historic Walking Tour #2: The Huntington Beach Pier
ABOVE: Huntington Beach near pier and bandshell, circa 1914. (Photo, Library of Congress)
The Huntington Beach pier--#2 on the Historic Downtown walking guide--has been a fixture on our coast for well over one hundred years. (See a photograph of the original 1902 rough pine industrial pier at http://www.historichuntingtonbeach.blogspot.com/2012/05/surf-city-ninety-eight-years-ago-this.html).
Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1989, the older pier was considered "locally important because it was constructed for the express purpose of establishing the city of Huntington Beach as a West Coast resort community" and because "it embodies elements of architectural design and engineering that were advanced for its period of construction, and is a rare surviving example of early 20th century reinforced concrete marine structures in the United States."
Like a phoenix, the pier has risen a half dozen times after storms and ocean wear-and-tear have taken it out. It would not be Huntington Beach without the pier. Take a walk through time before you walk down the pier.
ABOVE: The "new" pier with a view of Catalina Island, circa 1914.
ABOVE: Datestone for the Huntington Beach pier, 1914. (Photo, Library of Congress)
ABOVE: Pier and bandshell, circa 1914. (Photo, Library of Congress)
ABOVE: Looking from Main Street and Ocean Boulevard (present-day Pacific Coast Highway) to pier, circa 1914. The "Pride of the Pacific"--designed by Ernest Rothenberg--is 1316 feet. (Photo, Library of Congress)
ABOVE: A saltwater "plunge" was a popular feature next to the pier, circa 1922. (Photo, Library of Congress)
ABOVE: The 1850-foot pier, circa 1930. The pier suffered damage during the 1933 Long Beach earthquake. (Photo, Library of Congress)
ABOVE: Longest pier on the coast, with "sun rooms," circa 1935. In 1939, a hurricane tore off the end of the pier and it was rebuilt in 1940 to a length of 1822 feet. (Photo, Pomona Public Library)
ABOVE: South side of pier, circa 1940s. Note ship off end of pier.
ABOVE: Pier post WWII, re-opened to the public, circa mid 1945. During the war, the U.S. Army used the pier for submarine watch and equipped it with a gunnery. (Photo, Library of Congress)
ABOVE: Pier photographed by California Department of Fish and Game, circa 1949. Note oil well derricks throughout Huntington Beach.
ABOVE: Huntington Beach pier, circa 1950s. (Photo, Los Angeles Public Library)
ABOVE: Tandem competition next to pier, circa 1962.
ABOVE: El Nino storm strikes the pier and the cafe is lost to the sea, circa 1983. After another damaging storm in 1988, the pier was rebuilt following the 1914 design. (Photo, Orange County Register)
ABOVE: Aerial view of pier looking toward Main Street, circa mid 1980s, before re-construction. (Photo, Library of Congress)
ABOVE: View from end of pier deck toward Main Street and Pacific Coast Highway, circa mid 1980s. (Photo, Library of Congress)
ABOVE: Captains Gallery, circa mid 1980s. (Photo, Library of Congress)
ABOVE: Maxwell's Restaurant at the foot of the pier, circa mid 1980s (at the site of present-day Duke's). (Photo, Library of Congress)
ABOVE: Neptune's Locker, circa mid 1980s. (Photo, Library of Congress)
ABOVE: Underneath the pier, circa mid 1980s. (Photo, Library of Congress)
ABOVE: U.S. Open, 1999. The pier reopened in 1992 and is 1853 feet long. (Photo, surf.transworld.net)
ABOVE: Water spout at end of pier, El Nino of February 2005 (we survived this one). (Photo, NOAA / NWS)
ABOVE: The pier is the heart and soul of Huntington Beach. Surfers' "paddle out" for the late Sean Collins of surfline.com, January 2012. (Photo, Sacramento Bee)
© 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.
ABOVE: Cattle drive on beach, circa 2007, in conjunction with the U.S. Open of Surfing.
ABOVE: Surfing the Huntington Beach pier is almost a century-old tradition. Visitors and locals alike walk down the pier, lean against the railing, and watch the experts at work. (Photo, Sacramento Bee)
© 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.
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