California cities are apparently big on making damn sure that other municipalities respect their surf history street cred. Not long ago, Huntington Beach and Santa Cruz litigated the claim to the nickname “Surf City.” Huntington Beach won the day, but the controversy was inextricably linked to questions of the origins of surfing in the United States, which city was the country’s “surfing capitol”, etc., etc. Ironically Huntington Beach has since changed their tagline to, “The Soul of SoCal,” developed by a Texas-based advertising agency that probably knows little about SoCal to begin with, let alone which city best exemplifies the region’s soul. Not to be outdone, Dana Point recently launched a set of new projects to highlight the city’s contributions to surf history under the auspices the city’s role as epicenter of the industry has long been overlooked.
It’s true. It was in Dana Point that Hobie Alter and Gordon “Grubby” Clark developed foam blanks that would revolutionize surfboard production forever. Not to mention the now extinct righthand point break, Killer Dana, that famously produced freight training waves until the construction of Dana Point Harbor in 1966.
The city plans to honor that history by constructing two park plazas at the entrance to Pacific Coast Highway (or Highway 1). The first will celebrate the early history of California and PCH, including a replica Richfield Beacon oil tower. It will also include a topographical map of surf spots from Trestles to Mavericks, a timeline of the history of the highway, and a sign to explain the California Coastal Act – the regulatory framework that pertains to the development of the coastline.
The other park plaza will honor the birth of the surf industry in Dana Point, including a monument to Hobie Alter and ten other surf pioneers. A panel will also tell the history of Killer Dana, and a live feed from Surfline will give visitors information on surf conditions and water temperature.
In addition to these new park plazas, two weeks ago the Dana Point City Council also approved moving the Surfing Heritage and Culture Center from San Clemente to Dana Point.
Dana Point’s director of community development, Ursula Luna-Reynosa, has been particularly passionate about the projects. “We need to own our story,” she told Dana Point City Council members this week during a meeting before they voted to approve the project. “Surfing started in Hawaii but the surf industry was born in Dana Point. This was the economic power that was the engine of the surf industry, which has led to the surf culture we know today.”
Luna-Reynosa was motivated by an article she came across in Sunset magazine. “Highway 1 begins unceremoniously, emerging from a tangle of freeway ramps in Orange County’s Dana Point,” the article reads. “There is a glimpse of ocean, but it isn’t until Laguna Beach that Highway 1 becomes Pacific Coast Highway in more than name.” This didn’t sit well with Luna-Reynosa
A $50-million condo development going in at the entrance to PCH turned out to be the perfect opportunity to shine a light on the city that she and other residents know so well.
To get a sense of the city’s rich surf history, Luna-Reynosa connected with locals like Dick Metz, an early Doheny surfer and partner of Hobie’s who explained Dana Point’s centrality in pioneering surf culture in the U.S.
City councilman and city historian Carlos Olvera confirms as much. “The complete surfing history began here in Dana Point,” he told the Orange County Register. “I don’t mean just riding a wave but the skill, the board design, the people, the music, the associate apparel and the movies. That set the tone for a sleepy little beach town where an unknown industry was born.”
Apparently Huntington Beach doesn’t appreciate the challenge. “You can tell Dana Point, ‘Nice try,'” Huntington Beach Mayor Jim Katapodis told the Register. “Do they have the U.S. Open of Surfing? No. The U.S. Open of Surfing is held in Surf City USA.” Ahem. You mean the “Soul of SoCal.”
