Does weather get any better than this? There may not be another area that better captures the quintessential California lifestyle than Surf City, USA -- otherwise known as Huntington Beach.
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Lure of the surf and endless summer
NEIGHBORLY ADVICE: HUNTINGTON BEACH
For The Record
Los Angeles Times Wednesday, August 22, 2007 Home Edition Main News Part Page News Desk 1 inches; 40 words Type of Material: Correction
Aircraft site: An article on Huntington Beach that appeared in Sunday's Real Estate section reported that the Douglas Aircraft Systems Center, which opened in 1963, remains one of the city's largest employers. Today the center is a Boeing Corp. facility.
For The Record
Los Angeles Times Sunday, August 26, 2007 Home Edition Real Estate Part K Page 11 Features Desk 1 inches; 37 words Type of Material: Correction
Huntington Beach: An article that appeared Aug. 19 on Huntington Beach reported that the Douglas Aircraft Systems Center, which opened in 1963, remains one of the city's largest employers. Today the center is a Boeing Corp. facility.
For The Record
Los Angeles Times Sunday, August 26, 2007 Home Edition Main News Part Page News Desk 1 inches; 42 words Type of Material: Correction
Aircraft site: An article on Huntington Beach that appeared in the Aug. 19 Real Estate section said that the Douglas Aircraft Systems Center, which opened in 1963, remained one of the city's largest employers. Today the center is a Boeing Corp. facility.
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The history
In the late 1800s, what is known today as Huntington Beach was just bean and barley fields owned by the Stearns Rancho Co. At the turn of the last century, it became Huntington Beach -- an homage paid to railroad magnate and real estate developer Henry Huntington, who sponsored the extension of the Pacific Electric Railway and helped develop the city.
Huntington Beach was a quaint agricultural town until the famous oil boom in the 1920s, which lured virtually every major oil company in the country. Wells sprang up by the hundreds and, in less than a month, the town grew from 1,500 to 5,000 people.
The Douglas Aircraft Systems Center opened in 1963, bringing in thousands of families to the area. It remains one of the city's largest employers.
What it's about
All year long, breezes carry the scent of the ocean throughout the city.
Huntington Beach is a popular tourist destination, in part because of its reputation as a surfing mecca. It's home to the International Surfing Museum, world-class surfing competitions and many surfing teachers of renown.
The famous title "Surf City" was born in the early 1960s when the popular duo Jan and Dean released the song of the same name.
The Huntington Beach Pier, built in 1904, rebuilt in 1914, 1940, 1988 and finally to its current length in 1992, remains the most iconic part of the city's Main Street district. It's the longest municipal concrete pier in California and a great place to stroll, fish or watch the action in the surf and on the beach.
Good news, bad news
Huntington Beach is close to virtually everything in Southern California. It's a small enough city to have lots of charm but big enough (it's the 19th-largest city in the state) to have great shopping, restaurants and cultural offerings. The California Department of Finance, which published city size rankings in January, estimated the population at 202,250.
It might be getting a bit overcrowded in places, but every beach city is facing development challenges today.
On the market
Huntington Beach has numerous neighborhoods, each with its own character.
