Peter "PT" Townend, executive director of the Huntington Beach International Surfing Museum, had a name for the museum's old space on Olive Avenue. He called it "the box."
The museum had been in that space since 1990. In late July it moved into the Main Street Branch Library at 525 Main St. In its new home the old surfboards can stand upright, which the Olive Avenue rooms never allowed. Two months later, on Sept. 30, the city cut the ribbon on a "cultural hub" at Triangle Park. The park links the library, the museum and the Huntington Beach Art Center across the street. The pier still gets the attention, but the part of downtown that changed most this year is the 500 block of Main Street.
What Fits in a Reading Room That Never Fit on Olive Avenue
The Daily Pilot's coverage of the move shows how much of the library the museum now uses. Exhibits fill a large part of the library's main reading room, to the right of the entrance. The gift shop is to the left.
Townend explained the reasoning plainly. "The exhibition space increased dramatically, and that was part of the reason for the move, to have a better museum in time for the Olympics in two years," he told the Daily Pilot. "Even though we didn't get the Olympics, we want to attract the Olympic audience to Surf City." Townend himself was the first professional surfing champion, in 1976.
Highlights inside the new space include:
- A board ridden by champion Shaun Tomson, shown alongside surf-culture artwork.
- Some of the earliest wooden surfboards ever ridden, which the taller room now lets the museum display upright.
- "What Could Possibly Go Wrong?", a surfboard art piece by El Segundo artist Damian Fulton near the entrance to the main exhibit. It looks back at the 1986 riots at the OP Pro, the contest that came before today's U.S. Open of Surfing. Fulton also made the first poster for the OP Pro.
The museum's own site lists its featured exhibit as "World Surfing League: 50 Years of Professional Surfing," with boards, memorabilia, photographs and stories.
The move took about three years. Townend traces it to a 2023 cup of coffee with Tony Strickland, who was mayor of Huntington Beach then and is now a state senator. The City Council approved the move 7-0 in March.
Three Doors Within a Few Steps of Triangle Park
With the museum moved in, everything on this block is within a short walk. The surf museum and library share 525 Main St., Triangle Park is next door at 521, and the Art Center is across the street at 538.
| Stop | Address | Posted hours |
|---|---|---|
| Huntington Beach International Surfing Museum | 525 Main St., inside the library | Tue–Thu 9 a.m.–6 p.m.; Fri–Sat 9 a.m.–5 p.m. |
| Main Street Branch Library | 525 Main St. | Check the library's posted hours |
| Triangle Park, home of the cultural hub | 521 Main St. | Public park |
| Huntington Beach Art Center | 538 Main St. | Tue noon–8 p.m.; Wed–Thu noon–6 p.m.; Fri–Sat noon–5 p.m. |
The two schedules overlap only partly. The museum opens at 9 a.m. and the Art Center at noon, and neither lists Sunday or Monday hours. That makes Tuesday through Saturday afternoons the easiest time to see both. Tuesday is the one evening with extra time, since the Art Center stays open until 8 p.m., two hours after the museum closes. The museum's site lists hours but no admission price, so check before you go.
City staff have said the three buildings were meant to work as one stop. "The library, the art center and the surf museum each serve the community differently, but there's a connection among them," said Marisa Rodriguez, Huntington Beach's library and cultural services manager. "The cultural hub gives people an opportunity to experience those resources together, rather than as separate destinations."
The Calendar That Makes the Block Worth a Second Visit
A museum's permanent displays change slowly. The Art Center's exhibits rotate, and its fall dates are what give the block something new to see. According to the Art Center's exhibitions page, two shows are up now and a third opens in November:
- Through Saturday, Oct. 24: "VAALA Presents: Make it Home" explores ideas of home through photographs, textiles, mixed media, painting and conceptual work by Ann Lê, Hùng Việt Nguyễn and Thịnh Nguyễn.
- Through Saturday, Oct. 24: "California Fibers: The Languages of Fiber," juried by Suzanne Isken, presents fiber as communication through material, technique, memory, identity and experience.
- Tuesday, Oct. 20, 6 to 7 p.m.: a library learners' tour of "Make it Home." It runs on the one evening the Art Center stays open late.
- Saturday, Nov. 14: "INSPIRED," the Art Center's annual Artist Council member exhibition, opens with a reception. It runs through Dec. 19.
- Thursday, Dec. 3, 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.: "Art For Lunch" inside "INSPIRED."
More events are planned. Dan Faltz, the city's senior cultural arts supervisor, said quarterly events are planned for the area from now on. He described the aim as collaborating with the local economy and becoming a cultural tourist destination. In September the City Council voted 5-2 to ask the city manager for a resolution creating an art center advisory committee of seven to nine residents. The committee would help schedule events, curate exhibitions with national and local artists, and coordinate with the surf museum. The Daily Pilot reported that the resolution was up for approval at the council meeting on Tuesday, Oct. 6.
Mayor Casey McKeon was clear about the goal. "We want to compete with Newport Beach and Dana Point and Laguna Beach when they have their art festivals," he said at the ribbon cutting. For anyone who follows those other cities' calendars, the Sawdust and festival season along Coast Highway came up in our August notes from Laguna Beach.
A 1951 Building Taking On a New Role
The library is the reason the block works, and it already has a long history. The library's history page says the building at 525 Main was dedicated on Sunday, Sept. 30, 1951, and cost $140,000. It was the city's main library until the Central Library was completed in April 1975. Architects McLellan, MacDonald and Marcwith designed the 4,500-square-foot building. It was renovated in 2008 and added to the National Register of Historic Places on April 16, 2013. A collection of 30 historical photos was installed in November 2019.
The Sept. 30 opening of the cultural hub fell exactly 75 years after that dedication. The Daily Pilot described the celebration: a plaque marking the anniversary, music from the Ramsey Brothers Band, art demonstrations at Triangle Park, and cake and cupcakes from local business Two Birds Baking Company. A 1947 Ford "Woody" was parked out front, and muralist Melissa Murphy painted a wave canvas in the park.
For 75 years the building has been a library. Its main reading room now also displays Huntington Beach's surfing history.
The Pier End of Main Street This Fall
At the ocean end of Main Street, things are still unsettled. Huntington's On The Pier is the restaurant planned for the former Let's Go Fishing site halfway down the pier. Its own site describes it as under construction and gives a completion target of fall 2026. Visit Huntington Beach's Oct. 5 update says it will open in 2027. We looked at the restaurant's long timeline in our August post on the pier after the US Open.
The pier does have one firm date this month. The city calendar lists the 75th Annual Pier Swim for Saturday, Oct. 31, at 7 a.m. In recent years the race was held in June. In 2023, swimmers started on the north side and swam a half-mile open-ocean course around the pier while spectators watched from the deck. The city calendar listing gives only the date and time, and this year's course, divisions and fee may differ from earlier years. Main Street links the pier to the 500 block, so on Halloween morning you could watch the swim at 7 a.m. and reach the surf museum's doors at 9.
At Swardstrom Group, we follow changes like this block's new role because they help explain what a home near downtown Huntington Beach offers day to day. If you'd like to talk about what's changing near Main Street, or see more on our Huntington Beach neighborhood page, Let's Connect.
