For Now, It’s the Ultimate Surf Museum

From outside, the Huntington Beach International Surfing Museum looks more like a doctor’s office, its Art Deco facade lost amid downtown redevelopment and fresh stucco.

But inside, it’s got a going-back-in-time feel. Visitors are greeted with old movie posters and photographs from the 1960s of Southern California surf stars such as David Nuuhiwa, Corky Carroll and Huntington’s own Robert August, who starred in Bruce Brown’s cherished documentary “The Endless Summer.”

The museum also houses everything imaginable that has ever gotten wet: old single-fin longboards, antique dive suits, even a pair of neon-colored Jams.

It’s a quick walk from the pier to the museum at 411 Olive Ave., a pilgrimage made by thousands each year, thanks in part to its popular Web site.

Don’t expect to find gleaming marble floors, white walls or artsy indirect lighting. Think small. Think cozy. With only 2,200 square feet, the museum is roughly the size of one room at a metropolitan museum.

Since its opening in 1987, the museum has operated on a shoestring, largely relying on donations of cash and artifacts. The museum has no paid staff. Volunteers include members of the board of directors, headed by Robert Frederickson, a 51-year-old project manager for an Orange County engineering group who rides a longboard and as a teenager grooved to the surf tunes of Jan & Dean.

“I was born and raised in San Francisco and have been a lifelong musician,” Frederickson said. “I grew up on music like ‘Wipe Out’ and surf stuff, so after I moved to Orange County, I put a band together, and to help out the museum we started its Surfin’ Sunday series where bands play in the museum parking lot in the summer.”

Frederickson’s goal is to encourage greater participation among nonsurfers and to show through the museum how the sport’s image has matured from its rowdy days to its status as a hip lifestyle.

“It’s not just a bunch of grommets running ‘round downtown,” he said. “Go to San Onofre beach on a Sunday and you will see three generations of surfers in the water. If you dawn-patrol, you might see a beat-up VW van there. But look at the other automobiles. Chances are you’ll find a big Suburban or Volvo station wagon.”

A $5-Million Goal

The board’s new push is to create a foundation that will raise at least $5 million to move the collection into Pacific City, a 31-acre proposed development that is to include condominiums, a hotel and a shopping plaza. The area lies between 1st Street and the Hyatt Regency.

“Pacific City is the last big chunk of land around in the city,” said Natalie Kotsch, a real estate broker who founded the surf museum to help market the city and downtown retailers. “We still have to negotiate for the property. But even if we fail, that’s OK. Our goal is to eventually build the ultimate surfing museum.”

Finding a permanent home has been a battle. Kotsch once housed old surf magazines, surfboards and other items at her downtown real estate office after she and surfer George Farqahar, whose family owned the Huntington Beach News, agreed that somebody should be saving the city’s cultural ties to surfing.

The museum was housed on Walnut Avenue before settling at its present site on Olive, where it leases a building owned by the city.

One of the keys to the museum is that it pays homage to Hawaiian Duke Kahanamoku, who died in 1968 at 77. Regarded as the “father of surfing,” he rode the waves around the city pier during the 1920s. Exhibits highlight Kahanamoku’s life achievements and include a recently issued U.S. postage stamp.

Ann Beasley, the museum’s head docent, is quick to offer visitors a tour and a story or two about Kahanamoku. She still recalls a 1994 phone call to Kahanamoku’s widow, Nadine, during which Nadine told her that what she wanted most was for Duke to be recognized with a stamp.

“I like to think that our museum helped out a lot getting that stamp for the Duke,” Beasley said, adding that dozens of groups, elected officials and individuals across the country helped the effort.

Neither Beasley nor Kotsch surfs. They never have. Kotsch is from Canada and Beasley is from West Virginia. But don’t hold that against them, Frederickson said.

“Isn’t it ironic that it took nonsurfers to start the museum?” Frederickson said. “But when you talk to both Natalie and Ann, they exude passion for the sport that overwhelms someone who doesn’t surf. It’s a testament to what the aloha spirit really is.”

Recently, several people from the San Fernando Valley paid a visit to the museum and watched a surf video.

“We were looking for something to do and we wanted to go to a museum “ said Maria Ryff, 23, of Sherman Oaks.

A novice surfer, Ryff said she found a portion of the museum that highlighted female surfers inspiring.

Chris Alex, 28, of Irvine, who accompanied Ryff, summed up the museum: “It’s cool.”