On the same sand where couples now take long, romantic walks holding their noses, a thriving beach community once pitched a sea of umbrellas for a day of fun in the sun. Long Beach in the early 1900s was a haven for what you now have to leave the city to get: clean air and crashing waves. And surfing. Lots of it. No, really. Just look . . .

PHOTO courtesy HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF LONG BEACH

Alfred Speir Lewerenz waves in this 1914 photograph, believed to be the first picture of a surfboard in Long Beach. Alfred wasn’t the first to surf Long Beach, though. That honor, according to the Long Beach Surf Club, belongs to Charles Allbright and A.J. Stout. In 1911 the two brought surfboards from Waikiki (where Stout was a hotel manager) and surfed the flood-control channel. Two years later, the godfather of surfing, Duke Kahanamoku, came to Long Beach and put on surfing demonstrations for a city full of youth ready and willing to embrace a hobby. And they did. Surfing exploded and the beaches were lined with umbrellas and people having a good time. But, of course, they had too much fun, and Long Beach soon passed city ordinance C1195, restricting surfing to select areas.

PHOTO courtesy HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF LONG BEACH

This is from the 1938 National Surfing and Paddleboarding Championships held in Long Beach. Some of the 20,000 spectators perched on Rainbow Pier have a sensational view of the action. If you look closely at the pier, you can see businessmen rubbing their hands as they plan to dredge the sand, demolish the pier, and push the waterline further out.

PHOTO courtesy HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF LONG BEACH

The youngster in this picture is likely John Olsen. The gargantuan board he’s holding is his trophy for placing first in the second—and last—National Surfing and Paddleboard Championships held in Long Beach. After this, the good days would be snuffed out by WWII and the completion of the breakwater in the 1940s.

Tags: history, Long Beach, surfing