California Museums

Recently there's been somewhat of a tussle over who's the surfing capital and who lays claim to the best surfing museum in California. We've visited three of them in Calif. and aren't taking sides. With different locations and different names, they all are run by locals who absolutely love the sport of surfing. With that, Huntington Beach takes no exception.

Huntington Beach International Surfing Museum was founded several decades ago by a woman who's never surfed. In fact, Natalie Kotsch (pictured with a rare electric surfboard) came from a spot in Canada where there really wasn't any surfing. She recognized this incredible beach vibe and a welcoming spirit that made her feel happy in Huntington Beach, and she got caught in a fever that snags many who live in beach areas around the globe. You don't have to surf to love watching the sport, said Kotsch. And the over 90% of residents who do not surf agree.  Thanks to her efforts, many of the great surfboards and local history have an opportunity to be preserved in a huge, catalogued collection that rotates in the museum. Tourists and locals can visit this surfing museum for a very small fee. Especially popular with surfers from around the globe, they visit the museum to share stories and find out where some of their favorite local surfers are surfing these days.

The museum includes over 100 years of surfing history in displays, artifacts and information. Guests such as Dean Torrence of Jan & Dean band, who unveiled a special exhibit about Torrence's friends, the Beach Boys, and the original Gidget have helped launch events at the Huntington Beach International Surfing Museum.

From surf fins to Beach Boys, Dick Dale to The Greek, you'll find out all kinds of trivia and see some information about shaping and what boards are made of when you visit this small museum space in the heart of downtown Huntington Beach. Located just three blocks from the beach, the store sells awesome surf music CDs, Tshirts and sponsors free Surfing Sunday concerts all summer with famous musicians and some younger talent that bring that bring energy to this intensely syncopated music with a beat.