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Huntington Beach: Downtown Walking Tour
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The International Surfing Museum is a non-profit with a mission to preserve the history of global surfing culture. It is dedicated to Duke Kahanamoku, who is generally regarded as the person who popularized the modern sport of surfing. The Museum features special exhibits relating to surf and skate history, displays historic surfboards, exhibits legendary surfers, holds surf music concerts in their parking lot, and screens classic surf films.

An exhibit inside the International Surfing Museum, Huntington Beach, California. Source: Don Bigelow, 2018.

An exhibit inside the International Surfing Museum, Huntington Beach, California. Source: Don Bigelow, 2018.
The International Surfing Museum is dedicated to preserving global surfing history and the influence of surf culture on Huntington Beach, known as Surf City USA, and on the international sports world.

The Museum houses collections of surfing memorabilia and surf culture, including some of surfing history's most significant artifacts, including Duke Kahanamoku's surfboard, the Guinness World Records-breaking World's Largest Surfboard, Dick Dale's guitar, the camera Bruce Brown used to film "Endless Summer," historic photos, and vintage surf posters.

The Museum has sponsored Guinness World Records events, including the World's Largest Surfboard event in 2015 during which 66 surfers rode the Big Board to shore. The Big Board is displayed in the Museum parking lot. Another Guinness World Records-breaking event was the largest paddle-out of surfers for the Surfing Circle of Honor next to the Huntington Beach pier in June 2017. Over 500 surfers paddled out into the ocean on their boards to form a large circle, holding hands in support of surfing becoming an Olympic event and to achieve another listing in the Guinness World Records.

The Museum sponsors free Surfin' Sundays at the Pier Plaza next to the Huntington Beach pier, with live surf music during summer months, from 11 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. A calendar for Surfin' Sundays and featured bands is on the Museum website.

The Museum moved into its current location in 1990. The historic structure is a 1936 medical building that once served as the office of Dr. Ralph Hawes and as an emergency hospital in the original Huntington Beach Township. 

General admission to the Museum is $3.








International Surfing museum. . Accessed March 17, 2018. http://www.surfingmuseum.org/index.html.

Warshaw, Matt. The Encylopedia of Surfing. Mariner Books, 2005. ISBN-10: 0156032511 ISBN-13: 978-0156032513

Connelly, Laylan. "H.B.’s International Surfing Museum finally becoming a swell spot." Orange County Register(Santa Ana)December 12, 2013. . https://www.ocregister.com/2013/12/12/hbs-international-surfing-museum-finally-becoming-a-swell-spot...

Surfing Museum's Century of Stoke. Surf'N Beach Scene Magazine. July 20, 2014. Accessed March 17, 2018. https://surfnbeachscenemagazine.com/2014/07/20/surfing-museums-century-of-stoke-exhibit-showcases-hu.... Co-authors Sunny Magdaug and Patti Kishel.

Connelly, Laylan. "Unlikely founder of Huntington surf museum dies." Orange County Register(Santa Ana)February 22, 2014. . https://www.ocregister.com/2014/02/22/unlikely-founder-of-huntington-surf-museum-dies/

Largest surfing paddle out. Guinness World Records. June 20, 2017. Accessed March 28, 2018. http://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/world-records/468567-largest-surfing-paddle-out.

Most people riding a surfboard. Guinness World Records. June 20, 2015. Accessed March 28, 2018. http://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/world-records/most-people-riding-a-surfboard.