Here in Huntington Beach, we love our pets! Back when the main industry of Huntington Beach was livestock, they used to run cattle along what is now Beach Boulevard. Given the lineup of businesses there today—Fancy Paws Pet Grooming, Zoom Room Dog Training, Dogs Day Out spa and more—it seems there’s a new animal king in town.
Despite its settlement as a ranch that raised cattle and horses and barley, despite its prospering as an oil town in the 1920s, it was probably inevitable that Huntington Beach would find its groove in its greatest natural asset. Today, the city of more than 200,000 along the Pacific Ocean just 35 miles southeast of Los Angeles is known as “Surf City USA.” Its 9.5 miles of sandy coastline is its claim to fame, cemented when adopted son Dean Torrence gave his blessing by saying that Huntington Beach embodied the spirit of the 1963 Jan and Dean hit, “Surf City.”
Sun and sand aren’t the only things in town—Boeing is the biggest employer, and apparel company Quicksilver is locally based—but they dominate local life. More than 11 million people visit annually, making tourism the biggest industry. The 1,850-foot long Huntington Beach Pier is iconic. The U.S. Surfing Championships take place in the city every year, and both the USA Surf Team and the Association of Surfing Professionals-North America call Huntington Beach home.
Duke Kahanamoku, who popularized surfing, brought the sport to Huntington Beach in 1925. The city’s first surf shop opened in 1953. There are five public beaches along the coast, including Dog Beach, where dogs are allowed off-leash.
The surfers chose a great spot. The Mediterranean climate of Huntington Beach means low humidity, little rain and pleasant temperatures throughout the year. The area gets just 12 inches of rain annually, a quarter of the national average. Even in July, highs average below 80 degrees. It’s sunny more than 75 percent of the year.
Huntington Beach originally was home to the Tongva people and claimed by Spanish soldier Manuel Nieto, who received 300,000 acres for his service in 1784. Railroad magnate Henry Huntington and his Huntington Beach Development Co., incorporated the city in 1909.
From the 1920s until the last strike in 1953, Huntington Beach rode an oil boom but remained a small town. Its population boom began in the 1950s, growing from 5,200 in 1950 to more than 11,000 in 1960 and nearly 116,000 in 1970.