Huntington Beach International Surfing Museum

Love the museum and the Staff… but Bruce is a rude ass… on two different occasions… just blown off… screw that guy…

Loved this museum! Tina was very nice and showed me around the museum, while telling me about the history of surfing. I learned so much and will definitely be returning to check out events and new exhibits!

Admission is 2 dollars. A great place to go if you are a surfer and are interested in the history of surfing. It is a pretty small museum.

I liked this place! It’s different and interesting. I have more respect for bodyboarding!

Let’s put it this way, if I had been a surfer in a past life, I would have more been able to appreciate what the Huntington Beach International Surfing Museum had to offer. But the truth is, a friend and I happened to be in the neighborhood (Huntington State Beach is one of my favorite beaches) and were curious enough to walk in.
No offence but for a museum so rich in history, this place needs a make-​over. It’s so low-​key and unassuming that if you didn’t know what it was– you might think that it was a pawn shop or something. I know, I know «Don’t judge a book by its cover». Although, it is supposed to be a «museum», afterall!
Some of the memorabilia and a lot of the photographs were interesting but the whole time we were there, we couldn’t help but feel like all the staff (of 1 person) was looking for from us, was a donation!
–tigre

THE INTERNATIONAL SURFING MUSEUM IN HUNTINGTON BEACH… is a cool little FREE museum, in HUNTINGTON BEACH, right when you enter you see a kinda shrine to DUKE KAHANAMAKU a famous surfer from hawaii who pretty much made surfing popular. it has a bunch of surfing memorabilia, famous surf boards, stuff about some of our most famous surf legends. it has stuff about the musicuians that made surf music popular. you can see surf movies there. i personallylike seeing stuff about huntington beach from the 60’s and 70’s. it is a great little place to take the family to learn a little history about SURF CITY’S FAMOUS SPORT… SURFING!

Very cool little museum. Free to enter. A shrine to «Duke» the Hawaiian that brought the sport to the main land. A lot of boards from famous surfers. Many guitars from famous surf guitarist like the awesome Dick Dale. They had «Endless Summer» playing in a little theater, it was a cool movie. A must see if you are in Huntington Beach. I hear they have surf guitar bands there sometimes.

No visit to Huntington Beach «Surf City» would be complete without a stop at the Interntional Surf Museum.
It’s a cozy little place just off Main Street; easy to miss if you’re not looking for it. Come in and browse the cool surfing memorabilia for free, but keep in mind that the place runs on donations and sales of those surfing t-​shirts you see stacked everywhere in the middle of the shop. Hey, if you’re going to buy souvenirs and t-​shirts anyway, might as well buy them here and support a great little treasure trove of local history.
The owner is very friendly and loves to get signatures in his guest book.

It’s small, BUT packed full of surf history.
Surf music, surf films, and just plane surfing. This museum has it all. It’s literally a treasure trove of all things surfing. Stop by and and see for yourself.

This is a very small museum, but worth a visit when coming to town. Huntington Beach is known as «Surf City», surfing plays a huge part in local culture. It doesn’t take long to walk through the exhibit — and it is interesting and educational to see the history of surfing. It’s crazy to see the evolution of the boards themselves. Located right in the heart of downtown, it’s worth a trip. There is no fee, but donations are appreciated.

i saw a naked fish

I’m not really sure how this place has such a high rating. To be fair, I’m not a surfer. I got dragged here by my dad.
It’s very small. They have a few cool artifacts, like the Silver Surfer and Duke’s hood ornament. But there were quite a few things that didn’t seem to belong. There was a glass cabinet with different surf figurines. They had the old California Rasin guys and even a Disney character. And a whole display of someone’s surf paintings and ocean-​themed art. Sections of the museum seemed like they ran out of stuff, so they just threw in things that were just remotely surf-​themed. The museum is pretty small, but it’s free. That’s a plus.
The store section is pretty nice. They had a ton of shirts (up to a 3X), stickers and pins. They also carry St. Christopher’s necklaces. Those were pretty. Make sure to get an Endless Summer poster signed by all three of the guys from the movie. They’re $ 50 for posters with all three signatures. I suggest getting a poster tube from UPS across the street ($ 6).
If you’re a surfer, you’ll love the museum.

It’s not the LACMA, Louvre or Met. It’s not even close to the MOMA. But it’s ours, a museum to document and memorialize California’s surfing history in our very own «Surf City». With due respect to the «Godfather of surfing», Duke Kahanamoku, this small building does it’s best to show the positive side of the «sport of kings”*. Highlighting all the uniqueness of surfing, the HB Surfing Museum takes us from it’s roots to where it’s going, from the musical influences of Dick Dale and the Del Tones, the Surfaris, Beach Boys and others, to Hollywood with production posters and an incredible life-​sized Silver Surfer. A small screening room shows surfing flicks from the early black and white days before «The Endless Summer» to «Point Break» and beyond. Trophies, medals and sidewalk pavers from the Surfing Walk of Fame identify standouts, heavy wood boards show the creativity of early board makers and an incredible assortment of trinkets, baubles and medallions draw the inquisitive and make for a great hour (or more) of beach time.
There’s no entry fee but donations are gladly accepted. Donations keep the doors open. So enjoy yourself and see what makes surfers do the wild and crazy things they do even while being astronauts, physicists, doctors, lawyers, fighter pilots and bums like me.
*In early Hawaiian lore, surfing was restricted to the royal family, under penalty of death. And when the Puritanical Lutheran ministers came in, they banned surfing altogether declaring it a lewd, lazy activity in the eyes of God! Current beliefs are that indeed, God was a surfer and damn the Puritans. They were ignorant.

This place was great — awesome little pit stop if you are in HB and want some quick history on surfing in general. Also, if you REALLY love the Beach Boys, this is the place to go.
We got a nice rundown of the history of the surfboard and there is also a display of skateboarding and a special review of women in surfing. There is a whole wall dedicated to the Beach Boys… maybe not so relevant, but I’m sure the people who set it up would argue. :)
Check it out if you have an extra 10 – 15 minutes.

If you go to Huntington Beach to check out the pier, enjoy the sand and sea, watch surfers, or shop and eat — be sure to make a stop at the International Surfing Museum.
This small, intensely focused museum is awesome — and should be a required visit for anyone who spends any time whatsoever in Huntington Beach. The displays cover the development of surf boards and related gear, women who surf, the Surfing Walk of Fame, skateboarding’s relationship to surfing, and other related topics.
Over Labor Day weekend, there was an excellent special anniversary exhibit of the comic art of Bob Penuelas, whose Wilbur Kookmeyer strips have run in Surfer magazine for 20 years. The strip reminds me of the Radical Rick strips that used to run in BMX Plus magazine, and even though Penuelas’ «Beach Towne» two-​page spread is derivative of a piece by R. Crumb, his work is interesting enough that I wish a collection were available.
The museum’s small gift shop sports an impressive collection of independent and local surf music — including the Insect Surfers. And be sure to use the restroom if you need to. It’s clean, and the toilet flush lever is a nice touch. Seriously!