Santa Cruz Surfing Museum

Museum in Santa Cruz, California

Santa Cruz Surfing Museum

Established| 1986
Location| Santa Cruz, California
Type| History
Visitors| 70,000 visits annually
Director| Jenifer Lienau-Thompson
Website| www.santacruzsurfingmuseum.org
Santa Cruz Light
Mark Abbott Memorial
Coordinates| 36°57′05.34″N 122°01′36.36″W﻿ / ﻿36.9514833°N 122.0267667°W﻿ / 36.9514833; -122.0267667
Constructed| 1869 (first)
Construction| brick tower
Automated| 1941
Height| 39 feet (12 m)
Shape| square tower with balcony and lantern[1]
Markings| unpainted tower,
white lantern
Operator| Santa Cruz Surfing Museum[2] [3]
First lit| 1967 (current)
Focal height| 60 feet (18 m)
Lens| Fifth order Fresnel lens (removed)
Range| 12 nautical miles (22 km; 14 mi)
Characteristic| Fl W 5s.

The Santa Cruz Surfing Museum is a museum which was established in May 1986 to document the history of surfing.[4] With collections dating back to the earliest years of surfing on mainland United States, the museum houses a historical account of surfing in Santa Cruz, California.

## Location[edit]

Entrance to the Santa Cruz Surfing Museum

Located in the Mark Abbott Memorial Lighthouse at Lighthouse Point on West Cliff Drive, the Santa Cruz Surfing Museum opened its doors in June 1986 as the first surfing museum in the world.[5]

The lighthouse was built in 1967 as a memorial to surfer Mark Abbott, who died while surfing at the nearby Pleasure Point surf break.[6]

Overlooking the Steamer Lane surfing hotspot, this little museum features photographs, surfboards, and videos tracing over 100 years of surfing history in Santa Cruz. After funding cuts in 2009, the Santa Cruz Surfing Club Preservation Society and private donations kept the museum open.[7]

## Exhibits[edit]

Plaque honoring 1885 Hawaiian surfers

The exhibits at the museum explore over 100 years of surfing in Santa Cruz. Introduced in 1885 by three Hawaiian princes who surfed the mouth of the San Lorenzo River on plank boards, surfing has permeated every facet of the Santa Cruz community.[8][9] A plaque was dedicated to the princes: David Kawānanakoa, Edward Abnel Keliʻiahonui, and Jonah Kūhiō Kalanianaʻole (later a delegate to US Congress) in April 2010.[10]

Dorothy Becker in 1915, a surfing pioneer featured at the museum

Throughout its history, surf culture has reflected and responded to popular culture. Photographs chronicle the evolution of surfing culture in Santa Cruz from idyllic summers spent at the beach in the 1930s and 1940s, through the hipster beach party 1950s, the surf rock 1960s, the “soul surfing” 1970s, the neon 1980s, and the rebirth of classic long-board riding in the 1990s.

Examples of surfboards from each era are on display, from the huge hollow paddle boards and redwood planks made and ridden in the 1930s and 1940s to examples of early foam and fiberglass boards, and speedy short boards used to create radical new surf moves beginning in the 1970s.

## Santa Cruz Light[edit]

The museum contains the current Santa Cruz Light, marking Point Santa Cruz on the west side of Santa Cruz Anchorage.

Undated USCG photo of the original lighthouse

The original lighthouse was one of a number of California coastal lights allocated funding by Congress in 1850, only 19 days after statehood.[11] Because of disputes over ownership of the land, construction did not proceed until 1868.[12] The original light was a two-story wooden structure, with a lantern housing a fifth-order Fresnel lens. Erosion of Point Santa Cruz required the lighthouse to be moved back 300 feet (91 m) in 1879.

Around 1909 [13] (sources vary, possibly 1913[12]) the lens was replaced with a fourth-order Fresnel, for better visibility against the light of the city. The light was electrified in 1917, replaced by a wooden tower in 1941, and the original building demolished in 1948.

## See also[edit]

* California portal
* Engineering portal

* List of lighthouses in the United States

## References[edit]

1. ^ Light List, Volume VI, Pacific Coast and Pacific Islands (PDF). Light List. United States Coast Guard. 2012. p. 4.
2. ^ Rowlett, Russ. "Lighthouses of the United States: Northern California". The Lighthouse Directory. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Retrieved 2016-06-16.
3. ^ California Historic Light Station Information & Photography United States Coast Guard. Retrieved 16 June 2016
4. ^ Katherine Bishop (May 10, 1988). "Santa Cruz Journal: Surfing Museum Far East of Hawaii". New York Times. Retrieved September 14, 2011.
5. ^ Santa Cruz Surfing Museum Info
6. ^ Joel Hersh (May 24, 2011). "Surf museum shares its 25 years of history Friday". Santa Cruz Sentinel. Retrieved September 14, 2011.
7. ^ Ariana Smith (July 23, 2009). "Santa Cruz Surfing Club throws benefit concert to help keep Surf Museum open". Santa Cruz Sentinel. Retrieved September 14, 2011.
8. ^ Genevieve Bookwalter (November 25, 2009). "Hawaiian royals honor Santa Cruz surfing history". Santa Cruz Sentinel. Retrieved September 14, 2011.
9. ^ Geoffrey Dunn and Kim Stoner (March 31, 2010). "Riders of the Sea Spray". Santa Cruz Good Times. Archived from the original on September 13, 2011. Retrieved September 14, 2011.
10. ^ J. M. Brown (April 10, 2010). "Santa Cruz dedicates plaque honoring surfing princes from Hawaii". Santa Cruz Sentinel. Retrieved September 14, 2011.
11. ^ Perry, Frank. Lighthouse Point: illuminating Santa Cruz (2002). Santa Cruz, CA, Otter B Books
12. ^ a b Santa Cruz Lighthouse, California, retrieved 17 April 2012
13. ^ Santa Cruz Lighthouse, archived from the original on 30 April 2012, retrieved 17 April 2012

## External links[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Santa Cruz Surfing Museum.

* Santa Cruz Surfing Museum Website
* Santa Cruz Surfing Museum City of Santa Cruz website
* Location of the museum and its surrounding

* v
* t
* e

Santa Cruz, California

Education|

* Georgiana Bruce Kirby Preparatory School
* Pacific Collegiate School
* Harbor High School
* Santa Cruz High School
* University of California, Santa Cruz

Beaches|

* Lighthouse Field State Beach
* Natural Bridges State Beach
* Steamer Lane
* Twin Lakes State Beach

Landmarks|

* Branciforte
* Branciforte Adobe
* California Powder Works Bridge
* Cowell Lime Works
* Golden Gate Villa
* Hinds House
* Hotel Metropole
* Kaiser Permanente Arena
* Mission Santa Cruz
* Octagon Building
* Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk
* Santa Cruz Looff Carousel and Roller Coaster
* Giant Dipper
* Santa Cruz Breakwater Light
* Santa Cruz Civic Auditorium
* Santa Cruz Wharf
* Steamer Lane

Museums|

* Santa Cruz Museum of Art and History
* Santa Cruz Museum of Natural History
* Santa Cruz Surfing Museum

Culture and media|

* Free Radio Santa Cruz
* Metro Santa Cruz
* Santa Cruz Weekly
* Surf City, USA

This list is incomplete.

* v
* t
* e

Surfing

* Terminology
* History

Types|

* Big wave
* Bellyboarding
* Bodyboarding
* Flowriding
* Kiteboarding
* Kneeboarding
* Lake surfing
* River surfing
* Shoulder surfing
* Skimboarding
* Standup paddleboarding
* Surf kayaking
* Tow-in
* Tube riding
* Windsurfing
* Wing foiling
* Women's surfing

Surfers|

* American
* Argentine
* Australian
* Brazilian
* British
* Filipino
* French
* Irish
* Maldivian
* New Zealand
* Peruvian
* Portuguese
* South African
* Uruguayan

Environment|

* Closeout
* Hawaiian scale
* Ocean surface wave
* Surf break
* Surfline
* Tidal bore
* Wave pool

Equipment|

* Surfboard
* Fins
* Wax
* Wax comb
* Foilboard
* Boardshorts
* Surfboard leash

Locations|

| By country|

* Australia
* Brazil
* Canada
* Chile
* Ecuador
* India
* Indonesia
* Ireland
* Madeira
* Morocco
* New Zealand
* Peru
* South Africa
* Sri Lanka
* Taiwan
* Turkey
* United Kingdom
* Scotland
* United States

|

Sites|

* Banzai Pipeline
* Cyclops
* Jaws
* La Libertad
* Mavericks
* Puerto Escondido
* Ship Stern Bluff
* Teahupo'o
* Uluwatu

Competitions|

* Australian Boardriders Battle
* Australian Open of Surfing
* Beachley Classic
* Billabong Pipeline Masters
* Billabong Pro Teahupoo
* Copa Movistar
* Duke Kahanamoku Invitational Surfing Championship
* East Coast Surfing Championships
* Hawaiian Pro
* J-Bay Open
* Ku Ikaika Challenge
* Lion Foundation Surf League
* MEO Rip Curl Pro Portugal
* Noosa Festival of Surfing
* O'Neill Sebastian Inlet Pro
* O'Neill World Cup of Surfing
* Pipeline Bodysurfing Classic
* Quiksilver Big Wave Invitational
* Quiksilver Pro France
* Quiksilver Pro Gold Coast
* Red Bull Big Wave Africa
* Rip Curl Pro
* Shark Island Challenge
* Smirnoff World Pro-Am Surfing Championships
* Stubbies
* Surfabout
* Surfest
* Triple Crown of Surfing
* US Open of Surfing
* World Surfing Championship
* World Surf League

Organizations|

* International Professional Surfers
* International Surfing Association
* International Surfing Day
* International Surfing Museum
* National Scholastic Surfing Association
* NYSurfFilmFestival
* Santa Cruz Surfing Museum
* SurfAid International
* Surfers Against Sewage
* Surfrider Foundation
* Surfing Australia
* Surfing South Africa
* The Moonshine Conspiracy
* Uruguayan Surfing Union
* Welsh Surfing Federation
* World Surf League

Culture|

* Art
* Fictional surfers
* Films
* Hair
* Music
* Surfwear brands
* Shaka sign

Hazards|

* Shark attack
* Surfer's eye
* Surfer's ear
* Surfer's myelopathy

Related topics|

* Surf lifesaving

* v
* t
* e

Lighthouses of California

Main: List of lighthouses in the United States

* Alcatraz Island
* Anacapa Island
* Ballast Point
* Battery Point
* Cape Mendocino
* Carquinez Strait
* East Brother Island
* Farallon Island
* Fort Point
* Humboldt Harbor
* Lime Point
* Long Beach
* Los Angeles Harbor
* Mare Island
* Mile Rocks
* Oakland Harbor
* Piedras Blancas
* Pigeon Point
* Point Arena
* Point Arguello
* Point Blunt
* Point Bonita
* Point Cabrillo
* Point Conception
* Point Diablo
* Point Fermin
* Point Hueneme
* Point Loma (new)
* Point Loma (old)
* Point Montara
* Point Pinos
* Point Reyes
* Point San Luis
* Point Sur
* Point Vicente
* Punta Gorda
* Roe Island
* Rubicon Point
* Santa Barbara
* Santa Cruz Light
* Santa Cruz Breakwater
* Southampton Shoal
* St. George Reef
* Sugar Pine Point
* Table Bluff
* Trinidad Head
* Yerba Buena

California portal

Authority control databases

International|

* VIAF

National|

* United States

Santa Cruz Lighthouse |

* Admiralty
* G4001
* ARLHS
* MarineTraffic
* OLL
* USCG
* 6-0305

*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template