Santa Cruz Surfing Museum

To protect and preserve our rich surfing heritage and to ensure historical artifacts are maintained and preserved for the enjoyment and education of current and future generations.
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.

The Santa Cruz Surfing Museum at Steamer Lane is staffed by friends of the Santa Cruz Surfing Club who have surfed Santa Cruz waves since the 1930s.

The Santa Cruz Surfing Museum is a museum which was established in May 1986 to document the history of surfing.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.
The exhibits at the museum explore this unique culture from its early origins in Ancient Hawaii and 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. A plaque was dedicated to the princes: David Kaw?nanakoa, Edward Keli?iahonui, and Jonah K?hi? Kalaniana?ole (later a delegate to US Congress) in April 2010.

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.

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