Sizzling Seal Beach—Bringing its Past Alive

By Chris MacDonald

During Seal Beach's 100th Anniversary Year, famed Hollywood TV writer Larry Strawther has been giving fascinating tours of the fabled city about 28 miles east of Los Angeles and a few miles north of Huntington Beach, off Pacific Coast Highway. Seal Beach has definitely had its share of stardom—both fame and infamy.

In the 1860s, it started out as "Anaheim Landing" (the first seaport in what would become Orange County) where famous wines grown in the Anaheim area were loaded on ships for distribution. The Landing later became one of the first major seaside resorts in Southern California, until the Navy took over the area and removed 300 houses in the 1940s. A naval weapons station remains there today.

The area has always been known for its surfing and surfers. One of the first surfing contests ever was in 1914, Strawther said. It's still home to the famous Harbor Surfboards and helped develop Surf Champions like Jack and Mike Haley.

It became known as "Bay City," as developers attempted to sell lots and houses between 1904–1912. Promoters and city leaders later helped change the name to "Seal Beach" in an effort to attract tourism in their constant competition with Long Beach and other places that had piers and pavilions. Seal Beach had a pier, pavilion, roller-coaster (from the World's Fair in San Francisco) and a "Joy Zone," which included bowling.

The volunteer Fire Department bought their first hose in 1915 but could not afford a fire engine until 1924, according to Strawther.

In 1915, the city incorporated, in part, "to make it legal to drink alcohol." "For years, it was known by many as 'Sewer City,'" said the writer, who has created scripts for Happy Days, Jeopardy, Laverne and Shirley, Night Court and Sinbad. The recent author of "Seal Beach-A Brief History," said it was known for its gambling, alcohol and prostitution. "There even were six gambling ships offshore."

"Since some of the other cities around it were 'dry,' drinkers loved to come here," he said.

He told how the La Burdette Building on Main Street at one time had a school upstairs and a saloon downstairs; how popular Walt's Wharf had a brothel upstairs and how the Tank Farm building at 212 Main used to have Masons meeting upstairs. "The ashes from one of its presidents were placed in the wall and discovered after a remodeling," Strawther said. With increased pressure from people to do away with the "dark element" in town, some of Seal Beach's gambling leaders moved on to Las Vegas and became even more successful.

The iconic Bay Theater near Main and Pacific Coast Highway was originally built as the Beach, then remodeled in 1947. Although shuttered in 2012, it became known far and wide for its unusual films and silent movies (complete with popular organ music played "live"). Steven Spielberg loved coming here to see foreign films when he was a student at Long Beach State in the 1960s. According to Strawther, several movies have been filmed at the theater or in other businesses or on the streets in Seal Beach. These include, Clint Eastwood's mega-hit, "American Sniper" (bar scenes were shot in O'Malleys on Main and the stars are seen walking down the Pier); part of the 1923 hit, Cecil B. DeMilles' "Ten Commandments" and a 1966 movie, "A Born Loser" (Billy Jack's first film) shows Main Streets and its businesses.

Strawther said Stegens Automotive, 16th and PCH, is the city's oldest business; Bay Hardware is the oldest establishment on Main (1950), and The Abbey on Main became world famous when Home Run Baseball Champion Mark McGuire, wore Abbey hats at his news conferences, prompting thousands of orders for "the hat." Seal Beach also has a "fiddling priest" and served as home for several celebrities, including two-time Olympic gold medalist Diver Pat McCormick, NBA Basketball Champ Jack Haley and Robert August, hit of the classic, "The Endless Summer."

Going on the street tour with us were Ron and Stacey Juler of Seal Beach. She said her dad, who would become Dr. Gerald Fresonke, DDS, as a kid would climb the closed Joy Zone roller coaster (with friends), pushing a car to the top, then ride down for free. Stacey is part of local lore as well. As a 14-year-old Seal Beach Swim Team member, she set a record that holds to this day as the youngest female to swim from Catalina to Palos Verdes Peninsula in 1971. She started her swim at 8pm and hit shore at 8:30am. Another local swimmer, Andy Taylor, 12, set the male record for the swim.

One of my friends, Norma Brandel Gibbs, 90, as a single mother became Orange County's first woman mayor in Seal Beach (1960). This amazing civil servant migrated to Huntington Beach and became a City Councilwoman there in 1970. She later became Mayor and helped create beautiful Central Park in HB.

Getting back to Seal Beach, it's one of my favorite places to visit because there's almost always a cool breeze on the Pier. If you'd like to find out more about its incredible past, you can get this insightful book, which includes some dandy old photos, by going amazon.com and typing, "Seal Beach-A Brief History" by Larry Strawther. Thanks you Larry, vice chair of marketing for the Seal Beach Centennial Committee, and everyone else who is helping keep this city's unbelievable history "alive."