"The box." That is what Peter "PT" Townend, executive director of the Huntington Beach International Surfing Museum, called the museum's old building on Olive Avenue, where it had been since 1990. The museum opened to the public inside the Main Street Branch Library at 525 Main Street on July 24, 2026. On Wednesday, Sept. 30, the city officially opened a cultural hub at Triangle Park. It ties the library, the surf museum and the Huntington Beach Art Center across the street into one fifth-block destination, and the day doubled as the library's 75th birthday.
The hub opened the same week the Pacific Airshow brought its 10th-anniversary show to the coast, Oct. 2 through Oct. 4. The two run on almost opposite schedules. The airshow is a weekend event centered on the pier. The cultural hub keeps library hours, a few blocks up Main Street.
A Block That Runs Tuesday Through Saturday
The surf museum lives inside the library, so it follows the library's hours. The Art Center, at 538 Main Street, keeps its own schedule but closes on the same two days.
| Day | Main Street Library and Surf Museum | Huntington Beach Art Center |
|---|---|---|
| Monday | Closed | No posted hours |
| Tuesday | 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. | Noon to 8 p.m. |
| Wednesday | 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. | Noon to 6 p.m. |
| Thursday | 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. | Noon to 6 p.m. |
| Friday | 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. | Noon to 5 p.m. |
| Saturday | 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. | Noon to 5 p.m. |
| Sunday | Closed | No posted hours |
From Tuesday through Saturday, all three are open together from noon until 5 or 6 p.m. The library posts the same Tuesday-to-Saturday hours for the Friends of the Library used-book shop inside the branch. Tuesday has the block's one evening slot, because the Art Center stays open two hours after the library closes. On Sunday, the busiest beach day of the week, none of the three is open.
So the block is built around midweek visits. The library's fall programs follow the same pattern:
- Fun with Friends, a walk-in program for young children and caregivers, runs Tuesdays from 10 to 11 a.m., from Oct. 6 through Dec. 15.
- Family Storytime is listed Wednesdays at 10 and 11 a.m. The 10 a.m. series runs Oct. 7 through Nov. 25, and tickets come from the library desk.
- Main Street Little Lego Club meets Friday, Oct. 9 and Friday, Nov. 13, from 3 to 4 p.m., for ages 4 to 10 with an adult.
- A monthly Lunch Book Club meets the third Thursday at noon, and Whimsical Gardens meets the third Saturday at 11 a.m.
What Moved Into the Reading Room
The schedule matters because the surf museum is now worth more than a quick stop. In the old building, the museum could not stand its historic boards upright. In the library it can. Townend said the larger space was part of the reason for the move, to have a better museum in place for an Olympic audience. Huntington Beach did not end up hosting Olympic surfing, and he said the museum still wants to draw that audience to Surf City.
The museum is a fitting home for the opening exhibit. It covers five decades of pro surfing, and Townend himself became the first pro surfing champion in 1976. The museum's homepage calls the show "World Surfing League: 50 Years of Professional Surfing" and describes championship boards, memorabilia, rare photos and stories. The Daily Pilot's opening coverage used a different title, "The Birth of Pro Surfing: 50 Years of World Champions." The show includes:
- Boards ridden by champions such as Mark Richards and Shaun Tomson, plus some of the earliest wooden surfboards ever ridden.
- "What Could Possibly Go Wrong?", a surfboard piece by El Segundo artist Damian Fulton near the main entrance. It looks back at the 1986 surf riots at the OP Pro, the event that came before today's U.S. Open of Surfing.
- Archival material, surf art, a lifeguard-history exhibit and a Silver Surfer statue.
The museum takes up a large part of the library's main reading room, to the right of the main entrance, with a gift shop to the left. Not everyone agrees on how the room is shared. Elaine Keeley, president of the Friends of the Huntington Beach Public Library, told the Daily Pilot that the group's used-book sale moved to a back room it now shares with a computer lab. She also raised concerns about access to the reading room. Fred Wilson, chairman of the museum, said the agreement had always given the museum half of the main area. The museum's site lists hours but no admission price, so check with the museum before you go.
Across the Street, Two Shows Close Oct. 24
The Art Center charges nothing for its exhibitions. Both current shows close the same Saturday:
- "California Fibers: The Languages of Fiber" fills Galleries 1 through 3 from Aug. 15 to Oct. 24. It uses fiber processes and materials to tell stories about identity and change.
- "VAALA Presents: Make it Home" is in Gallery 4 from Aug. 28 to Oct. 24. Ann Lê, Hùng Việt Nguyễn and Thịnh Nguyễn explore ideas of home across several media.
Since the Art Center has no posted Sunday or Monday hours, three Tuesday evenings are left before both shows come down: Oct. 6, 13 and 20.
The next show is "Inspired," the annual exhibition by active members of the Art Center Artist Council. It runs in Galleries 1 through 3 from Nov. 14 to Dec. 19. The opening reception is Saturday, Nov. 14, from 6:30 to 9 p.m., and an Art for Lunch program follows on Thursday, Dec. 3, from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. The reception falls on a Saturday evening, after the posted 5 p.m. close, which makes it one of the few times on the fall calendar when the block is busy at night.
Who Will Plan the Block's Next Events
More evening events like that one depend on a vote set for Tuesday, Oct. 6. On Sept. 15, the City Council voted 5-2 to have the city manager bring back a resolution creating an art center advisory committee. That resolution, Resolution 2026-38, is listed as agenda-ready for the Oct. 6 meeting. It would create a committee of seven to nine Huntington Beach residents. The committee would advise on programming, event scheduling, classes, exhibit curation and work with the surf museum.
Mayor Casey McKeon explained the goal at the opening:
"We want to compete with Newport Beach and Dana Point and Laguna Beach when they have their art festivals. There's no reason why in Huntington Beach we can't have the same kind of events here, at our art center, art exhibitions with local and national artists."
Dan Faltz, the city's senior cultural arts supervisor, said quarterly events are planned for the area from now on. The city has not announced a date for the first one. Marisa Rodriguez, the city's library and cultural services manager, said the point of the hub is to let people visit the library, the art center and the museum together "rather than as separate destinations." For now, the posted hours are what make that possible. All three are open together only in the afternoon window, Tuesday through Saturday.
Lunch Within Walking Distance
The block is small enough that lunch can be part of a single afternoon visit. Jan's Health Bar is at 501 Main Street, on the same block as the library. Main Street Wine Company, a wine bar and retail shop, is at 301 Main Street, on the way down toward the coast. Sugar Shack Cafe serves breakfast and lunch at 213½ Main Street. At the Pacific Coast Highway end, 602 Coffee House serves coffee and açaí at 602 Pacific Coast Highway.
The surf museum and library open at 9 a.m., so a morning can start at the museum. The Art Center's galleries open across the street at noon, after lunch at 501 Main.
The new hub has changed how this end of Main Street is used. If you own a home within walking distance and want to know what being close to it means for your property's value, West Life Realty can walk you through the numbers. Start with an instant home valuation.
