Seal Beach, California facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Seal Beach, California
City
Historic Mission Revival Seal Beach City Hall
Flag Seal
Location of Seal Beach within Orange County, California.
Seal Beach, California Location in the Los Angeles metropolitan area Show map of the Los Angeles metropolitan area Seal Beach, California Location in California Show map of California Seal Beach, California Location in the United States Show map of the United States
Country	United States
State	California
County	Orange
Incorporated	October 27, 1915
Government
• Type	Council/city manager
Area
• Total	11.80 sq mi (30.56 km2)
• Land	11.27 sq mi (29.19 km2)
• Water	0.53 sq mi (1.38 km2)  13.45%
Elevation	13 ft (4 m)
Population  (2020)
• Total	25,242
• Density	2,139.2/sq mi (825.98/km2)
Time zone	UTC-8 (Pacific Time Zone)
• Summer (DST)	UTC-7 (PDT)
ZIP code	90740
Area code	562
FIPS code	06-70686
GNIS feature IDs	1661416, 2411851
California Historical Landmark
Official name: Anaheim Landing
Reference #:	219

Seal Beach is a city on the coast in Orange County, California. In 2020, about 25,242 people lived there. This was more than the 24,168 people counted in 2010.

Seal Beach is in the very western part of Orange County. To the northwest, it borders Long Beach in Los Angeles County. To the southeast, you'll find parts of Huntington Beach, like Huntington Harbour and Sunset Beach. To the east are Westminster and a part of Garden Grove. To the north are Rossmoor and Los Alamitos. A large part of Seal Beach is home to the Naval Weapons Station Seal Beach military base.

History of Seal Beach

Early People and Villages

Long ago, the Tongva people lived in this area. Their village, called Motuucheyngna, was near what is now Seal Beach in the Los Cerritos Wetlands. This area was important for trade and ceremonies for the Tongva and Acjachemen tribes. Villagers used special boats called te'aats to travel to nearby islands like Santa Catalina Island.

Anaheim Landing: A Port Town

In the mid-1860s, the eastern part of what is now Old Town Seal Beach was known as Anaheim Landing. Farmers from Anaheim built a warehouse and a dock here. They wanted an easier way to ship their wine and receive supplies for their new town.

For a few years, Anaheim Landing was a busy port, almost as busy as San Pedro. But when the railroad came to Anaheim in 1875, it became easier to ship goods by train. People also started visiting the beaches and hills around Anaheim Landing for summer getaways. It was a popular spot, with many visitors during special times.

The landing was also a base for fishing boats. A famous writer, Henryk Sienkiewicz, even wrote about the fishing here. Today, Anaheim Landing is a California Historical Landmark.

In 1903, a real estate agent named Philip A. Stanton planned a new town called Bayside. It was located between Anaheim Landing and Anaheim Bay.

Developing the City

The new town, Bayside, was meant to be along a planned train line. But there was already a town called Bayside in Northern California. So, Stanton's group renamed their new town Bay City. However, Bay City did not succeed as a real estate project. Other beach towns were more popular, and financial problems in the country also hurt the plans.

In 1913, Guy M. Rush took over the land. He built a new pier with fun areas on both sides. Rush also changed the town's name to Seal Beach and advertised it widely. This also did not work out.

In 1915, Stanton tried again. He brought rides from a fair in San Francisco to create a new amusement area called The Joy Zone. As part of this plan, the town officially became a city on October 27, 1915. The new city council allowed drinking in town, which made it different from nearby Long Beach. The Joy Zone, built in 1916, was the first amusement park in Orange County. It was popular for a short time, but then World War I caused problems.

After the war, the town became a place for illegal activities. Its location near two bays made it easy to bring in illegal goods. From 1928 to 1939, there were many places for illegal games on Main Street. Also, many famous illegal gaming ships operated just off the coast of Seal Beach.

Around 1941, these activities mostly stopped due to pressure from state officials.

Seal Beach During World War II

In 1944, during World War II, the Navy bought land near Anaheim Landing. They built the Naval Weapons Station Seal Beach. This base was used to load and store ammunition for the U.S. Pacific Fleet. Today, it is the main place for ammunition for most of the United States Pacific Fleet. The Navy base brought more people to Seal Beach, which helped stop the illegal activities.

Surfing has always been a part of Seal Beach. The town hosted one of the first surfing competitions on the mainland. After the war, surfing became very popular, especially with the help of legendary surfer Blackie August. His son, Robert August, was featured in the famous surf film Endless Summer.

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  Seal Beach amusement park, 1920.

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  Anaheim Landing aerial photo, circa 1930s

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  Anaheim Landing 1891

Geography and Climate

Where is Seal Beach?

Seal Beach is located at 33°45′33″N 118°4′57″W / 33.75917°N 118.08250°W / 33.75917; -118.08250. The city covers about 13 square miles (33.7 square kilometers). Most of this is land, with about 1.8 square miles (4.7 square kilometers) being water.

Seal Beach is surrounded by other cities and communities. To the north are Rossmoor and Los Alamitos. To the east are West Garden Grove and Westminster. Huntington Beach is to the east and south, and the Pacific Ocean is to the west.

Seal Beach Weather

Seal Beach has a semi-arid climate, which means it's usually dry but still gets some rain. It also has Mediterranean characteristics, with mild, wet winters and warm, dry summers.

People in Seal Beach

Population in 2020

In 2020, Seal Beach had a population of 25,242 people. Most residents were White (66.61%), followed by Asian (14.36%) and Hispanic or Latino (12.49%). People of two or more races made up 4.32% of the population.

Population in 2010

The 2010 census showed 24,168 people living in Seal Beach. About 83.4% were White, 9.6% were Asian, and 1.2% were African American. About 9.6% of residents were Hispanic or Latino.

Most people (99.1%) lived in homes. The average household had 1.84 people. About 14.3% of homes had children under 18. Many homes (48.5%) had only one person living there.

The median age in Seal Beach was 57.3 years. This means half the people were older than 57.3 and half were younger. About 13% of the population was under 18.

Economy and Jobs

San Pedro Bay Outer Continental Shelf Operations Map showing oil platforms in 2012. An oil spill occurred near here in 2021.

The biggest employer in Seal Beach is Boeing, with about 1,000 workers. Boeing's facility here was first built to make parts for NASA's Apollo missions to the Moon. Boeing Homeland Security & Services, which works on airport security, is based in Seal Beach.

Main Employers

Here are some of the top employers in Seal Beach:

Fun Things to Do

"Anaheim Landing" on an 1875 map.

Yearly Events

Seal Beach has many fun events each year. The Lions Club hosts a Pancake Breakfast in April and a Fish Fry in July. There's also a Rough Water Swim race in the ocean.

The Seal Beach Chamber of Commerce organizes many activities. These include a Classic Car Show in April and summer concerts in July and August. In December, there's a Christmas Parade with Santa. In September, you can enjoy the Kite Festival.

Places to Visit

Anaheim Landing (now Seal Beach), 1891.

On Electric Avenue, where old train tracks used to be, you can find the Red Car Museum. It has a restored Pacific Electric Railway Red Car train. These trains once connected Seal Beach to other parts of Los Angeles County. The Anderson Street Water Tower is an old water tower from 1892 that you can even rent for overnight stays!

Seal Beach is also home to the Bay Theatre. It was a popular place to watch independent films. It closed in 2012 but is now being restored.

The Seal Beach National Wildlife Refuge is a special nature area. It's part of the Naval Weapons Station. This refuge protects a large salt marsh area. Three endangered birds, the Ridgway's light-footed rail, the California least tern, and the Belding's Savannah sparrow, nest here. This area is very important for birds that migrate or spend the winter. You can take tours of the refuge about once a month.

Outdoor Activities

Seal Beach on a crowded summer afternoon

Seal Beach Pier

Seal Beach has the second longest wooden pier in California. It's a great spot for fishing and sightseeing. The pier has been damaged by storms many times and rebuilt. After a big storm in 1983, a group called "Save the Pier" helped raise money to fix it.

Surfing is very popular in Seal Beach. You can surf near the pier or at the mouth of the San Gabriel River, which surfers call "Stingray Bay" or "Ray Bay." This spot gets its name because stingrays are attracted to the warmer water from power plants upstream. Harbour Surfboards, a famous company that builds longboards, started in Seal Beach in 1959.

Education in Seal Beach

Most of Seal Beach is part of the Los Alamitos Unified School District. A small part is on the Seal Beach Naval Weapons Station reservation.

Seal Beach used to have its own elementary schools. Older students went to high schools in Huntington Beach. Since the early 1980s, Seal Beach students have attended schools in the Los Alamitos Unified School District.

Younger students (Kindergarten to 5th grade) go to schools like McGaugh, Hopkinson, Rossmoor, Lee, Los Alamitos, or Weaver Elementary. Students in grades 6-8 attend Oak Middle School or McAuliffe Middle School. High school students go to Los Alamitos High School, which is a very good school.

Famous People from Seal Beach

Many notable people have lived in or are from Seal Beach:

• Robert August, a surfer featured in the film The Endless Summer, grew up here.
• Jimmy Bennett, an actor who played a young Captain Kirk in Star Trek, was born in Seal Beach.
• Sean Collins, who started Surfline, lived here.
• Susan Egan, an actress and singer known for Broadway and voice work, was born in Seal Beach.
• Matt Embree, the lead singer of the band RX Bandits, is from Seal Beach.
• Steve Goodman, a singer-songwriter, lived in Seal Beach from 1980 until his death.
• Bill Green, an Olympic athlete in hammer throw, lived here.
• Jack Haley, Jr., a former NBA player.
• Chris Kluwe, a punter for the Minnesota Vikings in the NFL.
• Greg Knapp, a football coach.
• Pat McCormick, a two-time Olympic diver who won gold medals in 1952 and 1956.
• Jack Snow, a football player for Notre Dame and the Los Angeles Rams.
• Clayton Snyder, an actor from the Lizzie McGuire TV show.
• Michelle Steel, a U.S. Congresswoman.
• Randy Stonehill, a Grammy-nominated singer/songwriter.
• Chad Wackerman, a rock and jazz drummer.
• Bill Ward, the drummer for the band Black Sabbath.
• Bob Welch, a professional baseball player.

See also

In Spanish: Seal Beach para niños