Surfside, California facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Surfside, California
Gated community of Seal Beach
Surfside Colony, Ltd.
Looking SE toward Huntington Beach
Surfside, California Location in the United States
Country	United States
State	California
County	Orange
City	Seal Beach
Area
• Total	0.1 sq mi (1.6 km2)
Elevation	11.1 ft (3.4 m)
Population  (2010)
• Total	456
• Density	4,321/sq mi (1,668/km2)
Time zone	UTC-8 (PST)
• Summer (DST)	UTC-7 (PDT)
ZIP code	90743
Website	Welcome to Surfside!

Surfside (also known as Surfside Colony) is a small, private community in Seal Beach, California. It is called a gated community because you need special permission to enter. Surfside has three rows of houses, named A, B, and C.

This community is located right next to the Pacific Coast Highway. It sits between the Naval Weapons Station Seal Beach and the Huntington Beach area called Sunset Beach. You can easily spot the southern entrance to Surfside by a unique water tower. This tower was actually built into a house!

The Surfside Colony has special districts that help manage its services. For example, they have a district for community services and another for storm water protection. Lifeguards who watch over the beach are provided by the city of Seal Beach.

Surfside History

Surfside Colony started in 1929 as a fun place for people to visit by the ocean. It officially became a company in California in 1930. There were plans to build more houses on both sides of the Pacific Coast Highway. However, these plans for "D" and "E" rows of houses never happened. A tunnel was built under the highway to help people cross easily. This tunnel still exists today, but it cannot be used.

World War II Changes

During World War II, the U.S. Navy built an ammunition storage area north of Surfside. They also built a large jetty and a channel for ships. This big project changed Surfside and its beach a lot. Since then, the ocean waves have changed, causing the beach to wear away.

To fix this, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers often works to rebuild the beach. They do this by digging up sand from one area and moving millions of cubic yards of it to Surfside. This helps keep the beach wide and safe.

Looking NW toward Long Beach

Geography and Weather

Surfside Colony is right next to the Pacific Ocean. People say that no house in Surfside is more than 75 feet (about 23 meters) from the sand. You can also see part of Anaheim Bay from Surfside. This bay is across the Pacific Coast Highway and connects to Huntington Harbour.

Surfside Climate

The weather in Surfside is usually mild. Temperatures often stay around 70°F (21°C). The hottest temperature ever recorded here was 111°F (44°C). The coldest was 25°F (-4°C). Even in summer, evenings can be cool, with temperatures in the 50s (10-15°C). In winter, they can drop to the low 40s (4-9°C). Surfside often has strong winds, which makes it a great place for kite surfing.

Ocean Challenges

Over the years, big winter waves have sometimes caused damage to homes in Surfside. Very strong storms and high tides caused problems in 1952, 1953, and again in 1963. In the 1970s and 1980s, the beach continued to wear away. To protect the homes, people have used rock barriers, sand bags, and temporary sand walls. In 1983, very high tides even flooded many houses in Surfside.

People and Homes

In 2010, there were 456 people living in Surfside. They lived in 187 homes. The community covers a small area of 0.1 square miles (0.26 square kilometers). The average age of people living there was about 45 years old. Most of the people (about 89.5%) were white.

Housing in Surfside

Surfside has around 256 houses. About 25% of these homes are not lived in all year round. Some families have owned their homes in Surfside for four generations!

The houses in Surfside come in many different styles. This mix of styles gives the community a relaxed and charming feel. You can find everything from small beach cottages to large three-story mansions. Many homeowners also rent out their houses to visitors. The very first homes in Surfside were small cottages. In 1929, they sold for as little as $700.

The "A" Row houses are usually the most expensive. This is because they are right on the beach and have clear views of the Pacific Ocean. On a clear day, you can even see Santa Catalina Island from these homes.

Education

Students living in Surfside attend schools in the Los Alamitos Unified School District.

Fun Facts About Surfside

The U.S. Postal Service does not deliver mail directly to houses in Surfside. Instead, there is a full-service post office right inside the community. Every house has its own post office box there.

Surfside's three rows of houses are called A, B, and C. The "A" row is on the sand, closest to the ocean. The "C" row is next to the Pacific Coast Highway. A short road called Phillips Street leads into the community from the highway.

House addresses in Surfside are given a letter and a number. For example, "1 A" is the first house on the sand at the south end of the community. This unique addressing system can sometimes be confusing when a regular street address is needed. The U.S. Postal Service lists its address inside the colony as 89 B Surfside Avenue. Homes in the A and B rows have a Surfside Avenue address. Homes in the C row have a Pacific Avenue address. Pacific Avenue is the street that goes from the southeast exit of Surfside through the nearby community of Sunset Beach.

Famous People from Surfside

• Bradley Nowell was a successful lead singer for the reggae rock and punk band Sublime. He lived in this gated community.
• Michelle Steel was a resident of Surfside. She is a Republican and currently represents California's 45th district in the U.S. Congress.
• Sean Collins, who started the famous surf forecasting company Surfline, also lived here. It is said that before he founded Surfline, he would sit on the roof of his Surfside house. He used a stopwatch to time how long it took for south swells (types of ocean waves) to hit the Huntington Harbor jetty. This helped him develop his passion for predicting surf conditions.