Thursday, April 17, 2025 at 7 PM, the Ocean Beach Historical Society presented: When Art and Science Met on the Southern California Coast.
In an era before photography, artists and illustrators joined the surveyors and cartographers of the United States Coast Survey in the mid-19^th Century.  Enthusiastic speaker PLNU Professor Rick Kennedy presented When Art and Science Met on the Southern California Coast:  William McMurtrie and James Alden Jr., 1849-1860. At Water’s Edge Community Center, 1984 Sunset Cliffs Blvd. 

The Ocean Beach Historical Society had over 100 guests celebration of Spring at the Wisteria Cottage patio, under the century-old Wisteria vines, on Thurs., March 20. at 4761 Niagara Ave., in O.B. The Wisteria Vines covering the patio were in full bloom! The event included tasty treats, unique historical photos, artifacts, and surprises. This OBHS party & fundraiser was full of fun and showed wonderful photos of O.B.’s history.

Feb. 20, 2025, at Waters Edge Community Center, 1984 Sunset Cliffs Blvd., The Ocean Beach Historical Society presented: Romantic Victorians: Dating, Marriage, and Love. Lecturers Sandee Wilhoit, GQHF Historian, and Jamie Laird, GQHF volunteer, delved into the intricate customs and traditions surrounding dating, marriage, and love in the Victorian Era. Become versed in the strict courting rules, elaborate Victorian flirting techniques like the “Language of the Fan,” and all that was expected when both parties finally said, “I do.” We learned about Romanticism- a movement that gained momentum in the late 1800s- which emphasized inspiration, subjectivity, and the primacy of the individual and how it not only influenced Art and Literature, but also ideas and romantic notions of the Victorian era. Presenters and others dressed in Victorian Valentine Style. All OBHS Programs are FREE!

Eric DuVall gave a great Ocean Beach Historical Society program on JAN. 16, 2025, about “OCEAN BEACH’S HISTORIC CHURCH ROW” at Water Edge Community Center, 1984 Sunset Cliffs Blvd., as we kicked off another year of our Free Monthly lecture series. OBHS president Eric DuVall took a look back at the development of the community center of Ocean Beach, the lovely and iconic gateway, known for over a century as Church Row.  The many churches of Ocean Beach have played a prominent role in the development of the community since OB’s earliest days, several originally holding meetings in tents on the beach!  OB’s Church Row is a rare and wonderful resource which has lasted over 100 years! (Right Photo, Sunset Cliffs’ Church Row in circa 1970).

Thurs., Nov. 21, 2024, Ocean Beach Historical Society Presented “When Death Was a Hitchhiker: El Cajon’s Mass Murder”, by Author Richard Carrico, at at Waters Edge Community Center, 1984 Sunset Cliffs Blvd., O.B.
In 1958, an El Cajon man picked up a sixteen-year-old runaway off of old Highway 80 near Alpine. The young man lived with the Pendergast family for several weeks. Two weeks before Christmas, the troubled young man killed Lois Pendergast and her four children. Come along with local historian and true crime author Richard Carrico as he takes us back to the event that was then described as the “largest mass murder in San Diego history.” All OBHS Programs are FREE!

Oct.17, 2024, Halloween came early… as the Ocean Beach Historical Society presented Macabre Victorians Thurs., at Waters Edge Community Center, 1984 Sunset Cliffs Blvd., O.B. Presenters drew back the dark veil and so we could take a glimpse into Victorian Macabre with Gaslamp Quarter Historical Foundation Historian Sandee Wilhoit and GQHF volunteer Jamie Laird as they delve into some of the bizarre superstitions, intricate customs, and fascinating practices of our Victorian ancestors surrounding mourning and death. What were the highly regarded customs of “dressing for success” for both the new widows, and the new corpses? Did the Victorian obsession with “proper” mourning rituals influence the rise of Spiritualism, and what elements of Spiritualism still captivate our society today? What was the fascination behind “Post-Mortem Photography” and “Mummy Unwrapping Parties?” The answers awaited that night of Victorian Macabre! Some of us dressed in Victorian Macabre. All OBHS programs are free!

All had a great time celebrating with Ocean Beach Historical Society, Thurs., Sept. 19, at Water’s Edge Community Center. We celebrated the Centennial of the Ocean Beach Woman’s Club with presenters Faren Shear and Susan Winkie, and had cake! It is said that “the history of the Ocean Beach Woman’s Club is the History of Ocean Beach.” We found out: Who were these women? Who started the Club in Ocean Beach? How has the group evolved over the last century? Always FREE, come on down!

Aug. 15, 2024, The Ocean Beach Historical Society presented Teresa Burrows who gave a fasinating history of her family in Old Town, “Through my Fathers Eyes, Growing Up in Old Town San Diego”, at Water Edge Community Center, 1984 Sunset Cliff Blvd. All OBHS Programs are Free!

Thurs., July 18, 2024– The Ocean Beach Historical Society presented: A Willow Tree Becomes A Forest, 7 pm, at Waters Edge Community Center, 1984 Sunset Cliffs Blvd. OBHS Favorite
Dr. Russell Low returned with a continuing saga of the American west: “A Willow Tree Becomes a Forest,” the follow-up to his popular Three Coins from 2019. The book and the multimedia presentation explored the struggles of the early Chinese to put down roots and pursue dreams in the setting of the Chinese Exclusion Act. (1882-1943) For those who stayed in America, the path was filled with potholes that required perseverance, ingenuity, and humor to overcome. A Willow Tree Becomes a Forest is another great immigrant story about who we are and how we came to be here as Americans. All OBHS programs are free!

Great fun at the 44th Annual Ocean Beach Street Fair & Chili Cook-Off Saturday, June 22.
The Ocean Beach Street Fair & Chili Cook-Off Festival offered attendees fun in the sun for all ages, including the ever-popular Ocean Beach Historical Society Booth (near Hodads). Our booth had many historic photos (historic Pier photos), relics and more! Ocean Beach books and sale items were also available in our booth.

The OB Street Fair also includes continuous music, art, beachfront entertainment, shopping, food and more.
Entry to the Street Fair is always FREE!