Ocean Beach

Ocean Beach was given its name by developers Billy Carlson and Frank Higgins in 1887. They opened the real estate firm of Carlson & Higgins and proceeded to develop Ocean Beach.

The pair developed the Cliff House, a resort hotel, and subdivided the area into lots. To drum up business for their subdivision, Carlson and Higgins organized a variety of promotional activities, including mussel roasts (thus the early names of "Mussel Beach") and band concerts. Despite their efforts, the development did not do well, because it was 2-1/2 hours by carriage from downtown San Diego. They rented a locomotive, but by that time, the boom ended and the development was put on hold. The Ocean Beach Railroad, launched in April 1888, was a casualty of the economic decline. Passengers could take a ferry from San Diego to Roseville in Point Loma to ride the train to the Cliff House. Later, Higgins' partner committed suicide and the Cliff House burned down from a fallen chandelier in 1898. Carlson sold the Ocean Beach development to an Eastern financier, and its development would wait another 20 years for permanent rail service – trolley cars – to arrive, carrying riders from Ocean Beach to Old Town. A wooden bridge, built in 1914 across the San Diego River flood-control channel between Mission Beach and Ocean Beach, was demolished in January 1951, thereby cutting off through traffic to Ocean Beach from the Mission Beach and Pacific Beach communities.

But Carlson and Higgins were not the first to file a subdivision map in Ocean Beach. Theirs was filed with the city on May 28, 1887, according to research done by librarian Rhoda E. Kruse. Earlier, on April 22 of the same year, J.M. DePuy filed "DePuy's Subdivision" on 15 blocks in the northern portion of OB.

The northern end of Ocean Beach was once dominated in the early 20th century by the Wonderland Amusement Park, which opened on July 4, 1913 and was constructed on the sand at Voltaire and Abbott streets. It boasted a large roller coaster, dance pavilion, large menagerie, roller skating rink, merry-go-round, children's playground and 22,000 lights outlining the buildings. Wonderland was a popular attraction until 1916, when most of it was washed away by high tides. Some of the bungalows built as tourist accommodations atop the cliffs on either side of Niagara Avenue are still in use as businesses and homes.

The small cottages, bungalows, single-family homes and two-storied apartments in the residential areas, were filled with college students from several local colleges, joined by a good number of sailors, retirees and middle-class families. With the dredging and development of Mission Bay and the dismantling of the Ocean Beach-Mission Beach bridge, O.B. became geographically isolated from the rest of San Diego and the other beach communities, until the construction of Interstate 8, which ended in O.B. The Ocean Beach Pier was built during the early '60s, adding to the attraction of the community's waterfront.

Surfing, as a sport and recreation began to take hold in O.B., and became a prominent feature of the community by the early and mid-1960s. Major surfing contests were held at the end of Newport Avenue, a number of local surfers made it to the big-time and several well-known surf shops prospered (Duke Dana for one). Shooting the pier on a surfboard became a rite of passage for many young locals.

Each spring, Ocean Beach would become a favorite local beach hang-out for many of the area's youth. As in many youth beach towns, friction arose between the youth and local police. 1968 was a particularly explosive year, as there were well-known police-youth skirmishes at the beach during Easter weekend and Memorial Day weekends that year.

Ocean Beach was once known as the Haight-Ashbury of San Diego.The community became an attraction for hippies, who eventually became accepted by many local business establishments. The Black headshop opened on Newport Avenue. Soon to follow was an organic food store – the People's Market – on Voltaire Street.

Beginning in the early '70s, local development and land interests pressed for the development of Ocean Beach's oceanfront, with plans for tourist-oriented resorts, hotels and a marina outlined in the Ocean Beach Precise Plan. With the passage of a 30-foot (9.1 m) height limit in 1972 and the re-writing of the Precise Plan, the development plans for the waterfront were abandoned.

In 1978 the Ocean Beach Mainstreet Association (OBMA) was formed with 25 paid members. The OBMA organized Ocean Beach's first Street Fair in 1981, an event that continues today. During the 90s the OBMA co-ordinated improvement projects for Newport Avenue including a tile project, store front improvements, and a Veteran's Plaza at the foot of Newport Avenue. During the 1990s the OBMA trademarked the names "Ocean Beach Street Fair, Chili Cook-off and Fireworks Festival" as well as the name "Ocean Beach Farmer's Market", two regular community events. Every Wednesday Newport Avenue between Bacon St and Cable St is closed to vehicle traffic while The Ocean Beach Farmer's Market is held.