On Huntington Beach's Fifth Block of Main Street, the Afternoon Runs on Library Hours
Huntington Beach now has a second downtown destination a few blocks up from the pier, and it keeps a different schedule from the beach. On Wednesday, Sept. 30, the city officially opened a cultural hub at Triangle Park on the fifth block of Main Street. The hub ties together the Main Street Branch Library, the Huntington Beach International Surfing Museum now housed inside it, and the Huntington Beach Art Center across the street. The museum and library share a building, and the Art Center opens at noon. That makes Tuesday through Saturday afternoon the only stretch when all three doors are open. This month the stretch is shorter still, because both current Art Center exhibitions close on Oct. 24.
The opening date was chosen on purpose. The Main Street Library was dedicated on Sept. 30, 1951, and it served as the city's main library until the Central Library opened in 1975. The Daily Pilot reported that the birthday party doubled as the hub's launch. Mayor Casey McKeon and Mayor Pro Tem Butch Twining cut the ribbon, the Ramsey Brothers Band played, and muralist Melissa Murphy painted a wave canvas in Triangle Park. A 1947 Ford "Woody" sat parked out front.
Marisa Rodriguez, the city's library and cultural services manager, described the reasoning in practical terms. "The library, the art center and the surf museum each serve the community differently, but there's a connection among them," she said, adding that the hub lets people "experience those resources together, rather than as separate destinations."
The surf museum is the change that made the hub possible. The museum spent 36 years on Olive Avenue, from 1990 until this summer, in a space that executive director Peter "PT" Townend called "the box." The City Council approved the move 7-0 in March 2026. Townend traces the idea to a 2023 cup of coffee with Tony Strickland, then mayor and now a state senator. The museum reopened in late July with a reception that drew hundreds.
The extra space changes how the boards are shown. Surfboards can now stand upright, which the Olive Avenue building never allowed. Townend said the larger exhibition area was part of the reason for the move. At the July opening, the Daily Pilot reported the exhibit title as "The Birth of Pro Surfing: 50 Years of World Champions." The museum's own website now calls its featured show "World Surfing League: 50 Years of Professional Surfing," built from boards, memorabilia, photographs and stories.
Whichever title is on the wall, the opening coverage pointed to a few pieces worth finding:
Townend himself is part of the story the exhibit tells. He won the first pro surfing championship in 1976.
Anyone who knew the library before the move will see a different room. The museum takes up a large part of the main reading room, to the right of the entrance, and a gift shop sits to the left. Not everyone welcomed the arrangement. Elaine Keeley, president of the Friends of the Huntington Beach Public Library, said 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 and about noise. Resident David Rynerson questioned how much space the museum occupies and its $500 monthly rent. Museum chairman Fred Wilson said the agreement always gave the museum 50% of the main area, and he described the move as a win for both institutions. For a visitor, the result is easy to see. The used book sale is now in a back room, and the reading room's big windows look out over surf history.
The museum and library sit at the same address, 525 Main Street, and post the same hours: Tuesday through Thursday from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., Friday and Saturday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., and closed Sunday and Monday. The museum's website does not list an admission price and only describes a "very small fee." The Art Center at 538 Main Street opens its galleries Tuesday through Saturday at noon, keeps later hours on Tuesday evenings, and charges nothing for its exhibitions.
Put those schedules together and a weekday afternoon covers the most ground. Sunday is the hub's quietest day, and that matters this month. Downtown HB's Chili at the Beach takes over Main Street on Sunday, Oct. 11, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., with chili tasting, live music and a kids zone. On that Sunday the library and surf museum will be closed while the street outside is full.
A Saturday works better:
Families have a weekday option. The Main Street branch runs Family Story Time on Wednesdays at 10 and 11 a.m., Fun With Friends on Tuesdays from 10 to 11 a.m., and a Lego Club on the second Friday. Adults can join a Lunch Book Club on the third Thursday from noon to 1 p.m.
The Art Center's two current shows both close on Saturday, Oct. 24, 2026. That leaves under three weeks from today. "California Fibers: The Languages of Fiber" fills Galleries 1 through 3 and has been up since Aug. 15. The center describes it as an exploration of fiber as a form of communication through material, structure and process. Gallery 4 holds "VAALA Presents: Make it Home," which has run since Aug. 28. It shows work by Ann Lê, Hùng Việt Nguyễn and Thịnh Nguyễn, curated by An Lê and Brenda Huỳnh, and is presented with the Vietnamese American Arts and Letters Association.
The next show is "Inspired," the Artist Council exhibition, which runs Nov. 14 through Dec. 19 in Galleries 1 through 3. Its opening reception is Saturday, Nov. 14, from 6:30 to 9 p.m. An Art For Lunch program follows on Thursday, Dec. 3, from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Between Oct. 24 and Nov. 14, the hub's main draw will be the surf museum and the library.
City officials said plainly that they want a regular calendar here, beyond a one-day ribbon cutting. Dan Faltz, the city's senior cultural arts supervisor, said quarterly events are planned for the area and that he looks forward to more block parties. The Daily Pilot's report gave no dates for them. Last month the City Council voted 5-2 to bring back a resolution creating an Art Center advisory committee. The committee would have seven to nine residents who help schedule events, curate exhibitions with national and local artists, and coordinate programming with the surf museum. That resolution was set for council action on Tuesday, Oct. 6. McKeon described the goal in regional terms. "We want to compete with Newport Beach and Dana Point and Laguna Beach when they have their art festivals," he said.
For now, the Downtown HB calendar sets the rhythm of the street around the hub. After Chili at the Beach on Oct. 11, Surf City Spooktacular turns Main Street into a Halloween celebration on Saturday, Oct. 31. Halloween falls on a Saturday this year, so the library and surf museum will be open until 5 p.m. that day. Magic on Main Street follows on Tuesday, Nov. 24, from 4 to 7 p.m. That Tuesday, the museum and library stay open until 6 p.m., and the Art Center keeps its later Tuesday hours during the "Inspired" run.
The fifth block has kept these institutions for decades. What changed on Sept. 30 is that they now share one stretch of sidewalk, one afternoon schedule and one plan for future events.
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