Huntington Beach Apartment Reviews

Read Huntington Beach apartment reviews. Renters share their first hand experiences from living in apartments you want to know about. These apartment reviews help you choose wisely before you rent.

Huntington Beach Information

In 1902, a group of farmers and investors decided to build a residential/resort community on the bluff above a popular Shell Beach. Spurred on by the success of Atlantic City on the East Coast, they named their venture "Pacific City." Although the boom of the 1880's was long over, the entrepreneurs hoped to capitalize on a new one developing in coastal resort cities like Long Beach and Newport Beach. However, the first speculators did not have the resources to carry out successful promotion. Soon they sold to a group of Los Angeles businessmen, ultimately including Henry E. Huntington. Huntington was expanding his Pacific Electric Railway then and was ready to bring it into coastal Orange County. On July 4, 1904, the first Red Cars of the Pacific Electric rolled in to the new city and its name was changed to Huntington Beach.

After an initial land rush, typical of the coastal area, the little city grew slowly, but steadily. By February of 1909, it was incorporated with Charles W. Warner, David O. Stewart, Matthew E. Helme, Charles M. Howard and Ed. Manning elected as the first Trustees. In 1911, the first building ordinance was passes and formal records of the city's expansion began.

Most of the commercial buildings in the downtown were built during the first fifteen years as were schools and a Carnegie library. The existent bungalow church at 6th and Orange is one of those built along Orange Avenue by the city's first residents.

In 1906, city boosters attracted the Methodist convention away from Long Beach by donating a large camp site and building a 3,000 seat auditorium for that denomination. For over ten years, visitors and year around residents flocked to the gospel meetings there each summer as well as to other conventions like those of the GAR (Grand Army of the Republic). Beach recreation facilities, including the pier (1914) were built to establish Huntington Beach as a popular resort.

About 1914, an Americana (encyclopedia) salesman bought land from the Huntington Beach Company to subdivide into small lots and give away premiums with the purchase of their book sets, As land sales to individuals were slow, the land developers were delighted to be rid of the surplus land which was unsuitable for housing because of its deep gullies. Their relief probably turned to dismay when oil was discovered on the property, known as the "encyclopedia lots", in 1920.

The discovery well, near Goldenwest and Clay Streets, was modest. The second, however, was a mighty gusher, blowing in at 2,000 barrels of oil per day. Overnight, the composition of the community was changed.

Housing of all kinds developed rapidly for the incoming population. A tent city was erected on the abandoned Methodist campground. Tiny cottages were built on 25 foot lots to house oil workers and their families. Second stories of commercial building were remodeled from office space to rooming houses for single laborers, and even barns and garages were converted into rental housing.

Large homes had been built along the ocean front earlier, representing the choice residential neighborhood. Now this section expanded inland between 17th and 23rd streets. As the oil field behind the neighborhood became defined, speculators and residents realized that there was probably oil there too. Bowing to public pressure, the City Council agreed to allow drilling of this "town lot" area in April of 1926. Within a short time some 300 dwellings were moved, some as far as Fullerton, old-timers say, to make way for the oil rigs and production equipment.