Collection: Sea Breeze Auto Court Huntington Beach

“A Fine Place for the REST of Your Life”

 In the late-1920s, as automobile culture began to grow, “auto courts” became popular vacation spots for drivers all over America.  Originally spots where vacationers could simply pull in and pitch their own tents, by the 1930s they began developing more accommodations including cabins and places for trailers to hitch. During the Great Depression in the early 1930s, places like this were popular because they afforded inexpensive vacations in interesting places.

Huntington Beach was the site of one of the most popular auto courts in California, if not the United States: The Sea Breeze Auto Court and Trailer Park. Alter the 1930s and even through the 1950s, it flourished along Ocean Ave., today Pacific Coast Highway right near first street with the Pacific City shopping center is located today.  The campground was originally on property leased by the city from the Huntington Beach Company.  Soon after, a gentleman named William Ebert bought out the city, opened a gas station on the corner of the First and Ocean, and the Sea Breeze was born.  It’s estimated that over 1 million people stayed here over the years, bringing people to Huntington Beach from all over the country.

 Sea Breeze billed itself as the “Largest Auto Court and trailer Park in California,” featuring 65 cottages and space for 600 trailers. It had its own market, café, dance hall, electricity and more. Cottages during the 1930s heyday ranged from $1 to $5 per day, and trailers and camping was 35-50 cents per day. Their slogan? “A Fine Place for the REST of Your Life.”

 They could accommodate several thousand people per day/night, and during peak season, they often did.

 The circa-1935 logo featured in this collection is one of our favorites at the Lost Landmarks, a whimsical and charming reminder of the days when road trips were exotic adventures and life was simpler and slower.