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SHACC Announces Milestone Move to Laguna Beach

As SHACC Prepares for a New Chapter, the San Clemente Location Will Close to the Public October 9th.

After more than two decades in the hills of San Clemente, the Surfing Heritage and Culture Center (SHACC) is moving to a beautiful building in downtown Laguna Beach, just 200 yards from the sand at Main Beach. For SHACC, this move is a homecoming of sorts. Founder Dick Metz not only grew up in Laguna, he also opened SHACC’s first headquarters there in the late 1990s.

“San Clemente has served us incredibly well, but our intention from the beginning was to showcase surf culture in a premier location one day, and that day has finally come,” says Metz, 96. “I couldn’t be more excited because our new home is right where everything started in California, right across the street.”

Laguna Beach became one of California’s earliest surfing hubs a century ago, thanks to its proximity to Duke Kahanamoku’s favorite wave at Corona del Mar. During the 1920s, the famed Hawaiian swimmer—already a three-time Olympic gold medalist—was working in Hollywood and often stayed in Laguna. During that roaring decade, Duke introduced dozens of California’s best swimmers to surfing. Among them were a handful of young men who occasionally babysat little Dick Metz on the beach in front of his father’s burger stand.

“During the Great Depression my dad would pay those guys with a burger and a Coke just to keep an eye on me. They ended up taking me everywhere,” recalls Metz.

Dick’s first board was a hand-me-down from George “Peanuts” Larson. Today, that board is one of hundreds on display at SHACC. Metz became an early collector of old surfboards “because they had tons of sentimental value to me.” After spending 30 years running retail stores in Hawaii, where he befriended Duke and his famous brothers, Metz joined fellow collector Spencer Croul to make their collections visible to the public.

Twenty years later, SHACC has grown into much more. Often called the Smithsonian of Surfing, it is home to the world’s largest collection of historic wood surfboards as well as extensive archives of surf literature, art, artifacts, photographs, magazines, movies, and music. It has become the go-to center for surf researchers worldwide.

To prepare for the move, SHACC’s San Clemente location will officially close to the public on October 9, 2025. While staff will remain onsite carefully updating the collection and developing exhibits for the new location, public access will end.

If all goes as planned, we’ll be in the new building by year’s end.

“This is a major undertaking,” said Jeff Alter, SHACC’s Executive Director. “We’ll be going through every archive we have—including our collection of more than 800 surfboards—along with thousands of artifacts, photos, and documents. The goal is to curate and reimagine our new space in Laguna Beach with fresh energy and exciting changes, while honoring the legacy that SHACC represents.”

The new Laguna Beach location will feature expanded exhibition opportunities, immersive storytelling, and dynamic programming that continue SHACC’s mission: to preserve, educate, and celebrate surfing’s heritage and cultural impact.

CURRENT EXHIBITS

BLUE GLASS: The Life and Lens of Surfer Magazine’s Lost Photographer, Ron Stoner

Visit the Exhibit
July – Sept 2025

The heartbreak of Ron Stoner’s career is that it was as brief as it was brilliant. Born in 1944, Ron discovered surfing in 1958—just as surf shops were emerging, foam and fiberglass were replacing balsa, and Gidget was still a year from the big screen. Surfing’s rise was woven into the postwar California Dream, fueled by optimism, opportunity, and a new lifestyle built around fun and freedom.
Learning to surf and shoot photos at the same time, Stoner’s lens captured the innocence and wonder that defined early ‘60s beach culture. By 17, he was already on the masthead at Surfing Illustrated, one of the early magazines of the era.
As mass media shifted to color with CinemaScope and Kodachrome, nothing looked more inviting than sunlit beaches and vibrant youth. Stoner’s eye for color, composition, and emotion elevated surf photography, making every frame a celebration of the sport and its spirit. By 1965, he’d convinced Surfer magazine founder John Severson he was ready for “the bible of the sport”—and delivered his first cover that July: Bill Andrews racing across a shimmering blue wedge at Black’s Beach, the wave itself stealing the spotlight.
That was just the start. Between 1967 and 1968, Stoner produced six consecutive Surfer covers, his images capturing the energy, innocence, and color of California’s golden surf era like no other.
But as the innocence of the era faded, Stoner’s life began to echo the restlessness of the era. Tragically, he vanished under mysterious circumstances, and more than fifty years later, his haunting story only deepens his legend.
Join us at SHACC’s new exhibit, “Blue Glass: The Life and Lens of Surfer Magazine’s Lost Photographer, Ron Stoner.” Explore his legacy, see newly unearthed photos, and hear from those who knew him.

“Ron carried SURFER. He did line-up shots, people shots, action, water, mood stuff, everything. He was the first well-rounded surf photographer. Before Ron, most guys just sat on the beach with whatever equipment they could afford and did their best. Stoner was the first real professional. He did it all, and he did it really, really well.” – Jeff Divine, renowned surf photographer

“Stoner picked up shades and hues that everyone else missed. He buffed and polished the everyday surf-world greens and blues until they looked new again. He did for Southern California surf breaks what artist David Hockney later did for Southern California swimming pools, and to the same effect: you didn’t want to just look at their work, you longed to step inside and become part of it.” – Matt Warshaw, Encyclopedia of Surfing