  Imperial Beach
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 80 Imperial Beach Tips.113 Imperial Beach Photos.0 Imperial Beach Videos. Imperial Beach Pages by lmkluque
| Page Views: 16,415 Last Visit to Imperial Beach: February, 2006 | Not Popular and Not Expensive by lmkluque - last update: Feb 13, 2006 |
IMPERIAL BEACH: SOUTH OF SAN DIEGO, CA. Welcome to my Imperial Beach page,
Most southwesternly point of the continental USA, IB is located about fourteen miles south of downtown San Diego and two or three miles north of Tijuana, Mexico.
The US Navy had an air base here, Reem Field, and the town was home mainly to it's personnel. The base closed and is now a US Marine Corps Outlying Landing Field, used mainly for Helicopters.
Second to the Naval Base, the beach is the biggest draw, but it probably seems to be the least interesting beach in all of San Diego County. However, for those interested in the history of surfing in the USA, this might be the place you'd like to visit.
In the creation of Portwood Pier Plaza the city officials of Imperial Beach have created a monument to the big waves of IB that became testing ground, from 1930 to present, for those famous and not so famous surfers, planning to compete in Hawaii.
Imperial Beach is also the home of internationally known, Novak Design Surfboards. Beach, surfers and surfboards, what could be more Californian than that?
Details, such as how much bigger the waves are in IB, are not widely known and too often this beach is overlooked.
So, if seclusion sounds interesting to you, this is your kind of place! The city of Imperial Beach is not very attractive, but it does have a few places I like and here I'll share them with you.
Photo Comment:
The arch at the beginning of IB pier, with it's colorful acrylic surfboards "standing in the sand," and titled: "SURF HENGE," was created and designed by Malcom Jones. A fitting monument to all surfers, great and small who reconized the beauty of Imperial Beach, California.
Along Seacoast Drive there are shops, restaurants and motels which have been spruced up for tourist trade, now it's the nicest part of I. B., and the accommodations are probably the least expensive of any place near a beach in San Diego County.
I hope you enjoy your visit,
Linda |
|  | City Facts! Today the population of Imperial Beach is about 30,000 and one interesting fact is that Imperial Beach can never expand. The Pacific Ocean, the San Diego Bay and the Tijuana River Valley refuge area surround Imperial Beach on all sides. It could go up, but seems the voters don't really care for high rise buildings. You might notice that when visiting.
It was in June 1887 that a real estate developer got ahold of the area then known as, South San Diego Beach. It was to be a summer retreat for people then living in the Imperial Valley, so this area was named, "Imperial Beach."
It wasn't until 1909 that sidewalks were installed and a wooden pier built.
About 1917 the U.S. Army had developed the Aviation Field, which is now Reem Field operated by the U.S. Marines.
Allen "Dempsey" Holder began big wave surfing at The Sloughs in 1937. The Imperial Beach Civic Group was formed in 1945 and by 1956 the city was created and the beach became a mecca for the surfing community.
The Fishing Pier was rebuilt in 1960. After a huge rain storm destroyed the pier, again, it was rebuilt in December 1988.
Today, the city of IB is working hard to attract businesses to add to the economy and to build up the quality of the beach area to attract tourists. I hope they succeed, but will be sad if the casual, friendly attitude changes, maybe it won't. |
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| Pros: | "Not So Expensive Beach Town" | | Cons: | "Not So Active Beach Town" | | In A Nutshell: | "Quiet and Inexpensive!" |
lmkluque's Imperial Beach Travel Tips
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 Comments for lmkluque about Imperial Beach | | | | |
SLLiew Wed Jan 16, 2008 04:26 UTC
Great beach destination. Interesting tips like sand castle contest and facilities for dog owners. Cheers, SL :) | ULsterkw Thu Jun 21, 2007 07:37 UTC
The Plank's liquor license is fine now, to avoid confusion | Annapet Thu Mar 25, 2004 16:53 UTC
Thanks for your IB page, it brought back memories... | shrimp56 Thu Mar 25, 2004 16:47 UTC
Those sandcastles are STUPENDOUS!!!! I enjoyed seeing what we missed on our quick drive-thru last Saturday :))) |
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