Flashback: Huntington Beach

At the turn of the 20th century, the oceanfront town of Pacific City, which sat along what would become the Pacific Coast highway, would have been the perfect setting for a western by director John Ford. This photo was taken in 1904, the year the first pier opened and the community renamed itself Huntington Beach in honor of Henry E. Huntington, who brought the Pacific Electric Railway to the coast. Today, Pacific City is the name of a new 191,000-square-foot retail, dining and entertainment destination. A lot has changed, but the views of the Huntington Beach Pier and the Pacific Ocean are still delighting visitors and locals alike.