CWA Inc. | Imperial Beach Outdoor Surfboard Museum



	CWA team members, Dan Beck and Yad Hamawandi examines all 25 surfboards as fabricator, John O'Connell looks on in anticipation of the onsite installation.		Surfboard designers are innovators who influence surfing trends and help spawn new surfing styles. As a part of Old Palm Avenue’s economic stimulus, an “outdoor surfboard museum” was invented as a first of its kind to pay homage to Imperial Beach’s famous big-wave surf break, the Tijuana Slough, and the area’s surfing heritage. This tribute to 25 prominent shapers, selected to represent a span from ancient times to 1985, includes nine local
	shapers. The “line-up” starts at 3rd Street continuing chronologically on both sides of the avenue to Seacoast Boulevard, ceremoniously pointing the way to the beach – another way to remember “Imperial” in this coastal city’s name. Southern California is surfing central sharing coastal waters with Baja California. Imperial Beach, generally referred to as that southwestern-most city of the United States, is midway along the Mexican-U.S. coastline. Surf culture runs deeply and passionately through several generations in the region making this genre a multi-billion dollar business with a lot to gain for this type of community attraction. Creating the “outdoor surfboard

museum” brought together collaboration among City of Imperial Beach civic leaders, dedicated staff, civil

engineering consultants, brand consultants, landscape designers, fabricators and a skilled installation crew. The

redevelopment effort provided the inertia for a thematic district to continue cultivating this surfing heritage for

many years to come. Funding economic development projects of this nature requires skillful communication to

the public. The team of Nasland Engineering, Parterre Landscape Architecture, and the environmental design

and branding firm CWA Inc., conducted a series of workshop presentations resulting in a favorable vote by the

mayor and city council approving CWA’s concept for an “outdoor surfboard museum”. Then began the surfboard

selection and design process, followed by comprehensive verifications and authorizations to feature the

selected surfboard designers. Design bid documents were submitted, approved,and hire out to Fabrication Arts

to fabricate and install each of the 25 surfboards. Special thanks go to John Warner, Leonard Lueras, Andy

Anderson, Barry Haun, California Surfing Museum, Surfing Heritage Museum, Surfer’s Journal, and the entire list

of surfboard designers included in our museum.

Photos:
The Making
Ribbon Cutting Ceremony

Press:
Union Tribune: Salute to Surfboards
CBS 8: Surf's Up! Surf Board Sculptures In Imperial Beach

For further Information, contact:
Calvin Woo
4015 Ibis Street
San Diego, California 92103
619.299.0431 x17
cwoo@cwaincsandiego.com

CWA designers, Sivly Ly and Yad Hamawandi inspect the first surfboard installed on March 5, 2009.