Happy New Year, HB – and a visit into that little building on PCH…

First of all, wishing you a very Happy and Healthy 2016, Huntington Beach. We’ve had over 45,000 unique visitors in the first few months of Surf City Chronicles, and are anxious to keep telling stories that matter to the community in the new year.

Now, you’ve no doubt passed this building many times on PCH at 17th, right? Have you ever wondered what it was?

As it turns out, the small, beige structure dates back to the late 1920s-early 1930s and is a state-operated office which was built to collect royalties from several state-owned oil concerns.

And today, it functions in the exact same capacity. Interestingly, inside the building in a bank-quality vault, where the cash would be kept way back when, before things like digital transfer technology.

It’s a non-nonsense look to the past of Huntington Beach; a safe that is today used for storage but at one time was where cash royalties would be held for pickup.

So next you pass by, now you’ll know just what that little building not only used to be used for, but how it still plays a part in our city’s history.