SANTA CRUZ — For years, the San Lorenzo River mouth surf break in Santa Cruz has been celebrated by local surfers and history buffs as the location where surfing was first introduced to the continental United States more than a century ago. On Friday, state authorities stepped in to make that recognition official.
The California Historical Resource Commission unanimously agreed to designate the Three Princes’ Surf Site at the San Lorenzo River mouth as a California Historical Landmark. The application process was spearheaded by California State Parks but came after at least a decade of advocacy work among local community members and surfers.
“Together with our partners at the City of Santa Cruz and the Seabright and surfing communities, we are delighted to see the Three Princes’ surf site at the San Lorenzo Rivermouth formally recognized as a California Historical Landmark,” State Parks Santa Cruz District Superintendent Chris Spohrer told the Sentinel in a statement after the vote.
Spohrer said he had already reached out to the state’s Office of Historic Preservation for guidance on creating and installing a commemorative plaque and noted that “as soon as we have guidance we will work with our community partners to make it happen.”
The point of coastal confluence, sandwiched between the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk and a bluff that juts out into the water from East Cliff Drive, is where teenage Hawaiian princes David Kawānanakoa, Jonah Kūhiō Kalanianaʻole and Edward Keliʻiahonui paddled out to glide among the waves in the summer of 1885 during a break from their schooling at Saint Matthew’s Hall, an episcopal military academy in San Mateo.
“The Santa Cruz Daily Surf reported on July 20, 1885, that with an audience of thirty or forty swimmers, the princes surfed the San Lorenzo Rivermouth break and put on an exciting exhibition,” State Parks wrote in the application. “This event is noted as the first-time surfing was observed and documented outside of Polynesia.”
In the 140 years that have elapsed since, surfing has become a cornerstone of Santa Cruz’s economy and cultural identity, and the popularity of the sport has grown to epic proportions. According to the Surf Industry Members Association, more than 4.2 million people paddled out for a surf at least once in 2024. A report released in September by local nonprofit Save the Waves Coalition estimated that surfing brings in $194.7 million to the Santa Cruz County economy each year.
The river mouth location has also remained a highly desirable one for local wave riders, especially during winter months when strong storms create a sandbar that sends wave barrels along both directions of the coastline. Members of the local surf community and history enthusiasts have also continued to honor the legacy of the princes and the region’s spiritual connection with the water by organizing paddle outs at the discreet ocean enclave.
“What a wonderful historical landmark it’ll be,” said well-known surfboard shaper and Santa Cruz Surf Club President Bob Pearson. “It’s something that makes Santa Cruz even more special.”
The princes’ historic visit is the subject of an exhibition at the Santa Cruz Museum of Art and History, which features replicas of the more than 100-pound redwood boards that the princes used. The exhibition also sheds a light on the legacy of Antoinette Swan, the daughter of Hawaiian royalty who was living in Santa Cruz at the time of the epochal event and hosted the princes during their visit.
The river mouth proposal was one among 11 historic landmark applications considered by the state commission at its Friday meeting. All were approved in one motion that passed 5-0.
“Every Californian should take a glance to see the properties that are out there,” said Commissioner René Vellanoweth. “I think that’s what I get out of this. It’s the importance that we all understand, and we teach the future generations of kids out there that, ‘Wow, you’re surrounded by this incredibly significant beauty.’”
The landmark designation was pursued in parallel with another effort by State Parks aiming to revitalize the coastal bluff that overlooks the surf site into a sustainable park space. The bluff area, which will eventually be rebranded to Three Princes Park, has been envisioned to feature new and accessible pathways, picnic benches, seating, new fencing and native plants for erosion control. Eventually, the park will also prominently feature a monument or plaque honoring the Hawaiian surfing pioneers.
State Parks owns the park land and is the lead agency for the park effort, but it has collaborated with the city of Santa Cruz and a community group known as the Seabright Neighborhood Association.
“I think it’s great, I think it’s wonderful,” Bill Davis, a longtime member of the association’s board of directors, said in response to news of the historic designation vote.
Spohrer told the Sentinel last month that State Parks was in the process of applying for a coastal development permit from the California Coastal Commission for the project. That process could take about six months, he said, but State Parks is hoping to break ground by next summer.
“Santa Cruz is the birthplace of surfing on the U.S. mainland and today, our connection with this history and to Hawaii’s three princes who visited in 1885 to surf the San Lorenzo Rivermouth, is now memorialized as a California historic landmark,” Santa Cruz Director of Parks and Recreation Tony Elliot said in a statement. “Surfing is at the heart of Santa Cruz and we are thrilled to celebrate this historic designation with our partners at State Parks, our colleagues in Hawaii, and the Santa Cruz community.”