HUNTINGTON BEACH in 1926.

If you’re driving that stretch of Pacific Coast Highway in Huntington Beach north towards Long Beach, you’re passing along some of the most valuable real estate in California. Tucked inside “Surf City” are some homes selling for upwards of $5 million, and many more “affordable” at only $3 or $4 million.

Such a traveler might find it hard to imagine this beautiful “Surf City” was one of the ugliest and least desirable places to live in all of otherwise affluent Orange County.

The Huntington Beach Oil Field dates back to 1920 and the extraction of the greasy stuff had a big impact on the growth of the community. The towering oil derricks arrayed along PCH in the downtown area brought in lots of money to investors, but also made parts of the small community look tawdry and unwelcoming.

While the rest of Orange County was booming in 1960, the population of the city was only 11,492. That was just about the same as Stanton.

A turning point was the 1961 cleanup by the State of California of what had been called “Tin Can Beach,” transforming it into Bolsa Chica State Beach. And as voracious developers gobbled up lots in inland Orange County – boosting the populations of Garden Grove and Westminster, for example – that made the vacant parcels in Huntington Beach – except for scattered oil wells and pumpers – suddenly more valuable.

The delay in development was actually good luck; homes built earlier were typically two-to-three-bedroom ranch-style houses. Now came the popularity of more expensive two-story, three-to-four bedroom homes.

By 1970, HB’s population had reached 115,000 and is now nearing 200,000. Sometimes the tortoise does beat the hare.