HISTORY: Compromise reached on Velzy surf shop plaque
by Mark McDermott A plaque memorializing the spot where Dale Velzy operated what many believe was the world’s first surf shop was approved by the Manhattan Beach City Council Tuesday night, ending a two-month delay caused by a few local historians questioning the veracity of the claim. The council solved the dilemma with the insertion of two words into the plaque language — denoting the plaque’s proposed location, at 117 Manhattan Beach Boulevard, as the site “one of” the world’s first surfboard shops. “That’s what the issue is, whether this was the world’s first,” said Councilperson Steve Napolitano. “It’s certainly one of the first. I think we can agree on that.” The South Bay Boardriders Club and resident Jacquelyn May proposed a plaque at a location near where Velzy’s shop was once located, outside the present-day Strand House restaurant, and in March gained approval from City staff for a small plaque on the sidewalk that said, “Dale ‘Hawk’ Velzy opened the world’s first known surf shop on this site in 1950.’” But Gary McAulay, former president of the Manhattan Beach Historical Society, brought forward several objections to the claim that gave the City Council pause. McAulay…
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