by Garth Meyer
The 25th-anniversary season of the “Cruise at the Beach!” car show at the Redondo waterfront began with a jammed parking lot Friday, June 13, at the site of what was a dirt/gravel stretch during the height of the Harbor Drive cruising era of the 1970s.
Last year, 600 cars showed up to open the season, too many to fit, so founder Daryl Boyd and helpers rotated them in, just like this year, which counted between 550 and 600 cars, based on the number of passes given.
“It’s not surprising,” Boyd said of the event’s continued success. “Harbor Drive was a big cruising spot. The whole pretense for starting this was revisiting Harbor Drive cruising days. My grandfather, Glen Boyd, was a Ford dirt-drack racer in the ‘20s; Model T-adapted roadsters. My dad was a hotrodder in the ‘50s. This started as a family tradition.”
The first step to its creation was Boyd approaching the owners of the old Ruby’s Diner (now the public California Surf Club restaurant) to ask to hold the events in their parking lot. The shows debuted July 28, 2000, drawing 125 cars through flyers and word-of-mouth. Boyd stood at a table in front of Ruby’s with a P.A. system.
“We didn’t even have an e-mail list,” he said.
Each summer for the next 20 years, the cruise nights brought in 200-to 250 cars, Then, after a cancelled year because of the pandemic and Ruby’s closing, Boyd brought it back and it grew to 350 to 400 cars. Live music also made its debut then.
Bands now play twice per month. This year began with “Electric Caravan” last Friday, a nod to the days of local venues Sweetwater and The Smoke Stack/Fleetwood, formerly across the street in the old Triangle Shopping Center, where Sonesta Hotel/the former Gold’s Gym are today.
Acts who played on one or more of these stages include Van Halen, Journey, the Ramones, Dokken and Black Flag.
Two years ago, the opening night of “Cruise at the Beach!” drew 400 cars.
“If it runs and you can get it down there, bring it,” Boyd said.
Last week included a ‘63 Volkswagen bus, a mint pine green Ford 1947 Super Deluxe woody with a 351 Windsor motor, and an obscure British-make car, among hundreds of other novelties and familiarities.
“The night was big. Just like we anticipated. This is California’s biggest weekly car culture event,” Boyd said, a former guitarist in Sunset Strip bands of the ‘70s and ‘80s, now a Redondo Beach real estate broker. He used the car show in the early days to promote his business.
The cruise-in runs each Friday from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. Awards are presented at 6:30.
“For something that stands out,” Boyd said. “Cars of interest.”
The five 2025 Opening Night honorees were David and Joshua Perahia (1970 Plymouth Barracuda), Bob June (1956 Volkswagen convertible, Rob Smith (1975 Ford Bronco), Rabe Ruiz (1959 Chevrolet El Camino), Robert and Debbie Maldorado (1955 Chevy, model not designated) and Raymond Neely (1962 Chevy Impala).
“Cruise at the Beach!” supports charities such as Samaritan’s Purse, Child Fund International and Wounded Warrior Project.
The peak of South Bay cruising changed when, at the dawn of the ‘80s, Redondo Beach converted Harbor Drive from its loop at Captain Kidd’s to the current turn-out leading to Catalina Avenue – right turn only.
“Cruising was turning into more racing and brawling,” Boyd said. “I designate it as a historic thing, because it will never happen again.”
The loop at the other end of the cruise route was Pier Avenue in Hermosa Beach, when cars were still allowed. That changed in 1997 when lower Pier Avenue was closed to traffic. ER
Darryl has a great franchise. I hope that it’s able to stay in Redondo!