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1949 Map of Seal Beach

Name: 1949 Topographic Map of Seal Beach
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1962
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1962

About this map

The Pacific Ocean coastline between Long Beach and Huntington Beach shows a landscape defined by wetlands and emerging aviation infrastructure in the years following World War II. A massive Naval Reservation dominates the interior marshlands, surrounding Anaheim Bay and Sunset Bay. This era is marked by the presence of numerous private sporting clubs, including the Cazzadores Gun Club, Lomita Gun Club, and La Bolsa Chica Gun Club, which highlight the region's history as a coastal wetland hunting ground.

Transportation and energy production are central to the area's development, with the Pacific Electric railway running parallel to the Coast Highway. To the east, the East Long Beach Airport and Meadowlark Golf Club stand near extensive fields of Oil Wells in the Las Bolsas land grant area. These industrial and recreational features contrast with established beach communities like Seal Beach and Surfside, capturing a moment before the intense suburbanization of Orange County.