This archival footage of Killer Dana is some seriously classic stuff. Photo: Screenshot
Surfing would look wildly different in Southern California if Killer Dana had never gone extinct. We only know, or at least imagine what we’re missing because it’s gone, but there’s no doubt that a right-hander holding the size it was capable of holding, all centered in an accessible haven for surfers, would be a scene during south swells today.
The construction of the Dana Point Harbor put an end to that in 1966, of course. It was a pivotal moment in the history of surfing in the Golden State simply because of what it took away from us. And now we’re left with an endless supply of what ifs several decades later. What if Killer Dana still existed? We’ll never know.
Here’s some archival footage from Dana Point before that development reshaped the area. It includes some clips of longboarding at Killer Dana in the late 1950s. It shows “a peaceful paradise for surfers and beach lovers alike,” that was “the early spark of a surf culture that would later inspire the Beach Boys and define California’s coastal identity.”
It’s just a glimpse of what used to be. But it’s impossible to watch without asking “what coulda been?”
