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Surf's always up at Texas Surf Museum
N ot all surfboards come from California.
The Texas coast
has its fair share
of surfboard makers too, and the Texas Surf Museum in Corpus Christi is celebrating those craftsmen in an exhibit Feb. 16 to May 18.
Titled "Meet Your Maker - Texas Born and Bred Surfboard Shapers," the exhibit showcases the work of a dozen Texas folks who create handmade surfboards.
The public has the unique opportunity of viewing, sideby side, the work of shapers from all parts of the state: northern coast, central coast, southern coast and inland.
Another new exhibit at the museum focuses on Texas surfers who live many miles from the coast. The Inland Texas Surfers Project is a collection of fine photographic portraits of landlocked surfers all over the Lone Star state.
Created in his spare time by senior Dallas Morning News staff photographer Erich Schlegel, the exhibit showcases surfers who in some cases live hundreds of miles from the Gulf coast but remain passionate about their sport. The photos will remain on display until May 18.
Texas' only museum dedicated to the sport of surfing stands at 309 N. Water St., next-door to the Executive Surf Club eatery, in downtown Corpus Christi.
The surf museum explores surfing's general history and showcases the Lone Star State's unique place in that history. The museum contains hundreds of photos and artifacts that tell the story of how surfing came to Texas more than 70 years ago and eventually flourished. An estimated 20,000 surfers now inhabit Texas.
The surf museum exhibits dozens of classic boards dating from the early 1960s through the mid-1970s, plus replicas of wood boards made in the 1930s and '40s. The museum also contains scores of other pieces of surf memorabilia, much of it rare, including original surf movie posters, surf art, and collectible surf music albums. A mock garage shop, complete with the tools used for making surfboards, stands along one wall of the museum; and so does a small theater where free surf movies are shown every day.
Admission to the museum is free.
Hours are 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday. Hours will be extended during Spring Break. For details, call 361-888-SURF (7873) or 361- 882-2364. On the Web: www. texassurfmuseum.com
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