Beach Boys Historic Landmark

The Beach Boys Historic Landmark commemorates the site of the childhood home of Brian, Carl, and Dennis Wilson of the Beach Boys. The monument, located at 3701 W. 119th Street, Hawthorne, California, stands on the site of their childhood home, which was demolished in the mid-1980s during construction of the Century Freeway.

Music industry notables such as Dick Clark and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame were among the letter-writers who supported the BBHL's landmark application process. Its status as a California State Historic Landmark was granted by the California State Historic Resources Commission in a unanimous vote on August 6, 2004, in Ontario, California, and the monument was dedicated on May 20, 2005.

The image face of the landmark was inspired by the album cover of "Surfer Girl." The current lineup of the Beach Boys at that time was Brian, Carl, and Dennis; their cousin Mike Love; and David Marks. Al Jardine, the group's original guitarist, would later rejoin the band soon before David's departure. Six 45 gold records circle the base of the landmark with the names of the six Beach Boys represented on the monument's image face. The names of donors, Wilson friends and family members, and the Beach Boys Landmark Committee can be found engraved in the monument bricks. The construction work was undertaken by Scott Wilson, Dennis's adopted son.

The landmark plaque reads:

It was here in the home of parents Murry and Audree that Brian, Dennis, and Carl Wilson grew to manhood and developed their musical skills. During Labor Day Weekend 1961, they, with cousin Mike Love and friend Al Jardine, gathered here to record a tape of their breakthrough song "Surfin'." This marked the birth of the rock group known worldwide as the Beach Boys and the beginning of an historic musical legacy that would change the recording industry. The music of the Wilsons broadcast to the world an image of California as a place of sun, surf and romance. Brian Wilson would become a legendary producer, arranger and songwriter.

Under a month after the unveiling of the landmark it was targeted by graffiti vandals. [cite web | title=Beach Boys monument in Calif. vandalized | publisher=usatoday.com | url=http://www.usatoday.com/life/music/2005-06-18-beach-boys-monument_x.htm | accessdate=18 June | accessyear=2008]

References

External links

*http://www.beachboyslandmark.org