Hermosa Beach in Los Angeles County, California — The American West (Pacific Coastal)

John "Whitney" Guild

Surfers Walk of Fame

— Honorary Award —

John "Whitney" Guild Marker image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Craig Baker

1. John "Whitney" Guild Marker

Inscription.
John "Whitney" Guild, a third generation Hermosan, was born into a surfing family. As a pro surfer he had a top 16 AAAA ranking and his contest victories span five decades with over 30 wins. He was a team rider for Greg Noll, Bing, and Jacobs Surfboards. He is one of the early tow-in surfers and rode a fifty foot wave in Maui at age fifty. Guild set the Utah Hang Gliding altitude record at 12,000 feet and has saved lives in the mountains and oceans of the world.
Inducted July 2007

Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Air & Space • Sports.

Location. 33° 51.698′ N, 118° 24.22′ W. Marker is in Hermosa Beach, California, in Los Angeles County. It can be reached from Pier Avenue west of The Strand bike path. Located on the Hermosa Beach Pier. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 1 Pier Ave, Hermosa Beach CA 90254, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in Greater Los Angeles

and in the Transverse Ranges.

It is also on the American Pacific Coast.

Globally, it is in North America,

on the Ring of Fire,

in the Pacific Rim,

in the Western Hemisphere,

in the Western World,

and in the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once New Spain

and also Mexico’s Alta California.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 2 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies: Hermosa Beach Pier (about 500 feet away, measured in a direct line); The First Bank of Hermosa Beach (approx. 0.2 miles away); The Metropolitan Theater (approx. 0.2 miles away); Site of The Courthouse, City Jail, Police and Fire Station (approx. ¼ mile away); Pier Avenue School

Paid Advertisement

Click or scan to see
this page online

(approx. 0.6 miles away); Old Salt Lake (approx. ¾ mile away); Francis Miyosaku Uyematsu (approx. 1.2 miles away); Bill and Bob Meistrell (approx. 1.3 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Hermosa Beach.

Also see . . . Surfers Walk of Fame. More than 50 plaques on the Hermosa Beach Pier. (Submitted on August 12, 2025.)

Surfers Walk of Fame image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Craig Baker

2. Surfers Walk of Fame

Credits. This page was last revised on August 24, 2025. It was originally submitted on August 12, 2025, by Craig Baker of Sylmar, California. This page has been viewed 177 times since then and 47 times this year. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on August 12, 2025, by Craig Baker of Sylmar, California.

Editor’s want-list for this marker. • • Photos of the other historical markers, on their own marker pages. • • Can you help?