Golden Bear nightclub had quite a past

I’ve been out promoting my new book, “Led Zeppelin Crashed Here, The Rock and Roll Landmarks of North America,” and a Huntington Beach landmark keeps creeping into the conversations — the famed Golden Bear nightclub. At a book signing recently, someone told me that not only did he frequent the Bear; he was also part of the 1986 demolition crew. Dropping his voice to a whisper he confided, “A lot of the debris was dumped down by dog beach, to help shore up the seawall — I grab a brick or two whenever I surf down there, man.”

While being interviewed on National Public Radio, the host told me he’d seen a number of shows at the Bear (including Patti Smith and Peter Gabriel) and that it was his favorite Southern California venue. Then, on a KOCE-TV show, I met audio engineer Robert Carvounas, who may just be the biggest Golden Bear fan of all. In fact, the Huntington Beach local has been hard at work on a book about Huntington Beach’s famed musical landmark and over a recent cup of coffee near the club’s original site he showed me a bunch of his artifacts — photos, tickets, posters, matchbooks, brick and other memorabilia.

“I think it’s the most interesting place in Huntington Beach history,” he says. He wasn’t of age in the 1960s so he couldn’t see Jimi Hendrix or Janis Joplin perform at the Bear, but he did attend several shows in the ‘80s before it was demolished.

Some background: The Golden Bear opened at 306 Pacific Coast Highway (just across from the pier) as a restaurant in the 1920s. Designed by renowned Southern California architect Ernest Ridenour, movie stars back then would motor down from Hollywood for dinner after a day at the beach. By the early 1960s the space morphed into a music club. The Doors, Dizzy Gillespie, the Byrds, the aforementioned Hendrix and Joplin plus many others played the Bear.

Junior Wells cut a live album at the Bear. Peter Tork was a dishwasher there just before being cast as a Monkee. Under new ownership in the 1970s, the Golden Bear continued to grow as a seminal performance space. Linda Ronstadt, Steve Martin, Blondie, The Ramones, Neil Young — dozens of major label acts visited Huntington Beach to play the Bear.

Guitarist Robin Trower played the last show there on Jan. 26, 1986, and several months later the club was demolished. Portions of the structure were preserved and incorporated into the façade of a new Golden Bear that opened several years later, but that incarnation failed quickly and the club quickly disappeared in the blur and rebuilding of downtown.

As Carvounas and I walked over to the site recently he pointed out where the entrance would have been — where a hot dog place is today. Around the corner, the ticket booth from the second Golden Bear remains — the last trace of a legend. Or is it? As Carvounas explains, collecting pieces of the Golden Bear is a hobby for more than a few people, as a way of holding on to the memories. A planter outside a downtown home is made of Golden Bear bricks, as is another fan’s fireplace. A small piece of the structure rests in a local flower garden, and Carvounas himself has one of the exterior signs. “Lots of people grabbed pieces of the place,” he says. “Because of the memories. There’s never been another place like it here.”

Stu Harold, who works at the Pierside Gallery, remembers the Golden Bear well, so it’s appropriate that where he sits today is just about where the stage would have rested.

“This is like sacred ground,” he laughs. “You name it and they played here. And the Bear had this wonderful underground feel to it.”

Musician Marc Volman of the legendary Turtles played the Golden Bear many times and he told me it was a special place for the band.

“We had great fan support there and the place was very professional. They paid market value to bands and between the Coach House (in San Juan Capistrano) and clubs in L.A. like the Roxy, the Golden Bear filled an important void. For us it was always a good gig,” he said.

Robert Carvounas believes, as I do, that the city could use a venue like the Golden Bear today. Recently on the website for the new development called Pacific City, they posed the question: “Would you like to see the Golden Bear return to Huntington Beach at Pacific City?” I voted “yes” but the question has since disappeared from the site. Someone at the firm said it was not going to happen, and so it appears for now the Golden Bear will remain just a memory, which is too bad. For the many who collect pieces of the classic venue, it will be an important artifact.

Do you have fond memories of the Golden Bear? Post them at hbindependent.com and see my video on the Golden Bear at https://hbindependent.com/video/.

Down the pipeline

Councilman Don Hansen has proposed raising individual campaign contribution limits to $500 from $300. He also requested that the increase be effective retroactively as of the November 2006 election.

Wildlife update

Many of the sick pelicans I wrote about several weeks ago were released recently by the Wetlands and Wildlife Care Center — further evidence of the great work being done over there.

Bad news is, a duck was brought in a few days ago from Central Park with a pocketknife stuck in its back. The duck is in guarded but stable condition said Debbie McGuire, Wildlife Director.

“Blood tests confirm the duck has [an] infection and is being treated aggressively with antibiotics” said Lisa Birkle, Wildlife Technician.

A 14-year-old male is suspected of stabbing the duck, according to a Huntington Beach Police Department news release.