Bringing back the Golden Bear

In years past, John Denver, Jimi Hendrix, Bob Dylan, Steve Martin and countless other musicians rocked out in the spot where a half-dozen men gathered last Thursday to discuss bringing back a place that impacted all of their lives.

Today, the spot holds paintings for sale, a few sculptures and, to the trained eye, an homage to its rock and roll past — framed photographs of the iconic building facade, a ticket stub and a book on its history.

“This is why we are here. We are on sacred ground,” said Stuart Harold, a longtime Huntington Beach resident.

The location is the Pierside Gallery, the original home of the Golden Bear and the meeting place of a group of men dedicated to resurrecting the legendary music venue. The men want to build a concert hall between First and Second streets across from Pacific Coast Highway in downtown Huntington Beach. Even though the proposed concert hall would bear little resemblance inside to the club of years past, the campaigners want to give it the same facade in front — and the same name.

“Everybody seems to have a Golden Bear story,” said Matthew “Clint” Orr, the leader of the campaign. “Everybody seems to want this to happen.”

Orr has been working on the project for about 18 months. Now, he is feeling out residents interested in the project. The Golden Bear opened as a restaurant in 1929, but it wasn’t until 1963 that it became a local rock and roll legend. A slew of musicians played the Bear until it was demolished in 1986.

The idea is to create a “destination theater” where patrons can see big-name bands one night and local musicians the next.

The theater will also be able to accommodate plays, dance productions and be a live sound stage capable of doing state-of-the-art recordings, Orr said.

For the Golden Bear to come back to life, everything from acquiring the rights to the name and the land, to finding the $30 million to fund the project, needs to be done. The plan is to run the theater as a nonprofit and name it after the donors.

“[It is the] ‘your name here’ Golden Bear Concert Hall,” Orr said.

The men are putting together an advisory board and a board of directors for the proposed nonprofit.

Orr is also assembling an informal feasibility study on the theater, but the idea can’t really get off the ground until the funding comes in. Despite the large amount needed, Orr isn’t worried about finding a donor.

“It’s destined to happen,” Orr said.

The idea has caught on to others. Architect and Huntington Beach resident Michael Shewbridge said he was excited when he heard about the project.

“I went to the Golden Bear. I saw bands here, and I was sad when they took it away,” he said.

Shewbridge saw Asleep at the Wheel, Dan Hicks, Hot Tuna and the Ramones play. Living in Santa Monica at the time, Shewbridge said, he would spend the day surfing before he saw a show.

“It was a great small place to go that wasn’t far away,” he said.