Welcome to the South Western most town in the Continental United States-Imperial Beach! Founded in 1887, the city gets it's name from Imperial County- where the farmers and land owners ventured west to find cooler weather in the hot summer months. According to historical records, in March of 1887, over 2000 laborers settled here to work on the growing resort tied island area of Coronado to construct the world's largest hotel at the time- Hotel Del ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Imperial_Beach,_California). Enjoy the colorful sights and sounds of this old beach community that has recently been given an artistic makeover which are represented in the art icons below-

- I Heart coastal Art- one of the many "love coastal art" statements used to signify the Coastal Art Cup Movement.

- The first art piece of IB that has been rendered, is metal abstract sculpture which is supposed to signify the great ocean life in San Diego. The "Sea and Sky" sculpture by Ken Smith and is located on Dahlia Street. 

-Below that is the 'Spirit of the Beach" bronze sculpture by A. Wasil. This bronze sculpture stands 18 ft. tall and is dual themed after the surf and sandcastles, which IB is known for. It's located on the West end of Palm Ave.

- Next are famous renditions of sandcastles in IB. The San Castle competition was on hiatus for a year but now it's back. This year's competition is on July 18. Click here for more info and details.

- Very Interesting history to the pier in Imperial Beach. It was constructed in the early 1900's.  It originally housed a wave generating electricity machine called Edwards Wave Motor in 1909.  It was dismantled shortly after because of it's inadequacies.  To read more about this and other interesting facts about the pier's history, click here.

-Above the pier, is a grand sculpture of a rectangular red structure which shoots through 4 different colored triangular objects (representing surfboards) called Surfhenge .  Surfhenge was created by famous artist/sculptor Malcom Jones . He also created many of the surf board style benches around the IB coastal area.

- To the right of Surfhenge, is the red steel structure that reads "ART". The ingenious simple creation is called "the Art Banner" by John Banks. This sculture looks like just a few twisted red pipes, but once the sweet spot is found, you'll see something totally different.

- To the right of "the Art Banner" is Tijuana Estuary. It is one of the last salt water marshes in the Southwestern US. The TJ Estuary is a great place for bird watching and nature walks. To find out more info- visit the Tijuana Estuary visitor center.

- Below the Estuary sign,  there are dolphins jumping out of the water. This is a rendition of the Ocean Riders statue by infamous artist Wyland . Wyland is a great environmentalist and this art piece is dedicated to portraying endangered marine species. It is located near the pier.