Water and Power Associates: Early Views of Santa Monica
http://waterandpower.org/museum/Early_Views_of_Santa_Monica_2_of_6.html
(ca. 1898)* - View showing people walking on the boardwalk, sitting on the beach, and enjoying the surf with the North Beach Pier seen in the background.
This was considered casual attire in the 1890s.

In 2008, Cal Porter  forwarded the image to Cary Weiss who, with the assistance of Ben Marcus, Gary Lynch, Arthur C. Verge and Joe Tabler, estimated the date as 1904-1905.
This is photographic evidence that there were surfboards in Southern California before George Freeth's arrival, from Hawaii, in 1907.
Cary Weiss noted
The pier in question is called the North Beach Pier, built in 1898 north of where the L.A. Pier was located and partially destroyed. along with was wooden slatted board-walk, by a storm in 1905.
The photograph was probably taken in 1904 or 1905 while the pier and boardwalk were still intact. (edited)

Legendary Surfers
http://www.legendarysurfers.com/2008_12_01_archive.html
posted by Malcolm Gault-Williams at Monday, December 08, 2008