The chair at the end of Cape May Avenue in Ocean Beach, San Diego doesn't belong to anyone, technically. A contractor found it at a Pacific Beach construction site at least 15 years ago and brought it to OB. Someone bolted skateboards to the backrest. Paint went on. Carvings showed up. It became a thing. Not a monument, not an installation, just a chair on the beach that the neighborhood claimed as its own.
On Monday night, April 14, 2026, a man with a hatchet chopped it to pieces.
What Happened
Pete Barry, who lives nearby, was asleep on his couch when the banging woke him up. He looked outside and saw pieces of the chair flying. The man had a hatchet. When Barry yelled, the suspect ran to his car, according to CBS 8. Barry didn't recognize him.
This wasn't the first attack. The night before, someone dragged the chair into the ocean. A neighbor named Harris, who helps maintain the chair, said his dog woke him around 3am. He ran into the surf in his Uggs and sweatpants and pulled it out. After that, he buried a cinder block in the sand and locked the chair down. He believes the same person came back the next night with the hatchet.
And even before that, the skateboards that originally formed the backrest were stolen years ago. The chair has been damaged, rebuilt, damaged, and rebuilt multiple times.
Why It Matters
"It's something special," Harris told the Times of San Diego. "It's a symbol of this community, this neighborhood. This little neighborhood is unlike any beach neighborhood I've lived in, and I've lived in beach towns all over."
That's the real story. Not the vandalism, but the rebuilding. Every time the chair gets knocked down, someone in OB picks it up again. That stubbornness is the same energy that keeps The Black open on Newport Avenue, keeps the Ocean Beach Farmers Market running every Wednesday, and keeps the neighborhood arguing about the OB Pier replacement because they care about what the pier means, not just what it costs.
The Neighborhood Around Cape May
Cape May Avenue runs south from the main OB commercial district, closer to the Sunset Cliffs side of the neighborhood. The south end of OB has a different energy than Newport Avenue. It's quieter, more residential, and the surf spots near Sunset Cliffs draw a dedicated local crew. The Cliffs Cafe sits nearby. South Beach Bar & Grille is a short walk north. And the stretch of coastline between the OB Pier and Sunset Cliffs remains one of the most scenic walks in all of San Diego.
The Cape May chair will be rebuilt. It always is. And whoever swings the next hatchet should know that the neighborhood has more cinder blocks, more paint, and more patience than any one person with a grudge.
Follow Ocean Beach community news on San Diego Lineup.
