Miscellaneous
Avila Beach has three piers: Avila Beach Pier, 1,685 feet long, intended for tourist strolling and recreational fishing, Harford Pier, a national historic structure designated by the California State Historic Preservation Office, which is for commercial fishing boats to offload their wares since 1873, and the California Polytechnic State University (Cal Poly SLO) Pier, part of the university's marine research program and not publicly accessible.
Diablo Canyon Power Plant, one of the two nuclear power plants in California is located in a remote part of the Avila Beach unincorporated area, about 6 miles northwest of the beach itself.
In the late 1990s, Unocal began the cleanup of decades old oil seepage discovered years earlier from corroding pipes under the township, and which had caused a massive and toxic oil spill under the town. Over 6,750 truckloads of contaminated material was sent to a Bakersfield Landfill, and replaced with clean Guadalupe Dunes sand. Many of the town's homes and businesses, including entire Front Street and Front Street Buildings, were razed as a result of the half mile wide excavation. After years of negotiation, Unocal agreed to a thirty million dollar settlement, which has been used to rebuild the town. Today, new buildings, homes, businesses, modern walkways and sea motif walls and benches take their place. A Sea Life Center welcomes visitors to explore the local ocean inhabitants up close.
Avila Beach was the primary shooting location for the 1979 film California Dreaming, which starred Dennis Christopher, Glynnis O'Connor, and Seymour Cassel.
The Avila Beach Pier was featured in a Super Bowl advertisement on February 7, 2010.
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