By Zoe Luczaj | Special to the NB Indy
[Note: NB Indy Editor Christopher Trela is the former manager of Middle Class, one of the first punk bands to come out of Orange County in the late 1970s. Middle Class has a special display in a new exhibit at Fullerton Museum Center]
Orange County may have invented the strip mall, but it also gave us the stage dive.
“Punk OC: From the Streets of Suburbia,” a new exhibit on display at the Fullerton Museum Center through August 10, reveals the unlikely rise of punk rock—a chaotic, defining force in Orange County’s cultural history.
The exhibit offers an authentic and lively look at how OC’s punk scene, rooted in Fullerton’s history, grew from a local movement into a global influence shaping music and culture well beyond SoCal.
Featuring infamous OC bands like Social Distortion, Agent Orange, Adolescents, and Middle Class, the museum looks back at the story of how punk came to life in garages, backyards, and small clubs—reimagining quiet suburbs into the stage of a cultural movement.
Totems of OC’s punk past are displayed throughout the exhibit, symbols that have become canonical to the scene and its disciples.
One piece that stood out to me is the original door from Anaheim’s iconic venue, the Doll Hut, plastered with decades of history from band stickers to flyers. This humble dive became a hotspot, hosting acts like Sublime, Bad Religion, and The Offspring. Venues like these are where the OC community united over shared values and a love for music, creating history.
Flyers from early punk shows cover the gallery’s walls, serving as a paper trail of Orange County’s underground history. Next to them are personal items, from seasoned instruments to clothing, pins, and setlists, which offer a peek into the stories and personalities behind these notorious sounds.
One of my favorite parts of the exhibit is a section dedicated to the women who documented the scene. Kinetic photography from artists like Dina Douglass forever captured the spirit of OC punk. A quote from Douglass, “No teenage girls, no punk history,” is displayed next to this collection, reminding of the crucial role that women played and still play in preserving history.
Even today, it’s always exciting to see young women still on the frontlines at local shows, capturing the scene’s vibrancy and sharing their work far beyond OC.
Many of the bands highlighted in the exhibit formed decades ago, but their impact is still visible in today’s scene. Groups like D.I. and T.S.O.L. continue to play and excite crowds, often alongside a new generation of bands. That combination of legacy and new energy is what keeps the community alive.
Punk OC is a tribute to the people and bands that pioneered a movement out of the suburbs of Orange County and carved out a space of their own. Whether you’re revisiting old memories or it’s your first time discovering OC’s punk history, the exhibit offers a spirited and thoughtful exploration into one of Orange County’s influential—and unexpected—cultural movements.
Fullerton Museum Center is open Wednesday through Sunday. Hours vary. Tickets are $10. Tickets are $10. Visit https://www.fullertonmuseum.com/ for more information.
