Manhattan Beach

Coordinates: 33°53′20″N 118°24′19″W / 33.88889°N 118.40528°W / 33.88889; -118.40528

City of Manhattan Beach
—  City  —
Manhattan Beach Pier, Palos Verdes Peninsula in background
Seal
Location of Manhattan Beach in Los Angeles County, California
Coordinates: 33°53′20″N 118°24′19″W / 33.88889°N 118.40528°W / 33.88889; -118.40528
Country	United States
State	California
County	Los Angeles
Incorporated (city)	December 12, 1912[1]
Government
- Type	Council-Manager
- City Council	Mayor Richard Montgomery[2] Portia Cohen Mitch Ward Nicholas W. Tell Jr. Jim Aldinger
- City Treasurer	Tim Lilligren, CCMT[3]
Area
- Total	26.84 km2 (10.36 sq mi)
- Land	10.19 km2 (3.93 sq mi)
- Water	16.66 km2 (6.43 sq mi)  62.05%
Elevation	20 m (66 ft)
Population (2000)[4]
- Total	33,852
- Density	3,323.1/km2 (8,606.7/sq mi)
Time zone	PST (UTC-8)
- Summer (DST)	PDT (UTC-7)
ZIP Code	90266, 90267[5]
Area code(s)	310/424[6]
FIPS code	06-45400
GNIS feature ID	1660985
Website	[2]

Manhattan Beach is a city located in southwestern Los Angeles County, California, USA. The population was 33,852 at the 2000 census. The city is on the Pacific Ocean coast, to the south of El Segundo, and to the north of Hermosa Beach. Manhattan Beach is the home of volleyball and surfing. During the winter the waves can reach to about 9 to 12 feet. To the east are the cities of Hawthorne and Redondo Beach. It is one of the three Beach Cities in the South Bay. The city is a very upscale beach town within commuting distance of Los Angeles, making it one of the most expensive coastal towns in which to live in America, according to the most recent Fortune Magazine rankings. The town regularly smashes Los Angeles County real estate sales records, with the median price of a single family dwelling with an ocean view approaching 2.1 million dollars.

History

Early history

The early history of Manhattan Beach is explained on the website of the Manhattan Beach Historical Society.^[7] The Beach volleyball tournament The Manhattan Beach Open has been referred to as "The Wimbledon of Beach Volleyball" The tournament began in 1960. Winners of the tournament are awarded a bronze plaques on the Manhattan Beach Pier's "Beach Volleyball Walk Of Fame".^[8]

Early development

The Manhattan Beach pier in downtown Manhattan Beach on a typical fall afternoon.

In 1863, a Scottish immigrant, Sir Robert Burnett, purchased Rancho Sausal Redondo and Rancho Aguaje de la Centinela from Avila's heirs for $33,000. Ten years later in 1873, Burnett leased the ranch to a Canadian, Daniel Freeman, and returned to Scotland. Freeman moved his wife and three children onto the ranch and started growing various crops. On May 4, 1885 Freeman bought the ranch from Burnett for $140,000.

George H. Peck owned a lot of the land that became part of the north section of Manhattan Beach.

Around 1924, the largely African-American population of the Bruce's Beach subdivision was forcibly evicted through a series of racist eminent domain laws enacted by the city council.

Bernard Bruce, a Black businessman from Los Angeles, founded a small beach resort where Black individuals could enjoy the sunny Southern California lifestyle along with neighboring European-Americans.

Several Ku Klux Klan members were reported to have engaged in discriminatory acts against him and other beachgoers, such as shouting racial slurs and littering deliberately on the designated section of the beach reserved for Blacks.

A typical Manhattan Beach late-Fall sunset, near Rosecrans Avenue terminus.

Although Manhattan Beach today is relatively homogeneous (see demographics below) compared to other wealthy California suburbs, a recreational park has been built in honor of the Bruce's and every Mayor since that period has sponsored awareness campaigns and education in local schools about the areas past. Manhattan Beach also elected Mitchell Ward, an African-American, as mayor in the 1990s, negating persistent racial stereotypes about the town inland. Ward was supported by a large coalition of citizens of all races and reelected in accordance with term limits.^[9]

Geography

The city has a total area of 26.8 km² (10.4 mi²), which includes 10.2 km² (3.9 mi²) as land and 16.7 km² (6.4 mi²) (62.07%) as water.

Manhattan Beach features 2.1 miles (3.4 km) of ocean frontage, 40 acres (162,000 m²) of recreational beach, and a total of 59 acres (239,000 m²) of parkland in 10 parks, 1 municipal golf course, and 1 parkway, the Valley/Ardmore "Greenbelt". ^[10]

	Pacific Ocean	El Segundo	Hawthorne
	Pacific Ocean		Redondo Beach
		Manhattan Beach
	Pacific Ocean	Hermosa Beach	Redondo Beach

Neighborhoods

A view of the ocean in Manhattan Beach.

Residents divide the city into several distinct neighborhoods, including the Village, Sand Section, Hill Section, Tree Section, Gas Lamp Section, Manhattan Heights, East Manhattan Beach, Liberty Village, and North Manhattan Beach (formally known as El Porto until December 2007).

The Hill Section includes higher priced homes where many of the residences are remodeled and situated on steep hills allowing panoramic ocean and city views. The nearby Sand Section is notable for its pockets of quiet neighborhoods adjacent to the ocean, dense development and higher rate of condominiums and multi-family properties compared to more suburban areas of the city. Most commercial activity whose clientele are beach-oriented position their establishments here, sometimes within meters of private homes. One of its most highly trafficked pedestrian streets, The Strand, features high-end Oceanfront homes. Desired by families for its close knit structure and with a substantially healthy financial background, the Tree Section is essentially a smaller Hill Section, minus the hills, of course, and with slightly smaller lots and narrower streets. Liberty Village is located at the north-easternmost section of Manhattan Beach; it is undergoing rapid change as the original World War II era housing for the employees of the then dominant local defense contractors such as Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman and Hughes is replaced by new, larger homes.

Commercial Zones

Considered^{[by whom?]} to be among the most desirable cities in Los Angeles, city zoning provides for lenient dwelling-to-land coverage and much of Manhattan Beach's housing stock has been remodeled from small single family houses into larger houses ranging to 4,000 square feet (400 m²) on lots approximating 5,000 square feet (500 m²).^{[citation needed]} This "mansionization" of the city has been protested by several longtime neighborhood residents.^[who?] Tiny beach cottages are being replaced by 6,000 square foot modern homes.^{[citation needed]} This is especially evident in the quaint alleyways and walk streets of the Sand Section, where dense living is already a contentious issue in the public eye.^{[citation needed]}

Downtown

Downtown Manhattan Beach runs along Manhattan Beach Boulevard and the streets perpendicular to it in the area near the Manhattan Beach Pier up to Valley Drive. There are many restaurants and stores and a mixed-use center, called Metlox, named after a pottery factory formerly on the site, that includes a boutique hotel and several restaurants and shops. The Manhattan Beach Library is near downtown on Highland Avenue two blocks north of Manhattan Beach Boulevard. The library is part of the County of Los Angeles Public Library system, and includes internet accessible computers, WiFi, and access to the six million items in the county library collection.^{[citation needed]}

Rosecrans Strip

The Rosecrans strip is located on the south side of Rosecrans Avenue, east of Sepulveda, and west of Aviation. The area includes the Manhattan Mall, which is located on the southeast corner of Sepulveda Boulevard and Rosecrans Avenue. The Manhattan Beach Country Club, the Marriott Hotel and Golf Course, restaurants, retail stores, supermarkets, and shopping centers are along the strip between the Manhattan Mall and Aviation Boulevard.

Marine Strip

The Marine strip is located on both sides of Marine Avenue, near Sepulveda and Aviation Boulevards.

Manhattan Beach Boulevard Strip

The Manhattan Beach Boulevard strip is located on both sides of Manhattan Beach Boulevard through the city.

Artesia Strip

The Artesia Boulevard strip is the southern boundary of the city.

Highland Strip

The Highland Avenue strip is located south of Rosecrans Avenue, north of 10th Street, along both sides of Highland Avenue.

Sepulveda Strip

The Sepulveda Strip occupies the commercial zone, which runs north-south through the city. This commercial zone is located south of Rosecrans Avenue, north of the border with Hermosa Beach, and along both sides of Sepulveda Boulevard. The Manhattan Mall is located on the southeast corner of Sepulveda Boulevard and Rosecrans Avenue. In addition, there are several other, smaller malls and shopping areas along Sepulveda Boulevard, which include a variety of restaurants, shops, service providers, office buildings and other commercial establishments.

Aviation Zone

The Aviation Zone is located along Aviation Boulevard (the city's eastern boundary), south of Rosecrans Avenue, and north of Marine Avenue.^[11] The zone includes several major complexes, including the Manhattan Beach Film Studios and the Northrop Grumman Space Technology Plant.^[12]

Climate

Manhattan Beach has a Mediterranean climate or Dry-Summer Subtropical (Köppen climate classification Csb on the coast, Csa inland), enjoying plenty of sunshine throughout the year, with an average of 263 sunshine days and only 35 days with measurable precipitation annually.^[13]

The period of April through November is warm to hot and dry with average high temperatures of 71 - 79°F and lows of 50 - 62°F. Due to the moderating effect of the ocean, temperatures are cooler than more inland areas of Los Angeles, where temperatures frequently exceed 90°F (32°C) and occasionally reach 100°F (38°C) in inland areas further away from the ocean.

The period of November through March is somewhat rainy, as shown in the table to right.^[14]

The Los Angeles area is also subject to the phenomena typical of a microclimate. As such, the temperatures can vary as much as 18°F (10°C) between inland areas and the coast, with a temperature gradient of over one degree per mile (1.6 km) from the coast inland. California has also a weather phenomenon called "June Gloom or May Grey", which sometimes brings overcast or foggy skies in the morning at the coast, but usually gives way to sunny skies by noon, during late spring and early summer.

The Los Angeles region averages 15 inches (385 mm) of precipitation annually, which mainly occurs during the winter and spring (November through April) with generally light rain showers, but sometimes as heavy rainfall and thunderstorms. Coastal areas receive slightly less rainfall, while the mountains receive slightly more. Snowfall is extremely rare in the city basin, but the mountains within city limits typically receive snowfall every winter.

The greatest snowfall recorded in downtown Los Angeles was 2 inches (5 cm) in 1932.^[15][16]

Demographics

Median income^[18][19]

Age distribution

As of the census^{[20][page needed]} of 2000, there were 33,854 people, 14,474 households, and 8,394 families residing in the city. The population density was 3,325.8/km² (8,606.7/mi²). There were 15,034 housing units at an average density of 1,477.0/km² (3,822.3/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 88.99% White, 6.04% Asian, 5.19% Hispanic or Latino of any race, 0.61% African American, 0.21% Native American, 0.12% Pacific Islander, 1.23% from other races, including 2.81% from two or more races.^{[citation needed]}

There were 14,474 households, of which 28.1% had children under the age of 18, 49.8% were married couples living together, 5.8% had a female householder with no husband present, 42.0% were non-families, 29.3% were individuals living alone, and 6.5% were individuals living alone who were 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.34, and the average family size was 2.98.

Other census data showed that the age distribution in the city was 22.3% who were under the age of 18, 4.1% from 18 to 24, 37.5% from 25 to 44, 25.7% from 45 to 64, and 10.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females, there were 101.5 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 101.6 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $100,750, and the median income for a family was $122,686 (these figures had risen to $124,048 and $149,396 respectively as of a 2007 estimate^[21]). Males had a median income of $84,256 versus $54,142 for females. The per capita income for the city was $61,136. About 2.0% of families and 3.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 2.3% of those under age 18 and 4.9% of those age 65 or over.

In February 2006, the median price of Manhattan Beach home sales was $1,925,000.^[22] In its Best Places to Live 2005 feature, Money Magazine ranked Manhattan Beach the 4th most expensive town in America.^[23] Additionally, in 2005 it ranked 2nd in California for the number of million-dollar homes sold.^[24] Forbes has also ranked the local ZIP code 90266 as the 29th most expensive ZIP code in North America.

Economy

According to the City's 2008 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report, ^[25] the top employers in the city are:

In Media and Popular Culture

• Scenes from the 1983 Taylor Hackford film Against All Odds were filmed along the strand and beach.
• Filming location for Weeds.
• Quentin Tarantino worked at a video rental store in Manhattan Beach before becoming a director.
• Establishing shots of the TV show Hannah Montana are filmed at Mira Costa High School.
• The Harvey Wallbanger cocktail was invented in the 1960s in El Porto at the current location of Sharkeez bar and grill.
• Film location of Point Break (1991). In the movie, Keanu Reeves buys his surfboard from a shop located on the Manhattan Beach pier.
• Film location of Starsky and Hutch (2004). In the movie, Starsky (Ben Stiller), can be seen stretching under the pier.
• Film location of Jerry Maguire (1996). In the movie, Dorothy's (Rene Zellwegger) house is in the Sand Section on 23rd st.
• Film location of Tequila Sunrise (1988). Mel Gibson's character lives on the beach near the pier.
• The name of present day Manhattan Beach was decided by a coin-flip in 1902 between George Peck (who branded his property Manhattan after his hometown in New York) and John Merrell (who named his property Shore Acres)
• Manhattan Beach has been nicknamed the "Pearl of the South Bay" for its beauty and desirability. The city motto, though seldom referenced, is "Progressius, Progressius, Progressius."
• Much of the sand on Waikīkī Beach was purchased by developers from Hawaiʻi in the late 1920s, who negotiated a deal with the Kuhn Brothers Construction Company to ship the city's sand across the Pacific from Manhattan Beach to Waikiki Beach for over 10 years.[1] The only remaining sand that resembles Manhattan Beach's original landscape can be found at Sand Dune Park.
• Home to the filming of some of The CW/Ex-UPN series Veronica Mars
• Home to the filming of such fictional shows as the Fox Network series The O.C. and the CBS series CSI:Miami
• Film and real life location of George Jung of Blow fame.
• Was home to the Metlox Pottery company, and now has a shopping and restaurant plaza built on the old factory site.
• The Association of Volleyball Professionals tournament in Manhattan Beach is known as "The Wimbledon of Beach Volleyball." The names of the tournament champions are inscribed in plaques along Manhattan Beach Pier. This event usually takes place in August and is aired on NBC.
• Mentioned in the Beach Boys' song "Surfin' USA."
• Professional wrestler John Morrison claimed in a promo that he was awarded the key to the city of Manhattan Beach for surfing naked.

Government

Local Government

The City of Manhattan Beach is governed by a five-member City Council. City Council Members are elected every four years. The office of the Mayor of Manhattan Beach rotates every nine months among the members of the City Council, so that each City Council Member serves one term as Mayor.^[26]

According to the city’s most recent Comprehensive Annual Financial Report, the city’s various funds had $73.5 million in Revenues, $72.2 million in expenditures, $232.3 million in total assets, $61.1 million in total liabilities, and $50.6 million in cash and investments. ^[25]

The structure of the management and coordination of city services is: ^[25]

The Beach Cities Health District,^[27] provides health and wellness services to the residents of Hermosa Beach, Manhattan Beach, and Redondo Beach. The voters of the three beach cities elect the 5-member Board of Directors to 4-year terms. One of 78 California Health Districts,^[28] it was created in 1955 as South Bay Hospital and took on its current name in 1993. Beach Cities Health District opened AdventurePlex,^[29] a Manhattan Beach fitness center for kids and their families, in 2002. Filled with mazes, tunnels, outdoor rock climbing walls, complex ropes courses, and an indoor gymnasium, AdventurePlex challenges children physically and intellectually in health-focused recreational activities.

State government

The residents of the City of Manhattan Beach are represented in state legislature by both a California State Senator and a California State Assemblyman.

In the California State Senate, Manhattan Beach is located in the 28th District. The current State Senator from the District is Democrat Jenny Oropeza.

In the California State Assembly, Manhattan Beach is located in 53rd District. The current State Assemblyman from the District is Democrat Ted Lieu.

Federal government

The residents of the City of Manhattan Beach are represented in United States Congress by the two United States Senators and one United States Representative.

In the United States Senate, Manhattan Beach is represented by the Senators who are elected at large in the State of California. The current United States Senators from California are Democrat Dianne Feinstein and Democrat Barbara Boxer.

In the United States House of Representatives, Manhattan Beach is located in California's 36th congressional district. The current United States Representative is Democrat Jane Harman.

The United States Postal Service operates the Manhattan Beach Post Office at 1007 North Sepulveda Boulevard and the Downtown Manhattan Beach Post Office in Suite C at 425 15th Street.^[30][31]

Politics

Unlike much of the Greater Los Angeles area, the South Bay and Manhattan Beach in particular have a reputation for conservative politics. Early in its history, the town was built to house defense contractors and military servicemen returning from World War II. Both demographics carried with them their right-leaning ideology back to a more left-leaning Los Angeles Westside. However, as many Brentwood and Beverly Hills dwellers became enamored with the beach lifestyle, the districts politics changed rapidly.

Political registration

As of 2002, 46% of Manhattan Beach residents were registered Republicans and 35% were registered Democrats.^[32]

According to the Cook Partisan Voting Index, the 36th Congressional District, which includes Manhattan Beach, has a Partisan Voting Index of D+11.^[33]

Presidential elections

In the 2000 presidential election, the Republican candidate, George W. Bush, narrowly defeated the Democratic candidate, Al Gore, with 48% to 47% of the city’s vote.^[34] In the 2004 presidential election, the Democratic candidate, John Kerry, defeated the Republican candidate, President George W. Bush, with 52% to 47% of the city's vote.^[35] In the 2008 presidential election, the Democratic candidate, Barack Obama, defeated the Republican candidate, John McCain, with 56% to 41% of the city's vote.^[36]

Education

Primary and secondary schools

Public education in Manhattan Beach is provided by the Manhattan Beach Unified School District, which oversees five elementary schools, one middle school, and one high school. The district is also assisted by non-profit organizations the Manhattan Beach Education Foundation and a Parent-Teacher Association for each school.

The district as a whole received a score of 906 on the 2006 California Academic Performance Index, making it California's 5th best performing district.^[37] Each individual school also ranks at the top of its respective category.^[38]

Under policy of the Manhattan Beach Unified School District, residents who live in northern Redondo Beach may not attend schools within the MBUSD. As of Fall 2006, North Redondo Beach residents living in the 90278 zip code will be allowed to attend Mira Costa.^[39]

See also: McMartin preschool trial, Aviation High School (1957–1982).

Private schools

Private schools located in Manhattan Beach include American Martyrs Catholic School Manhattan Academy, Montessori School of Manhattan Beach and Journey of Faith Christian School.

Newspapers

Manhattan Beach is served by one daily, local newspaper, the Daily Breeze. In addition, the city is served by three weekly, local newspapers, Beach Reporter, the Easy Reader, and the Manhattan Beach Sun.

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Manhattan Beach, California

• Manhattan Beach official website
• Manhattan Beach Historical Society
• Manhattan Beach Civic Couch
• Manhattan Beach Chamber of Commerce
• Map of original Rancho San Pedro, 1784, reflecting Rancho Sausal Redondo within its domain

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