MANHATTAN BEACH, CALIFORNIA

'Manhattan Beach' is a city located in southwestern Los Angeles County, California, USA. The population was 33,852 at the 2000 census. Of a rotating City Council of five members, Jim Aldinger is the current mayor.
The city is on the Pacific Ocean coast, to the south of El Segundo, and to the north of Hermosa Beach. To the east are the cities of Lawndale and Redondo Beach. It is one of the three Beach Cities in the South Bay.

Contents

History

Early inhabitants, Spanish discovery and settlement

Early development

Geography

Demographics

Education

Media

Trivia

Notable residents

Gallery

References

External links

History

Early inhabitants, Spanish discovery and settlement

The first known inhabitants of present day Manhattan Beach were the Engnovangas rancheria Indians. The Indians survived off of corbina fish they harvested in the shallows, along with other species of surf fish.
The Engnovangas often made the trek south to the salt flats in present day Redondo Beach, CA to harvest the mineral. The old Salt Flat is now occupied by Southern California Edison, roughly located on Herondo Street and North Harbor Drive. The salty estuary was said to be only from the ocean and approximately 120,000 square yards in area.
In 1781, when El Pueblo de Nuestra Señora la Reina de Los Angeles was established, a small, one-lane dirt road was cleared to connect the Salt Flat and Los Angeles. Aviation Boulevard now runs almost directly on top of the old Salt Flat road. Three years later, in 1784, the Spanish government established "ranchos," or land parcels, all along the South Bay. The land grants did not convey titles to the land; rather they simply gave permission to migrant farmers to use the land as they wished.
In 1784, a Spanish land grant for Rancho San Pedro was issued to Juan Jose Dominguez, signed by King Carlos III of the Spanish Empire. Rancho Sausal Redondo was a part of the original Rancho San Pedro. (see note # 7 in reference).
In 1822, the newly-established Mexican government sold the land to the highest bidder. Some of the Ranchos purchased by farmers were: Aguaje de la Centinela, La Ballona, La Tijera, and Sausal Redondo, which translates into "round clump of willows." (Note that many streets in the South Bay region are named after these ranchos.) In 1822, Rancho Sausal Redondo (present day Manhattan Beach) was purchased by Antonio Ygnacio Avila, who mainly used the for sheep grazing.
Most of the original Californio land owners could not validate these properties with the US government after the Mexican-American war due to the cost of surveys, filing forms and legal fees, therefor, many lost ownership to wealthy Americans.

Early development

In 1863, a Scottish immigrant, Sir Robert Burnett, purchased Rancho Sausal Redondo and Rancho Aguaje De 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.

Geography

Manhattan Beach is located at (33.888980, -118.405357).
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 26.8 km² (10.4 mi²). 10.2 km² (3.9 mi²) of it is land and 16.7 km² (6.4 mi²) of it (62.07%) is 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" [1].
Residents divide the city into several distinct neighborhoods, including the Sand Section, Hill Section, Tree Section, Gas Lamp Section, Manhattan Heights, East Manhattan Beach, Liberty Village, and El Porto. The Hill Section is a higher priced locale where many of the residences are remodeled and situated on steep hills to afford panoramic ocean and Los Angeles views. The nearby Sand Section is notable for its dense development and higher rate of condominiums and multi-family properties. Most commercial activity whose clientèle are beach-oriented position their establishments here, sometimes within meters of private homes. One of it's most highly trafficked streets, The Strand, features high-end Oceanfront properties. Desired by families for its close knit structure, the Tree Section is essentially a smaller Hill Section, minus the hills, of course, and with slightly smaller lots.
Liberty Village is located at the north-easternmost section of Manhattan Beach. It is characterized by World War II era housing that originally serviced the employees of the then dominant local defense contractors such as Lockheed, Northrop and Hughes. Since it is considered to be among the most desirable cities in Los Angeles, and the city zoning provides for relatively lenient dwelling-to-land coverage, much of Manhattan Beach's housing stock has been remodeled from small single family houses into larger houses ranging to on lots approximating .

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 33,852 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, 0.61% African American, 0.21% Native American, 6.04% Asian, 0.12% Pacific Islander, 1.23% from other races, and 2.81% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 5.19% of the population.
There were 14,474 households out of which 28.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 49.8% were married couples living together, 5.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 42.0% were non-families. 29.3% of all households were made up of individuals and 6.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.34 and the average family size was 2.98.
In the city the population was spread out with 22.3% 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. 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. 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 sales of Manhattan Beach homes produced a median price of $1,925,000 [2]. In its Best Places to Live 2005 feature, Money Magazine ranked Manhattan Beach the 4th most expensive town in America [3]. Additionally, in 2005 it ranked 2nd in California for the number of million-dollar homes sold [4]. Forbes has also ranked the local ZIP code 90266 as the 29th most expensive ZIP code.

Education

Public education in Manhattan Beach is provided by the Manhattan Beach Unified School District, which oversees 5 elementary schools, 1 middle school, and 1 high 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. [5] Each individual school also ranks at the top of its respective category [6]:

School	2006 API Score
Grand View Elementary	954
Meadows Elementary	947
Pacific Elementary	971
Pennekamp Elementary	963
Robinson Elementary	970
Manhattan Beach Middle	923
Mira Costa High School	852

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. [7]
See also: McMartin preschool trial, Aviation High School (1957-1982).

Media

In addition to the Los Angeles Times, Manhattan Beach is served by local daily the Daily Breeze and local weeklies the Beach Reporter and the Easy Reader.

Trivia

★ Film location of Starsky and Hutch. In the movie, Starsky (Ben Stiller), can be seen stretching under the pier.

★ As rumor has it, a retired colonel from the civil war and Manhattan Beach resident, Mr. Duncan, had built a tunnel from his property to the beach in order to smuggle slaves and treasure.

★ 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 Hawaii in the late 1920s, who negotiated a deal with the Kuhn Brothers Construction Company to ship the city's sand across the Pacific for over 10 years.^[6] 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.

★ 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 AVP 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."

★ A background sign in the porn flick "Deep Throat" refers to Manhattan Beach as the fornication capital of the world. This idea was later used by the Red Hot Chili Peppers in their hit, "Californication". It's rumored that legendary artist Davis Waddell created the inspiring background sign

Notable residents

★ Zac Efron: Actor, played Link in Hairspray (2007)

★ Kali Fontecchio: Up and coming artist, member of the Twatoonist Trio.

★ C. Thomas Howell: Ponyboy Curtis in The Outsiders (film)

★ Kevin James: Actor on the sitcom King of Queens

★ Jim Lindberg: Singer of the South Bay Punk Rock Band Pennywise

★ Bob Bradley: Head coach of the US Men's National Soccer Team

★ Rachel Hunter

★ Nick Buckley: Motoring Journalist

★ Tara Reid: Actress

★ Ron Hextall: Former hockey player for the Philadelphia Flyers, current Assistant GM for the Los Angeles Kings

★ Mike Cammalleri: Hockey player for the Los Angeles Kings

★ Brian Cook: Power forward for the Los Angeles Lakers

★ Johnny Depp: Actor, Chocolat, Blow, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

★ Tina Michelle Eaton: Runner Up, The Bachelor Season 2

★ Danny Stepper: Producer: Goal!, Vanilla Gorilla, Official FIFA film

★ John Watson: Producer: Backdraft, Robinhood

★ Pavol Demitra: Forward for the Minnesota Wild

★ Landon Donovan: Soccer player for the Los Angeles Galaxy, U.S. National Team forward

★ Jane Elliot: Actress, General Hospital and Days of Our Lives

★ Bill Engvall: Comedian with the Blue Collar Comedy group

★ Alexander Frolov: Hockey player for the Los Angeles Kings [8]

★ Jeff Garcia: Quarterback for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers [9]

★ Dave Coulier: Flamboyant Uncle Joey in TV's Full House.

★ Nomar Garciaparra: First baseman for the Los Angeles Dodgers [10]

★ Tim Gleason: Hockey player for the Carolina Hurricanes

★ Devean George: Small forward for the Dallas Mavericks

★ Tony Gonzalez: Tight end for the Kansas City Chiefs

★ Mia Hamm: former Soccer player [11]

★ Cobi Jones: Soccer player for the Los Angeles Galaxy

★ Jason Kendall: Catcher for the Chicago Cubs

★ Christopher Knight: Actor, The Brady Bunch, The Surreal Life, and My Fair Brady

★ Wally Kurth: Actor, General Hospital and Days of Our Lives

★ Michelle Kwan: Champion figure skater

★ Shaun Livingston: Point guard for the Los Angeles Clippers

★ Marisa Miller: Model

★ Holly McPeak: Professional beach volleyball player

★ Slava Medvedenko: Basketball player, former power forward for the Los Angeles Lakers

★ Ben McKenzie: Actor, The O.C.

★ Stein Metzger: Professional beach volleyball player

★ Mike Mignola: Creator of Hellboy [12]

★ Kevin Nealon: Actor/Comedian from Saturday Night Live fame

★ Michael Olowokandi: Center for the Boston Celtics [13]

★ Liz Phair: Singer/songwriter and guitarist

★ Thomas Pynchon: Author of The Crying of Lot 49 and Gravity's Rainbow.

★ Teri Polo: Actress, Pam in Meet the Parents

★ Zeljko Rebraca: Center for the Los Angeles Clippers

★ JD Roth: Host of the Reality TV show Endurance

★ Pat Sajak: TV personality

★ Maria Sharapova: Professional tennis player [14]

★ Brian Shaw: former Point/Shooting guard in the NBA, now an assistant coach for the Los Angeles Lakers

★ Debbie Dillon: Renowned L.A. socialite and reputed FOMC

★ Lubomir Visnovsky: Hockey player for the Los Angeles Kings [15]

★ Luke Walton: Small forward for the Los Angeles Lakers

★ Frederico Vega: Spanish Kickboxing legend, inspiration for Street Fighter Character, Vega (Street Fighter)

★ Owen Wilson: Actor, Wedding Crashers, Behind Enemy Lines

★ Glen Murray: Hockey player for the Boston Bruins

★ Jeff Tarango: former Professional tennis player

★ Marc Crawford: Head coach for the Los Angeles Kings

★ Lamar Odom: Small forward for the Los Angeles Lakers

★ Max Thieriot: Actor, The Pacifier

★ Brad Bird: Creator, The Incredibles

★ Leland Chapman: Part time resident and student of Gracie Jui-jitsu in Hermosa Beach, CA, son of famed bounty hunter and sex icon Duane "Dog" Chapman better known as "The Dog"

★ Gotcha Boys- 1980's boy band based out of Houston, Texas area whose popularity rose and faded quickly after their one hit 'Short Dawg is in the House' Recently two of the founding members were spotted enjoying the Beach front as well as several area bars.

Gallery

References

1. City of Manhattan Beach - City Council
2. Incorporation Dates of California Cities
3. Manhattan Beach city, California - Fact Sheet - American FactFinder
4. USPS - ZIP Code Lookup - Find a ZIP+ 4 Code By City Results
5. Number Administration System - NPA and City/Town Search Results
6. City of Manhattan Beach History

7. Map of original Rancho San Pedro, 1784, reflecting Rancho Sausal Redondo within its domain; http://archives.csudh.edu:2006/cdm4/RanchoSanPedro.php (map # 11 , original grant, 1784) (map # 4, validation in 1818). For thirty four years, (1784 - 1818), today's Manhattan Beach was part of 'Rancho San Pedro.'
(POV) need citation relative to land usage by (migrants) ? on granted lands.

External links

★ Manhattan Beach official website

★ Memorial plaque at Parque Culiacan in Manhattan Beach at the ''Sites of Memory'' webpage Manhattan Beach Chamber of Commerce

★ Manhattan Beach Chamber of Commerce