Manhattan Beach, California
Categories: Southern California geography stubs | Cities in Los Angeles County
Manhattan Beach is a city located in southwestern Los Angeles County, California. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 33,852. Of a rotating City Council of five members, Joyce Fahey 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 is the city of Redondo Beach. It is one of the three Beach Cities in the South Bay.
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History
Early Inhabitants and European Discovery
The First known inhabitants of present day Manhattan Beach were the Engnovangas rancheria indians. The indians survived off of corbina fish they hunted in the shallows along with other species of surf fish. The Engnovangas often made the 3 mile 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 Herrond st and North Harbor Drive. The salty estuary was said to be only 150 yards from the ocean and the rough size of 120,000 square yards. When Spanish explorers under the famous captain Cabrillo ventured north from present day San Diego, they encountered the local indians and slaughtered the "heathens."
In 1781 when the Pueblo of La Cuidad de Los Angeles was established, a small one lane dirt road was cleared to connect the Salt Flat and Los Angeles. Aviation Blvd 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 simply gave permission to migrant farmers to use the land as they wished. 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 Bollona, La Tiejera and Sausal Redondo which translates into "round clumb 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 22,500 acres for sheep grazing.
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 decided to leave the California sunshine and head back for Scotland. He found Canadian Daniel Freeman to watch over the ranch and they agreed to a lease for the ranch. Freeman moved his wife and three children onto the ranch and started producing various crops. On May 4th, 1885 Freeman bought the ranch from Burnett for $140,000. TBC Evan
Geography
Manhattan Beach is located at 33°53'20" North, 118°24'19" West (33.888980, -118.405357)1.
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 is water. The total area is 62.07% 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, El Porto, and Liberty Village.
Demographics
As of the census2 of 2000, there are 33,852 people, 14,474 households, and 8,394 families residing in the city. The population density is 3,325.8/km² (8,606.7/mi²). There are 15,034 housing units at an average density of 1,477.0/km² (3,822.3/mi²). The racial makeup of the city is 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. 5.19% of the population are Hispanic or Latino of any race.
There are 14,474 households out of which 28.1% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 49.8% are married couples living together, 5.8% have a female householder with no husband present, and 42.0% are non-families. 29.3% of all households are made up of individuals and 6.5% have someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size is 2.34 and the average family size is 2.98.
In the city the population is 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 are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 38 years. For every 100 females there are 101.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there are 101.6 males.
The median income for a household in the city is $100,750, and the median income for a family is $122,686. Males have a median income of $84,256 versus $54,142 for females. The per capita income for the city is $61,136. 3.2% of the population and 2.0% of families are below the poverty line. Out of the total population, 2.3% of those under the age of 18 and 4.9% of those 65 and older are living below the poverty line.
In September 2005 Manhattan Beach had a median home price of $1,578,000 [2]. In its Best Places to Live 2005 feature, Money Magazine ranked Manhattan Beach the 4th most expensive town in America. [3]
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 896 on the 2005 California Academic Performance Index, making it one of California's best performing districts. Each individual school also ranks at the top of its respective category [4]:
| School | 2005 API Score |
|---|---|
| Grand View Elementary | 934 |
| Meadows Avenue Elementary | 940 |
| Pacific Elementary | 969 |
| Pennekamp Elementary | 952 |
| Robinson Elementary | 960 |
| Manhattan Beach Middle | 910 |
| Mira Costa High School | 846 |
Under policy of the Manhattan Beach Unified School District, residents who live in northern Redondo Beach may not attend schools within the MBUSD.
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.
Notable residents
- Brian Cook: Power forward for the Los Angeles Lakers
- Pavol Demitra: Forward for the Los Angeles Kings
- Landon Donovan: Professional soccer player for the Los Angeles Galaxy, U.S. National Team forward
- Bill Engvall: Comedian with the Blue Collar Comedy group
- Devean George: Small forward for the Los Angeles Lakers
- 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
- Mike Mignola: Creator of Hellboy
- Liz Phair: Singer/songwriter and guitarist
- Brian Shaw: Professional basketball player
- Tiger Woods: Athlete, Professional Golfer
External links
- Manhattan Beach official website
- Downtown Manhattan Beach
- Maps and aerial photos
- Street map from Google Local or Yahoo! Maps
- Topographic map from TopoZone
- Aerial image or topographic map from TerraServer-USA
- Satellite image from Google Local or Microsoft Virtual Earth