Manhattan Beach is built on sand. In the early days, old timers speak of walkways disappearing, small structures sliding and the sting of the sand. The dunes were a major problem. Some were 50 feet to 70 feet high. Leveling them off was difficult. In the late 1920s, developers from Hawaii made a deal with the Kuhn Brothers Construction Company to supply Waikiki Beach with Manhattan Beach sand. The sand was loaded onto the Santa Fe Railroad cars and transported to the harbor in San Pedro and then onto ships or barges. This continued for almost ten years. Manhattan Beach today is by no means flat. Sand dunes are particularly obvious in the north end of Manhattan Beach where Sand Dune Park is located.


Pacific Red Car Line

Developers were plentiful and several of the larger developers such as George Peck, who owned the northern section of the area including north of Rosecrans, John Merrill, who was laying out the southern section which was between First Street and Center Street and just west of the Santa Fe tracks to The Strand, and Frank Daugherty, who had 20 acres from Marine Avenue to 15th Street and east of Highland Avenue to the railroad tracks, agreed that only one name should be given to the area. George Peck was calling his area Shore Acres after a Santa Fe junction sign. John Merrill was calling his area Manhattan after his hometown in New York. According to Frank Daugherty, a half dollar coin was flipped and "Manhattan" won. It is believed that this occurred in 1902 because the railroad changed the junction name to Manhattan. The first downtown building was built by Merrill around 1901, a small frame building later used for city offices.



Most of the early buildings were beach cottages. Families would come from Pasadena and Los Angeles on the trolley or Santa Fe train and a real estate agent would greet them as they stepped off. Some liked what they saw and bought property. Manhattan Beach was promoted as a place to vacation, a summer resort. A few stayed year round but most stayed only for a weekend or a summer. It was hard to count the full time residents but by the time of incorporation on December 7, 1912, there were approximately 600 permanent residents. Although the city incorporation papers show Manhattan Beach as the correct name of the city, the full name was not registered with the Washington, D.C. Postal Service until Postmaster Virgil Wahlberg changed the name to Manhattan Beach to avoid confusion with the 14 other Manhattans in the country.

One of the first structures built was a pier in 1901. It was believed to have been 900-feet long. Pylons were made by fastening three railroad rails together and driving them into the ocean floor. A narrow wooden deck was supported by these pilings. A wave machine was installed at the foot of the pier in order to generate electricity but the plan did not work. The "old iron pier" as it was called, was destroyed by a major storm in 1913. Lack of money, lawsuits, storms, and debates about when and where to build another pier delayed Manhattan Beach from having a pier completed until 1920. This time, it was a cement pier with a rounded end and it was 928-feet long. Engineer A.L. Harris developed the concept of the circular end for less exposure and damage to the pilings by the waves.The roundhouse at the end was not completed until 1922. In 1928, a 200-foot wooden extension was added but it was destroyed in a storm in 1940. Storms and time were not kind to the pier and repairs were made but the appearance changed. In 1991, a decision to restore it back to its 1920s appearance was made. In 1992, a pier dedication took place. In 1995, the pier was declared a state historic landmark. It is the oldest standing cement pier on the West Coast


First Manhattan Beach Pier

Manhattan Beach is built on sand. Planks were laid in the sand on Manhattan Avenue for vehicles and along the Strand and side streets for pedestrians. In the early days, old timers speak of walkways disappearing, small structures sliding and the sting of the sand. The dunes were a major problem. Some were 50 feet to 70 feet high. Leveling them off was difficult. In the late 1920s, developers from Hawaii made a deal with the Kuhn Brothers Construction Company to supply Waikiki Beach with Manhattan Beach sand. The sand was loaded onto the Santa Fe Railroad cars and transported to the harbor in San Pedro and then onto ships or barges. This continued for almost ten years. Manhattan Beach today is by no means flat. Sand dunes are particularly obvious in the north end of Manhattan Beach where Sand Dune Park is located.

After World War II a large influx of people came as a result of the desirability of the area for year-round living. Servicemen visiting during the war returned to live here. The development of the defense industry brought many people to the South Bay to reside and work. Much of the land east of Sepulveda was developed to house the influx of people.

Sources:
Manhattan Beach Historical Society

Click on the following for additional information on the history of the South Bay beach communities:

HISTORY OF THE SOUTH BAY
HISTORY OF PALOS VERDES ESTATES
HISTORY OF RANCHO PALOS VERDES
HISTORY OF ROLLING HILLS ESTATES AND ROLLING HILLS
HISTORY OF HERMOSA BEACH
HISTORY OF REDONDO BEACH
HISTORY OF EL SEGUNDO
HISTORY OF TORRANCE
HISTORY OF SAN PEDRO
HISTORY OF LOMITA

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