Manhattan Beach is one of the three
beach communities of the Los Angeles South Bay (Manhattan, Hermosa
and Redondo Beach). In its earliest days, Manhattan Beach was
part of the ten-mile ocean frontage of Rancho Sausal Redondo,
which means "Round Clump of Willows." At one time the area was
called "Shore Acres" by George Peck, who owned a section of the
north end of town. In 1901, Stewart Merrill bought the south portion
and called his section Manhattan after his old home, New York
City. Peck and Merrill, unable to agree on a city name, flipped
a coin and Manhattan won. The first downtown building was built
by Merrill around 1901, a small frame building later used for
city offices. The official date of incorporation was December
2, 1912.
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 with their families to live here.
Manhattan Beach is now home
to the newest television and film production facility in Southern
California, Manhattan Beach Studios. This is the first studio
built from the ground up in California in 60 years. The 550,000
square foot project consists of fourteen art deco sound stages,
office space, and related facilities with the first tenants being
the TV shows "Ally McBeal," and "The Practice." |
