Manhattan Beach Tutors

About Manhattan Beach

Manhattan Beach is a wonderful coastal city with aquariums, gift shops, and wonderful beaches great for everyone. Like every city though, Manhattan Beach has its history, and its own little historical bumps that make it the unique town that it is.

Your Manhattan Beach tutor might have told you that a lot California’s cities originated from large ranches once owned by Mexican settlers. The area that makes up Manhattan Beach once belonged to a ten-mile frontage ranch known as Rancho Sausal Redondo, which translates to “round clump of willows”. At a certain point in the towns history, it was also known as “Shore Acres”, named by George Peck who at the time owned most of what is now the north end of town.

In 1901 John Merrill purchased what is now the south end of town, and under influence from his roots in New York City, named his portion Manhattan. When the time came that the city started forming, Peck and Merrill were unable to come to a compromise as to what the city should be called. They ended up tossing a coin, and today we have Manhattan Beach!

Merrill built the first building of the town when he moved there, which was later used as city offices. Wood planks were laid in the sand to make travel across the town easier, and boardwalks laid for pedestrians.

The city grew fast in the same year that the first building was erected, two wooden piers were also built. One was erected at Center Street and the other at Marine Avenue. The Center Street pier actually powered a wave motor, which was used to create power for a strand lighting system. Rumor has it that parts of the wave motor lay buried in the sand at the end of the current pier. As the old pier suffered wear and tear from the ocean and wind, a new pier was erected that extended 922 feet into the ocean. Perhaps next time you’re finishing up a lesson with your Manhattan Beach tutor you can take a stroll down the whole thing!

It didn’t take long for people to realize what an awesome place to live that Manhattan Beach was. The weather was perfect year-round and who doesn’t love beach front views! The town grew in strides and new housing developments went up to support this influx of people. While the town has outgrown its old roots, the town still embraces the beaches and wonderful coastal lifestyle that gave the town its start.