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Hermosa Beach was originally part
of the ten-mile frontage of Rancho Sausal Redondo. In 1900,
tract of fifteen hundred acres was purchased at $35 per acre
from A.E. Pomeroy, then owner of the greater part of Rancho
Sausal Redondo.
In the early days, Hermosa Beach,
like so many of its neighboring cities - Torrance, Lawndale,
Inglewood - was one vast sweep of rolling hills covered with
fields of grain, mostly barley. During certain seasons of the
year, large herds of sheep grazed over this land, and corrals
and large barns for storing grain, as well as providing shelter
for horses and farm
implements, were located on the ranch between Hermosa and
Inglewood. The Spanish words, Rancho Sausal Redondo, mean
a large circular ranch of pasture with a grove of willows on it.
The first official survey was
made in the year 1901 for the boardwalk on the Strand, Hermosa
Avenue and Santa Fe Avenue. In 1904, the first pier was built.
It was constructed entirely of wood, even to the pilings. It
extended five hundred feet out into the ocean. The pier was
partly washed away and later torn down. A new pier was paved
with asphalt over its entire length. Small tiled pavilions were
erected at intervals along the sides to afford shade for the
fisherman and picnic parties. Eventually, a bait stand was built
out on the end.
Soon after, about 1914, an
auditorium building was constructed. Over the years, it has
housed various enterprises. Presently, it is used by the Los
Angeles County Life Guard Service. Hermosa Avenue was the first
street to be paved. The boardwalk on the Strand was constructed
of planks. The walk extended the entire length of the two-mile
Strand. High tides sometimes washed away portions of this
walkway. In 1914 part of it was replaced with cement. The
remaining two thousand feet on the north end was finally
completed with
cement in 1926.
The water supply for the town was
installed by the Hermosa Beach Land and Water Company in 1901.
They located a well on the north city limits. Later the company
bought an artesian well and built a reservoir just outside of
the east end of town. The water from this well was drawn from a
seemingly limitless subterranean reservoir three hundred feet
below the surface.
The Santa Fe railway was the only
transportation system through Hermosa Beach. It was seven blocks
from the beach. The street that led to the tracks was called
Santa Fe Avenue, but was later renamed Pier Avenue.
There was no railway station for
Hermosa, but Burbank and Baker built a platform on the west side
of the tracks near Santa Fe Avenue, and later the Railroad
Company donated an old boxcar to be used as a storage place for
freight. In 1926, the Santa Fe Company built a modern stucco
depot and installed Western Union telegraph service in it. The
first city election for city officers was held December 24,1906.
The town incorporated and its charter was obtained from the
state on January 14, 1907.
At that time, the city acquired
ownership of its two-mile stretch of ocean frontage, this being
included in an original deed to the city from the Hermosa Beach
Land and Water Company. The deed stated that this land was to be
held in perpetuity as a beach playground, free from commerce,
and for the benefit of not only residents of Hermosa, but also
for the sea lovers of Southern California. Hermosa Beach has
never permitted cheap amusements along its strand and its
original ideals are its present day standards. The sports of
fishing and swimming have always prevailed here and many famous
anglers have reeled their lines off its pier. Persons of world
renown have splashed through the ocean's rollicking surf on
vacations in Hermosa.
In March, 1926, a lateral sewer
system for the city connected up with the $350,000 trunk line of
the South Bay Sanitation District and was designed to
accommodate a population of thirty thousand. The Hermosa system
is now a part of the extensive project that covers the southwest
portion of Los Angeles County.
Ocean View School, now torn down,
was the first school building erected. It was located on top of
a sand dune four blocks from the beach, and no walks or streets
of any kind led to it when it was built. This school was
constructed of wood, two stories high with a belfry.
St. Cross Episcopal Church was
the first church building erected in the city of Hermosa Beach.
Donations, subscriptions and entertainment provided the finances
for the lumber and carpenter work.
Mr. Otto Meyer opened the first
grocery store and fish market. The first boarding and rooming
house was conducted in a frame building on Pier Avenue. Mrs. M.
Darling operated it and also sold bread occasionally. John
Kerwin bought the property and operated a bakery in the building
during the summer months.
A bowling alley was the only
amusement house operated. It was located in a long, one-story
building on the corner of Eleventh Street and the Strand. It
housed several activities during its time. Here, at one time,
was to be the tax collectors office and the press rooms for the
Hermosa Beach Review. The first theater building was owned and
operated by a woman. She bought the lot from Ben Brown and
constructed a frame building on it. The building was eventually
turned into a garage and is located just in back of the Barstow
Building on Tenth Place. In 1915, C.D. Barlow built a small
brick building which he used as a motion picture theater. The
Otto Meyer building showed early motion pictures also. The
building had previously been used as the city hall. It is now
the Bijou Theater.
Hermosa Beach Civic Club was a
citizen's improvement association and was the only civic club
ever organized in the community. The Woman's Club dates back to
1907 and is still vigorous. The Hermosa Beach Chamber of
Commerce was organized also in 1907 and is still active. Much of
the city's popularity is owed to the faithful and enthusiastic
service promoted by this chamber.
The first bank was organized by
James Walker. Located on the northwest corner of Pier and
Hermosa Avenue, it was called the First Bank of Hermosa Beach.
Later it became the First National Bank.
The first street lighting system
in the community consisted of one 40-watt bulb at the end of
each side street along the Strand.
Famous people have, at times
lived in Hermosa Beach or visited it during the summer seasons.
Judge Curtis Wilbur, a secretary of the U.S. Navy, was
interested in it's legal affairs in earlier days. William
Jennings Bryan, in the last years of his life, rented a summer
home for several seasons and brought his family to Hermosa to
spend their vacation. He was often seen on the pier in the
mornings wearing a plebeian suit of overalls and an old straw
hat, enthusiastically fishing and "yarning". Charles Lindbergh
was entertained a number of times as a guest of the Surf and
Sand Club. |
