History
Manhattan Beach – is a city found in southwestern Los Angeles County, California. The land area is about 10.2 km² while 16.7 km² of Manhattan Beach is water. Manhattan Beach is found on the Pacific Ocean coast. Manhattan Beach is surrounded by El Segundo to the north, Hermosa Beach to the south, and the cities of Lawndale and Redondo Beach in the east. Manhattan Beach belongs to one of the three Beach Cities in South Bay. Manhattan Beach boasts 2.1 miles of ocean frontage, 40 acres of recreational beaches, 59 acres of parkland, a municipal golf course, and the Valley/Ardmore “Greenbelt”. Manhattan Beach is elevated 120 feet above sea level.

Manhattan Beach operates under a council-manager system. The Manhattan Beach City Council is composed of five members. Each of Manhattan Beach’s Council members serves a 9 month mayoral position during a four year term.

Manhattan Beach has a population of 33,852 as of the year 2000. This figure is further divided to 14,474 households, with 8,394 families living in Manhattan Beach. There are 3,325 people per square kilometer residing in Manhattan Beach. There are 15,034 housing units further divided at 1,447 housing units per square kilometer. The population in Manhattan Beach is mostly White Americans, who compose 88.99% of the city’s residents. The rest of the populace is broken down as follow: 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. Hispanic or Latino of any race makes up 5.19% of the population.

Residents of Manhattan Beach have a median income of $100,750 per household. Each family in Manhattan Beach has a median income of $122,686. Men in Manhattan Beach have a median income of $84,256 as compared to $54,142 for women. Manhattan Beach homes are priced at a staggering average of $1,925,000 in February 2006. Money Magazine ranked Manhattan Beach as the fourth most expensive town in the US in its 2005 “Best Place to Live” feature. Manhattan Beach also ranked second on California for the number of multi-million dollar homes sold.

The Engnovangas are the first known residents of Manhattan Beach. The Native American tribe lived off shallow dwelling fishes. Manhattan Beach had its Beginnings in 1781. Back then, El Pueblo de Nuestra Señora la Reina de Los Angeles was established. The town was established and a one-lane road was constructed to connect the Salt Flat and Los Angeles. In 1784, the Spanish government established "ranchos", or land parcels, all along the South Bay. Although, the Spanish government gave away land grants, this did not mean that ownership was given to the various grantees of the ranchos. It simply meant that the original Ranchos on Manhattan Beach can be used by migrant farmers to use the land for their own purposes. In 1822, The Mexican government sold the land to the highest bidder. It was also in this year that the Rancho Sausal Redondo, which would become the present day Manhattan Beach, was bought by Antonio Ygnacio Avila. Antonio Ygnacio Avila used what was to become Manhattan Beach for sheep grazing.

Sir Robert Burnett, a Scottish immigrant, bought off the rancho which was to become Manhattan Beach for $33,000 in 1863. Burnett decided to leave Manhattan Beach to return to Scotland ten years later. Care for his Californian rancho was left to Daniel Freeman, a Canadian. Manhattan Beach was bought by Freeman from Burnett for $140,000 in the 14th of May, 1885.

The name of Manhattan Beach was decided in 1902, when the two part-owners came to a decision via a coin toss. George Peck named his property after his hometown in New York while John Merrell named his property Shore Acres.

Manhattan Beach’s public education is being overseen by the Mannhattan Beach Unified School District. Manhattan Beach Unified School District is in charge of five elementary schools, a middle school, and a high school. Manhattan Beach’s School District caters to 3,511 elementary students and 1,384 high school students. The Manhattan Beach District is one of California’s best performing districts, receiving a score of 896 on the 2005 California Academic Performance Index.

The schools belonging to the Manhattan Beach School District are Grand View Elementary, Meadows Avenue Elementary, Pacific Elementary, Pennekamp Elementary, Robinson Elementary, Manhattan Beach Middle, and Mira Costa High School.

Perhaps the most note-worthy of the schools in Manhatan Beach is the Mira Costa High School. Mira Costa gave honor to Manhattan Beach by scoring 846 in the 2005 California Academic Performance Index. Manhattan Beach is proud to have the 214th best high school in the United States. Manhattan Beach’s elite high school began operations in the 1950’s and is the only high school in Manhattan Beach. It can be found at 701 S Peck Ave, Manhattan Beach, California.

Manhattan Beach also has a public library found at 1320 Highland Ave.
Manhattan Beach. It started out as a subscription library in 1910. Manhattan Beach library moved to its present building on November 1, 1975. It is open everyday except Sundays. Manhattan Beach Library is open from 10am – 9pm on Mondays to Wednesdays, 10am to 6pm on Thursdays, 12nn to 6pm on Fridays, and 10am to 5pm on Saturdays.

Longboarders have long known Manhattan Beach to be the center of surfing in the South Bay, yet Manhattan Beach is also the birthplace of beach volleyball and represents the true culture of a Southern California beach city. Manhattan Beach is full of history. The Beach Boys lived here and many actors, actresses and athletes come to the legendary bars. Manhattan Beach is, first, foremost and forever, a casual surf community with a Beverly Hills budget. Among the notable people living in Manhattan Beach are:

Manhattan Beach Celebrities
Johnny Depp, Actor, has a house in Manhattan Beach.
Maria Sharapova: Professional tennis player, resides in Manhattan Beach
Owen Wilson, Actor, lives in Manhattan Beach
Tiger Woods, the “Michael Jordan of Golf”, is a part-time resident of Manhattan Beach

The famous television series of Fox Network, The O.C., is filmed in Manhattan Beach. This wonderful city is also the film location of the “Starsky and Hutch” movie. The Infamous George Jung lived in Manhattan Beach. The city is also the film location for Blow, the movie based on Jung’s life.

DR. JOHN CHAVES
5312 Comercio Lane, Suite A
Woodland Hills, CA 91364
Phone 818-999-2707
Fax 818-703-1998
appointment@cosmeticdentalservices.com