Physical Facts
Location: 19 miles southwest of Los Angeles on the southerly end of Santa Monica Bay

County: Los Angeles County

City Area: 3.88 square miles

Airport: 3 miles south of LAX International Airport

Beach: 2.1 miles of beach front, 40 acres of recreational beach area in total

Pier: 928-foot-long pier located at the end of Manhattan Beach Boulevard. Year round fishing is permitted.

Parks: There are 48 acres of major park land in Manhattan Beach, in addition to the 21 acre Manhattan Beach Parkway

Residential Area: 49.1%, or 1224 acres, of Manhattan Beach's city wide land area is residential

Paved Streets: There are 120 miles of paved streets

Plumbing: The City has 18 miles of storm drains and 110 miles of sewers

Elevation: 120 feet above sea level

Rainfall: Average annual rainfall of 12.07 inches

Temperature: Average temperature ranges from 70º F in summer to 55º F in winter

Population Facts:
Population: Population according to 2000 census is 33,852

Gender: 50.4% male and 49.6% female

Households: The City has 14,474 households

Schools: Includes 3,511 elementary students and 1,384 high school students

Economic Facts:
Assessed Value: Manhattan Beach's assessed valuation is $10.6 billion

Businesses: The City of Manhattan Beach issues approximately 4,000 business licenses each year

Income: According to the 2000 census the median household income for the City is $107,750

City Government Facts:
Government: Manhattan Beach is a General Law city, operating under the council-manager form of government

City Council: The Manhattan Beach City Council is comprised of five (5) members, each serving a nine (9) month mayoral position during their four (4) year term

Employees: The City has 274 full time employees

History

Manhattan Beach Real Estate 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 what was then the town.

In 1901, Stewart Merrill bought the south portion and called his section "Manhattan" after his old home in N.Y., N.Y.. Peck and Merrill, were unable to agree on a name for the city itself. They flipped a coin... and Manhattan Beach California was born.

The first downtown building was built by Merrill around 1901. It was a small frame building later used for city offices. The official date of incorporation of Manhattan Beach was December 7, 1912. Wooden planks were laid in the sand on Manhattan Avenue for vehicles, and also planks were laid along the Strand and side streets for pedestrians.

Two wooden piers were build in 1901, one at Center Street and one at Marine Avenue. The Center Street pier supported a wave motor to generate power for the Strand lighting system. Supposedly part of the wave motor lies buried in the sands at the shore end of the present pier.

The next pier was built on the same site and extended about 922 feet into the ocean. Engineer A.L. Harris developed the concept of the circular end for less exposure and damage to the pilings by the waves. The pier was completed and dedicated on July 5, 1920.

After World War II a large influx of people came as a result of the desirability of the area for year-round living.