The Ins-And-Outs of Manhattan Beach CA
The downtown Manhattan Beach commercial district is just like many other towns.
The original main street runs up Manhattan Beach Boulevard, coming up to the Pier - the focal point for Manhattan Beach..
The commercial district hasn't changed much over the years.
There are new stores and there's been redevelopment of others, but it still has a feel that it had back in the 1960's, with many small shops, boutiques and restaurants.
The community does a great job of promoting and embracing public events.
For example, in December there is a huge fireworks display to celebrate the holidays.
In the summer, they have concerts in Hollywood Park.
In October, they have the great pumpkin races where kids get to roll pumpkins down Pier Avenue.
In the summertime, Chevron - which is a very large industry in El Segundo - runs the Grand Prix bike races.
The streets are closed off, and they have everything from toddlers on tricycles to professional bike racers.
There's also the Hometown Fair in October, the Volleyball Tournament called "The 6-Man", a surf contest, and Junior Lifeguard (a big program at the beach where there are competitions are held among the junior guards).
As the years have gone on, Manhattan Beach has come into its own.
There is the beautiful Shade Hotel downtown.
It is redeveloped from an old Metlox pottery site; there are some very nice high-class restaurants and other hotels there.
Property values, beach access and a lot of the volleyball and surf contests have put Manhattan Beach on the map.
It's the perfect place to live if you don't want the city lifestyle but have to work in the city.
Manhattan Beach is incredibly convenient because it is close to the airport and to all the major arteries.
Manhattan Beach is two square miles on each side.
However, even though the city is only four square miles, within that there are smaller styles of homes and living.
There is the Sand Section where you are no more than six feet from your next door neighbor on either side but you have great beach access.
There are the walk streets which are wonderful for families, relieving a lot of the beach congestion because they're non-drivable streets.
When you live in the Sand Section, there is walkable proximity for most areas to either downtown Manhattan Beach commercial or the commercial at the north end, which used to be called El Porto.
El Porto used to be a separate city, but it was incorporated into Manhattan Beach and now it's just called the North End.
Another area is called the Tree Section, so called because of the names of the streets - Elm, Oak, Pine and so on.
Different areas of the Tree Section have their own character depending on where they are and where they're built based on the topography.
There are a lot of small nuances within the Tree Section adding great differences as desirability.
There is the Hill Section, which is aptly named because it's built on what used to be the sand dunes - literally! Some areas of the Hill Section have stunning views and a lot of the lots are larger.
The Mira Costa area, called so because of the high school in that district, has a lot of variation in lot size and size of homes - it's a very large property area.
Lastly there is Liberty Village, the more newly built Manhattan Village, and the South Sand Section, which is very different from the North Sand Section.
The original main street runs up Manhattan Beach Boulevard, coming up to the Pier - the focal point for Manhattan Beach..
The commercial district hasn't changed much over the years.
There are new stores and there's been redevelopment of others, but it still has a feel that it had back in the 1960's, with many small shops, boutiques and restaurants.
The community does a great job of promoting and embracing public events.
For example, in December there is a huge fireworks display to celebrate the holidays.
In the summer, they have concerts in Hollywood Park.
In October, they have the great pumpkin races where kids get to roll pumpkins down Pier Avenue.
In the summertime, Chevron - which is a very large industry in El Segundo - runs the Grand Prix bike races.
The streets are closed off, and they have everything from toddlers on tricycles to professional bike racers.
There's also the Hometown Fair in October, the Volleyball Tournament called "The 6-Man", a surf contest, and Junior Lifeguard (a big program at the beach where there are competitions are held among the junior guards).
As the years have gone on, Manhattan Beach has come into its own.
There is the beautiful Shade Hotel downtown.
It is redeveloped from an old Metlox pottery site; there are some very nice high-class restaurants and other hotels there.
Property values, beach access and a lot of the volleyball and surf contests have put Manhattan Beach on the map.
It's the perfect place to live if you don't want the city lifestyle but have to work in the city.
Manhattan Beach is incredibly convenient because it is close to the airport and to all the major arteries.
Manhattan Beach is two square miles on each side.
However, even though the city is only four square miles, within that there are smaller styles of homes and living.
There is the Sand Section where you are no more than six feet from your next door neighbor on either side but you have great beach access.
There are the walk streets which are wonderful for families, relieving a lot of the beach congestion because they're non-drivable streets.
When you live in the Sand Section, there is walkable proximity for most areas to either downtown Manhattan Beach commercial or the commercial at the north end, which used to be called El Porto.
El Porto used to be a separate city, but it was incorporated into Manhattan Beach and now it's just called the North End.
Another area is called the Tree Section, so called because of the names of the streets - Elm, Oak, Pine and so on.
Different areas of the Tree Section have their own character depending on where they are and where they're built based on the topography.
There are a lot of small nuances within the Tree Section adding great differences as desirability.
There is the Hill Section, which is aptly named because it's built on what used to be the sand dunes - literally! Some areas of the Hill Section have stunning views and a lot of the lots are larger.
The Mira Costa area, called so because of the high school in that district, has a lot of variation in lot size and size of homes - it's a very large property area.
Lastly there is Liberty Village, the more newly built Manhattan Village, and the South Sand Section, which is very different from the North Sand Section.