Teresa Martinez Bruce's Beach Podcast

This podcast discusses a rumor about a family who created a beach resort for African Americans during a time of racism. The rumor was that the Manhattan Beach lifeguard station and the property behind it used to belong to an African American family, but was taken from them by eminent domain. The property remained empty until 1956 when it became a park, and in 2022, it was returned to the Bruce family after 98 years. The family has since sold the property for $20 million. Have you ever wondered if a rumor about a place were true? That is what this podcast is about, a rumor about a family who created a seaside oasis for African Americans at the height of American racism. My husband Edward Martinez and I spent a lot of time at the Southern California beaches during the 70s and 80s when we were growing up. When I was growing up in Southern California, my family and friends used to ride our bikes and roller skate from Torrance Beach to Manhattan Beach on the Santa Monica Strand. We always stopped to eat a snack or play volleyball, hacky sack, or go for a swim before returning to Torrance Beach. While we were there, we would interact with the Manhattan Beach locals. We often heard rumors that the Manhattan Beach lifeguard station and the property behind it used to belong to an African American family, but had been taken from them by eminent domain. We were told there was nothing wrong with the property. The white property owners in the area did not want African Americans in the same areas they frequented. Edward, you spent a lot of time in Manhattan Beach. Did you hear any of these rumors? I didn't hear them as rumors, I heard them as innuendos. It was always talked about that from like Manhattan Beach South, the neighborhoods were known to be white neighborhoods. There's a stretch of 405 known as the South Bay Curve. Anything west of the 405 was considered a white neighborhood down to La Mida. Minorities, they weren't treated so well. Commonly got pulled over pretty much up until like the mid-80s. There weren't many outlets of legal representation for minorities when I was growing up. Did hearing about what happened to the Bruce family make you feel like anything you had could be taken from you in a moment? Definitely. At no time did I feel safe being a minority in a white neighborhood. I too had my share of racism. I didn't start feeling comfortable until the South Bay started becoming more integrated, which ironically was when I ended up moving to Manhattan Beach in 1990. Willa Bruce in 1912 and 1920 bought two lots of land along the Santa Monica Strand in Manhattan Beach. Her and her husband Charles built a seaside resort called Bruce's Lodge on the properties. They welcomed African-American beachgoers from all over the country to stay at their lodge. The property became known as Bruce's Beach. Other African-Americans started buying property in the area of Manhattan Beach as well. In 1924, white real estate agents voted to condemn Bruce's Beach and other African-American properties and take it by eminent domain. The property remained empty until 1956 when Manhattan Beach turned it into a park. The park changed names multiple times until 2007 when Mitch Ward, Manhattan Beach's first African-American councilman, along with local citizens, renamed the park Bruce's Beach. There was renewed interest in the history of Bruce's Beach during the Black Lives Matter uprising in 2020. The Bruce family reached out to public counsel who provided the Bruce family with hundreds of hours of advocacy and legal research pro bono. In the summer of 2022, Bruce's Beach was returned to the Bruce family over 98 years after it had been taken. The Bruce family has since sold their property back to Los Angeles County for $20 million.