125 years ago Redondo Beach was in the running to become Port of Los Angeles. A rail line was built from Los Angeles to Redondo's Wharves. Manhattan Beach was developed along that rail lineManhattan Beach Pier:
The oldest concrete pier on the West Coast. Originally built in 1897. It was replaced in 1920 after being destroyed in the storms of 1913 and 14. In 1992 it was again restored after storms in 1988 had waves crashing above the deck. They replaced the deck, roundhouse, and lifeguard station.The land in Manhattan Beach was originally just sand dunes. During the 1920s and 1930s they leveled out the uneven sandy sites and sold some of the excess sand to Hawaii to make Waikiki.
George Peck owned a section of the north end of town and always called it Shore Acres. In 1901, Developer John Merrill bought the south portion and called his section Manhattan after his hometown New York City. Peck and Merrill couldn't agree on the city name and in 1902 they flipped a coin. Manhattan won. Then the Post master demanded they add Beach to the name in 1927.