(note: to make amends for a similar situation in Detroit, local Black leaders, city council, the Mayor and State officials support filling in the land that was taken and building a business district that will benefits the White residents and White businesses. They insult the Black citizens by telling them it will correct the destruction of Paradise Valley)
(note: citizens are meeting November 10 at 6:00 PM at Bert’s place to discuss what can be done)
.
By Jeanne Fratello
In a formal ceremony on Wednesday, Los Angeles County officials handed the deed to the Manhattan Beach beachfront property once owned by Willa and Charles Bruce to their descendants.
L.A. County Supervisor Holly Mitchell asked the crowd to imagine what the Bruces had been thinking at the time, buying beachfront property at a time when L.A. County and its beaches were segregated.
“Today we are here to honor that courageous vision, to acknowledge the trials and tribulations that pursued, and in 2022 – with these fearless leaders and advocates bearing witness and all of you here – to return the property to its rightful owners,” she said. Gesturing to the Bruce family members on stage and in the audience, she added, “Let’s welcome the Bruces back home.”
Last month, the L.A. County Board of Supervisors unanimously approved a transfer agreement to return the property to the Bruce family descendants. Under the agreement, the land being returned to the Bruce family are Lots 8 and 9 of Peck’s Manhattan Beach Tract, an estimated 7,000-square-foot property that has been appraised at a value of $21 million. These lots are currently being used by the L.A. County Fire Department as a lifeguard training facility. The motion authorizes the county to lease back the property from the Bruce Family LLC for $413,000 each year. The lease agreement includes an option for the county to purchase back the land for $20 million.
The county has identified Marcus and Derrick Bruce, the great-grandsons of Charles and Willa
Bruce, as the legal heirs.
Bruce, as the legal heirs.
The beachfront property in question – the former site of the Bruce’s Beach resort – is separate from Bruce’s Beach Park, the open space directly to the east of the lifeguard headquarters that is owned by the city of Manhattan Beach.
A new county-designed plaque has been unveiled on the Manhattan Beach Strand at the site of the former Bruce’s Beach read more
