A wide variety of terrains, activities in acres of parks

A local indulges in an old English pastime on a manicured section of Clark Stadium park where the 74-year-old Hermosa Beach Lawn Bowling Club holds sway. Photo

An amateur historian and lover of the local outdoors mulls Hermosa’s distinctive parks. In following weeks she will focus upon the history of various individual parks.

by Doris Beaman

I returned to Hermosa Beach, “beautiful beach,” after being away for more than 50 years. I returned to the same house I lived in from the time I was 2 years old until I was 5. My mother bought the house on 30th Street in 1945 for $3,000.
After spending most of my adult life in the Sacramento area I have returned to paradise. My mother insisted that we move back to this house so she could be cared for through the rest of her days in the city that she loved. I am so glad that she insisted. What is not to love about Hermosa Beach?
One of the first things that I noticed upon my return, other than the beach, was Hermosa Valley Park, on Valley Drive in the north part of town. It is just a few blocks from my house. It is continuously filled with children and parents, nannies and their charges, young adults playing various games on the grass, men playing basketball, dogs walking their masters, and people getting away from it all and spending a lunch hour under a shady tree. It buzzes with the laughter of youngsters in the playground.
My old neighborhood park in central California was only that busy on holidays or special events. Why? One reason is the weather and another is our lifestyle.
I became very interested in all of the parks. I began to notice that along with the largest official park in Hermosa Beach, which is the beach itself, the traditional parks are also widely used. I stopped by the Lawn Bowling Club at the Clark Stadium park, because they had a sign announcing an open house. I became an active member of the club.

Spice of life

Do you know that we have more than 63 acres of beach? Do you know that we have 24 parks in our 1.3 square miles of city? Do you know that besides the beach, the Greenbelt is the most widely used park? Did you know that in 1960 the City Council declared that the entire city be a bird sanctuary?
I personally use, on a regular basis, Valley Park, the Lawn Bowling Club, the Greenbelt, the Clark Building for Garden Club meetings, the beach, and tennis courts at Clark Stadium and at the Community Center on Pier Avenue.
As issues arise and changes are proposed in the parks, I hope that Hermosans become knowledgeable about our parks and their history, so that they can help make decisions that are the best for everyone who lives in Hermosa Beach.
The sources I am using for my research are the archives of the Hermosa Beach Historical Society, including past issues of Easy Reader, The Beach Reporter and Daily Breeze, Pat Gazin’s book Footprints on the Sand, and interviews with community members. I have received information as well from city Public Works Superintendent Mike Flaherty, members of the Parks and Recreation Commission, and Carol Tanner, who assists me with the research.
Doris Beaman is a member of the Hermosa Beach Historical Society and the Hermosa Beach Lawn Bowling Club and the Hermosa Beach Garden Club.
Next: Hermosa Valley Park

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