Cookies sporting the Manhattan Beach Library seal were available for visitors Saturday in celebration of the library’s centennial.
It started with what now might be considered a women’s book club.
In 1910, the Neptunian Society, a women’s club involved in community and philanthropic work, began taking turns reading a romantic adventure book to each other called “Cardillac” by Robert Barr. This was two years before the city of Manhattan Beach was founded and the undeveloped land was made up mostly of beachside vacation homes.
Jan Dennis, former Manhattan Beach mayor and a historian, who has written six books on the history of Manhattan Beach, said that the Neptunian Society soon decided to build a library.
At the time, the population in Manhattan Beach was at about 600, and for ten cents a piece locals could rent from a collection of 225 books.
“They were just so intent on building a community that was unique and Manhattan Beach may have faults one place or another but it’s a unique town,” Dennis said. “It’s remained basically a family town, even more so today.”
Although the library is celebrating its centennial, Dennis said that technically it’s even older than one hundred years because it is older than the city of Manhattan Beach, which is celebrating its centennial in December.
The library has always been a fixture in the city. It has moved over the years from Neptunian Society’s clubhouse on the strand to city hall in 1916, then to 15th Street and Valley Drive (where the post office is located now) in 1965. It has been in its present location on Highland Avenue since 1973.
Saturday morning the library had balloons and cookies for its visitors. They also screened the movie, “Deskset,” in which Katherine Hepburn plays a librarian. Community library manager Don Gould said that the event was “low-key” but enjoyable.
Many of the visitors at the event were also there for the library book sale, which Gould says earns around $35,000 for the library annually.
“We love it,” Manhattan Beach resident David Rhew said about the library. His 3-year-old daughter, Amelie, was propped on his shoulders holding two balloons. He laughed a little, saying, “The kids love it. What they also love is the water fountain next door.”
Last Wednesday Dennis spoke to a small crowd about the history of the library. Dennis said the Neptunian Society was largely responsible for the founding of the city too—well before women’s suffrage, which culminated in 1920.
“It was so evident and obvious the women had a lot to do with the development of the town,” Dennis said. She smiled, adding, “I still have guys who come out and say, ‘When are you going to write a book about the men?’ And I say, ‘I’m not.’” ER
