Redondo Beach was recently named one of the top “best places for the rich and single,” by Money Magazine. According to the August article, Redondo Beach ranked number five alongside other California towns including Irvine that was named number six for their tech hubs, and number 10, Mountain View California for their tech billionaire companies like Google, LinkedIn and Intuit.
Cities that topped this year’s list were Newton, Mass. at $145,636, Hoboken, N.J. at $140,780, and Brookline, Mass. at $139,756.
In 2011, CNN Money contributor Grace Wong bestowed Manhattan Beach with the top prize because of the 30.2 percent single rate and the median income of $154,860, along with the label of “sophistication with a beach.” Manhattan Beach also beat out the famous 90210 zip code that was named number three, Beverly Hills. On the 2011 list, Hermosa Beach was rated number four with an almost 50 percent rate of single people, and a median income of $134,033. Redondo Beach didn’t even make the top 25 list. This year both Manhattan Beach and Hermosa Beach were left out.
The jump in rank for Redondo Beach has many factors and Redondo Beach is actively attempting to address those changes to make it one of the best Southern California seaside tourist attractions as well as one of the best places to be no matter your income or relationship status.
According to writer Tom Ziegler, a contributor to Money Magazine, of the 66,882 population in Redondo Beach, 33.6 percent are single and the median family income is $118,545.
Ziegler went on to explain that Redondo Beach was once the playground for “Tinsletown’s elite, and the surf and sand still rule in a city that maintains the feel of a seaside resort.”
Tinsletown did flock to Redondo Beach and it was once a major Southern California tourist attraction in the early 1900s. Tourists and celebrities flocked to Redondo Beach because of the extravagant buildings including the Loof Hippodrome carousel and famous bath house also called “the plunge,” and the opulent Pavilion. The plunge attracted thousands to the city because it was the largest indoor saltwater pool in the world.
“By the early 1900s, the mentality and ambiance of the beach resort evolved into a place of fantasy and fun. Catering more to the burgeoning middle class of America, the next generation of architecture expressed notions of exotic enchantment, international wonder, and overall, a philosophy of pure American fun,” wrote Jennifer Krintz in her book, “Images of America – Redondo Beach Pier.”
Redondo also had and a “V”-shaped pier for strolling and fishing and an extravagant building called Hotel Redondo. Their grandeur attracted vacationers and local beachgoers from across California.
Redondo Beach also had electric cars that brought visitors in from Los Angeles, an amusement zone including the famous Redondo Beach Lightning Racer roller coaster built in 1920, and even a casino. Now, the main street, El Paseo, that played host to a bustling Southern California tourism Mecca, has been redeveloped with large condominiums and Catalina Avenue and the Esplanade have been turned into the main thoroughfares near the beach. In 1941 “the Plunge” was demolished, the amusement park was turned into what is now King Harbor. With the advent of World War II, the bustling tourism town fell into decline.
The pier is still a bustling city center, with fisherman, entertainment, restaurants and souvenir boutiques, but it has never been able to attract the amount of tourists it did in the early 1900s. However, city plans are currently in the works to revitalize the pier area and turn it back into the magnificent tourism attraction it once was.
“The Redondo Beach Waterfront is a priceless asset that must be carefully nurtured,” said Mayor Mike Gin in a press release in December for a pier remodel ribbon cutting. “Together, the City and Waterfront stakeholders will create a destination that is an attractive and renewed source of pride for residents and a significant generator of tourism based economic activity.”
The Waterfront Revitalization will involve three main projects including improvements to city-owned buildings and public spaces, a historic remodel of the 31,000-square-foot Redondo Landing building and an addition of a new hotel on Harbor Drive.
The pier streetscape will be renovated along with the lighting and furnishings. The improvements and remodeling will be reminiscent of what the pier used to be, modeling after a “vintage” look.
The new look is inspired by the original Looff Hippodrome, the carousel building built on the pier in the 1920s. Also included in the plan are various historical and nautically-themed murals, including one featuring a history of the city featuring a timeline of fires, storms and also celebrations and community landmarks. Various upgrades, including pier furniture, will be made of salvaged building materials whenever possible.
Publicly they have been putting money into the rebuilding of many areas like the Seaside Lagoon, the Mole B Master Plan, a new pier parking system, Harbor Drive bike lanes and a new Harbor Patrol facility and smaller streetscape improvement projects on the pier.
They have also been negotiating with private leaseholds, urging them to improve their buildings in order to maintain their stay on the property. According to Pete Carmichael, the Redondo Beach Harbor director, more than $50 million will be going into the waterfront in the next two years, including the leaseholder’s $40 million in upgrades and the city’s planned $5-$10 million on public improvements. The next step for the city is to find a developer who has an overall vision for the waterfront who can move the current disjointed pier into a community-centered recreational area.
This Thursday, residents will have a chance to meet three developers and see them present their visions for the new waterfront. The meeting will be held at the Redondo Beach main library upstairs conference room from 1:30 – 7 p.m.
The numbers from CNN Money’s “Best Places to be Rich and Single,” were sourced from the census and OnBoard projections/aggregations and included cities that were at least 30 percent of the population was single.
