Hermosa’s History and the murals that pay tribute

By Jamie Erickson, Hermosa Beach Museum Director & Curator

Hermosa Beach became the 19th incorporated city of Los Angeles County on January 14, 1907, the measure passing by a singular vote amongst residents who casted ballots. Since then, Hermosa Beach has always been what some would call a small town, coined as the best little beach city. Both lifelong locals and newly minted residents alike are in agreement that the ability to walk and bike around a town by the sea is one of the many things that makes Hermosa Beach a great place to live. And although the footprint of Hermosa may be small, the story of Hermosa Beach has been dynamic, engaging, and anything but small.

Some eighty years after the founding of Hermosa Beach, in early Spring of 1987, a small group of dedicated Hermosans met in the Stroyke home at the Foot of Longfellow with a common mission in mind–protecting the history of Hermosa Beach together. They founded the Hermosa Beach Historical Society, the present day Hermosa Beach Museum.

One of our founding members of the Museum, who was also the first female City Council Member and Mayor of Hermosa Beach, was Pat Gazin. Pat extensively researched and documented the history of Hermosa Beach, publishing two books on the town in her lifetime. She also created the first walking tour in town in the 1970s that focused on historic landmarks and homes on The Strand. In 2020, the Museum updated the tour to include historic homes that have survived the changing tides of the decades.

The Strand itself began in 1902 as a boardwalk made of Oregon pine planks. Redondo Beach residents called it a walk to the middle of nowhere. From time to time, high tides would wash the planks out to sea, leading to sections of it gradually being replaced with cement between 1914 and 1926. Starting in North Hermosa Beach at the famous landmark 90210 House and working your way down to the Sea Sprite, there are many gems still proudly standing that you can glimpse on the North side of the pier.

Warren Miller, famed ski and extreme sport film producer lived at 3417 The Strand, which was built in 1910. The home located at 3105 The Strand was once owned by the Farmer John Family, their logo being familiar to all who have ever brought home the bacon. 2440 The Strand is connected to Old Holywood, as it was the home to Mae Marsh who was featured in Birth of a Nation and her husband Lee Arms who was an editor, sports columnist and publicist. Lee Arms lived in his Hermosa home until he was 100 years old.

1602 The Strand, built in 1926 by T.C. Prouty, founder of Hermosa Tile and Metlox Pottery still stands both inside and out in its original state. The art deco home was completed in 1928, and is filled with the original 1920s tile manufactured in Hermosa Beach. Present day restaurant Vista, was once the legendary Thelen’s The Mermaid, a famous watering hole for old-time Hermosans– just ask one of them, they all have a story about The Mermaid!

Since 1987 the Museum has made it a point to preserve, share, and celebrate our local history with the community. Today the Museum is proud to be the guardian of 10 historic murals in Hermosa Beach installed by the Hermosa Beach Murals Project, each representing a unique period of time and historical facet of the town. The Mural’s Project was founded by local resident and Mayor Chuck Sheldon with a simultaneously humble and ambitious goal: the nonprofit group raised the funds to paint 10 murals in 10 years around the City of Hermosa Beach. Over that decade the group devoted themselves to producing these murals, each with its own unexpected historical theme, sizable-wall placement, and distinctive muralist.

The majority of the murals are in the downtown Hermosa area, adding a vibrant window to the past to our most frequented district. The first Mural painted by Art Mortimer at 14th and Hermosa Ave. on the North Wall is a historic scene looking west towards the Pier in 1924. Mural #2 by Chris Coakley at 140 Pier and Manhattan Ave, called Splash shows a birds eye view of a developing Hermosa Beach, with spits of sand still visible in between houses. While Chris was painting the mural, lifetime residents walked by and shared descriptions of the structures in the Mural that Chris incorporated as he painted. Mural #5 located at Hermosa Ave. and 14th Street by John Van Hamersveld, creator of the Endless Summer poster, pays homage to the evolution of the surf history in Hermosa Beach and each distinct era. Mural #8 by Daniel Inez located at 13th and Hermosa Ave. recognizes the deep roots of skateboarding and punk in the 70s and 80s Hermosa scene, while Mural #10 by John Pugh shows the great Biltmore Hotel that dominated the shoreline from 1924 until 1969.

Next time you have a coffee date walk down The Strand or want to know more history behind the murals we pass by everyday, be sure to grab a copy of our tours from the Museum at the Community Center, or from the Chamber of Commerce—you will be surprised at the history that has survived the test of time.

Today, we can look back on our history with pride and appreciation as we walk, bike, and sometimes even drive around the City. Next time you find yourself on a walk, we encourage you to take a moment and appreciate the depth and breadth in character of this little beach town. And if you find yourself on upper Pier Avenue, stop by the Museum to learn more about Hermosa Beach, or to share a story about your favorite local tradition or moment in Hermosa Beach history. ■