California Beach Returned To Family Nearly 100 Years After It Was Taken From Black Owners
Bruce's Beach was seized in 1925 under eminent domain to prevent its owners from giving Blacks access to the water. Today it's worth $21 million, officials said.
The roughly 7,000-square-foot property gave Blacks access to the beach at a time when they were otherwise prevented and discouraged from having access to the shore. Willa Bruce paid $1,225 for the property, according to an interview she gave in 1912 that described that price as “high” compared to nearby lots.
“Wherever we have tried to buy land for a beach resort we have been refused, but I own this land and I am going to keep it,” she said when faced with opposition from white locals who reportedly vowed to find a solution should the resort continue to operate.
Roughly 13 years later, in 1925, the land was seized by the Manhattan Beach Board of Trustees under eminent domain with claims that it would be turned into a park. Hahn’s motion, co-authored with Supervisor Holly Mitchell, noted that “it is well documented that this move was a racially motivated attempt to drive out the successful Black business and its patrons.”
The property was condemned just five years later, and the resort demolished. The land was transferred to the state until 1995, when it was then transferred to the county, which used it for lifeguard operations.
A transfer agreement returns the property to the family’s two great-grandsons, Marcus and Derrick Bruce. There’s a 24-month lease agreement in which the county will pay $413,000 annually for its continued use. It will also pay operation and maintenance costs. The agreement also includes the right for the county to purchase the land at a later date for $20 million.
The roughly 7,000-square-foot property gave Blacks access to the beach at a time when they were otherwise prevented and discouraged from having access to the shore. Willa Bruce paid $1,225 for the property, according to an interview she gave in 1912 that described that price as “high” compared to nearby lots.
“Wherever we have tried to buy land for a beach resort we have been refused, but I own this land and I am going to keep it,” she said when faced with opposition from white locals who reportedly vowed to find a solution should the resort continue to operate.
Roughly 13 years later, in 1925, the land was seized by the Manhattan Beach Board of Trustees under eminent domain with claims that it would be turned into a park. Hahn’s motion, co-authored with Supervisor Holly Mitchell, noted that “it is well documented that this move was a racially motivated attempt to drive out the successful Black business and its patrons.”
The property was condemned just five years later, and the resort demolished. The land was transferred to the state until 1995, when it was then transferred to the county, which used it for lifeguard operations.
A transfer agreement returns the property to the family’s two great-grandsons, Marcus and Derrick Bruce. There’s a 24-month lease agreement in which the county will pay $413,000 annually for its continued use. It will also pay operation and maintenance costs. The agreement also includes the right for the county to purchase the land at a later date for $20 million.
