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What's in a name?
Residents in east part of town seek identifier
by John Tawa
"What part of town are you from?"
"Liberty Village"
"Where do you live?"
"El Porto"
"I live in the trees."
"Sand Section for me."
Hill Section, The Strand, the Village. It seems every part of Manhattan Beach has a name.
Except one.
Well, it does have a name. Just not a very good one.
"East of Sepulveda."
Oh, it's been called other things. Realtors refer to the area between Marine Avenue and Artesia Boulevard, Sepulveda Boulevard and Aviation Boulevard as "East Manhattan." Manhattan Beach Historical Society president Bonnie Beckerson said it once was called the "soil section" and the "dirt section." And historian Jan Dennis said the area, which used to contain farms, nurseries and mink and chicken ranches, was known as the "back country." (Her new book "Shadows on the Dunes," which chronicles 100 years of architecture in Manhattan Beach, is due out in December).
In the past, city planners referred to it as "the inland area."
"We don't really know what to call it," said Rosemary Lackow, Senior Planner and unofficial staff historian. "We've started referring to it as East Manhattan."
Those aren't very satisfying names for a part of town where large lots and million dollar homes are now commonplace. Where once some Manhattan Beach residents delighted in saying there was no life east of Sepulveda, that simply isn't the case anymore.
The place needs a name, said east-of-Sepulveda resident Joyce Fahey, a Manhattan Beach councilmember.
'Until I moved east of Sepulveda two years ago, I really didn't know what a jewel of a community we have here," she explained. "There's a Midwestern feeling to the neighborhood, where people stop by to say 'hi' and welcome you to the community, bake cookies for one another, have block parties and look after each other's homes. We have a community spirit that's extraordinary. We deserve recognition in a name to match our spirit."
That may be easier said than done.
"I think you can try to impose any name you want on an area," said Arnold Goldstein of Shorewood Realtors, "but I personally don't think it will stand unless it's a name the public could accept."
For instance, a few years ago, someone wanted to name the east Manhattan area near Mira Costa High School the "Poet's Corner" because of the many streets -- Longfellow, Keats, Shelley and Tennyson -- named after famous poets. But nothing ever came of the effort, Lackow said.
What the area needs is a name that has staying power. The Tree Section got its name because of the many varieties of trees planted by Standard Oil to entice people to buy homes just south of the refinery. The Hill and Sand Section names are self-explanatory. And Liberty Village and Manhattan Village got their names from the builders who developed the areas.
But east of Sepulveda? What name should it have?
"If you look at the areas that do have names, it's the land," Dennis said. "East of Sepulveda didn't have any particular characteristic. It was flat, fertile land and the last area to be developed in town."
Fahey suggests the name "East Hills."
"I tried to think of a name that fits the area and reflects the beauty of the community," Fahey explained. "We have beautiful hills. We are east of Sepulveda. I thought the name "East Hills" would most accurately reflect the neighborhood."
Beckerson thinks the name fits.
"That sounds quite ritzy," she said. "Something ritzy would be good."
Lackow was more lukewarm to the suggestion.
"There are lots of hills, but north of Manhattan Beach Boulevard, it's not all that hilly," she said.
Realtor John Chuka of Northwest Realty said that a name for the area east of Sepulveda might give it more cachet.
"South of Manhattan Beach Boulevard is becoming an exclusive area," he explained. "I think it could give it a distinction that isn't there right now."
Goldstein wasn't so sure.
"From a business standpoint, I don't think it would change anything," he said. "I don't think it would affect property values. I don't know how you could change the way people think of it now unless you could come up with the right name."
What would you call the area? Write Easy Reader at P.O. 427, Hermosa Beach, 90254, fax us at 310-318-6292 or e-mail us at easyreader@earthlink.net.
We'll publish the suggestions next week. ER