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28 DIGS.NET | 12.13.2019 D E C E M B E R 1 3 , 2 0 1 9 | I S S U E 2 1 9 722 1st Street, Unit D, Hermosa Beach, California, 90254 Office: 310.373.0142 South Bay Digs Magazine is published every other Friday by m3 Media, LLC. Reproduction in any form or by any means is strictly prohibited without the prior written consent from m3 Media LLC. The Publisher and advertisers are not responsible or liable for misinformation, misprints, or typographical errors. All advertised properties are subject to prior sale or withdrawal without notice. Real estate advertised in this publication is subject to the Federal Fair Housing Act. M3 Media will not knowingly accept any advertising for real estate which is in violation of the law. All persons are hereby informed that all dwellings advertised are available on an equal opportunity basis. Any and all submissions to this publication become the property of m3 Media, LLC and may be used in any media. 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DECEMBER 13, 2019 DIGS.NET PRESENTED BY ED K AMINSKY AND TINA PHILLIPS K AMINSKY REAL ESTATE GROUP STRAND HILL, CHRISTIE'S INTERNATIONAL REAL ESTATE FEATURE ON PAGE 148 INSIDE WORLD VIEW GREECE CHIC THE FUTURE FORMED Special Edition ARCHITECT DESIGN + BUILD PER FECTLY PALOS V ER DES An elegant new Lunada Bay home remixes classic California style to delight modern-day sensibilities PRESENTED BY ED KAMINSKY AND TINA PHILLIPS KAMINSKY REAL ESTATE GROUP STRAND HILL, CHRISTIE'S INTERNATIONAL REAL ESTATE 310.798.1277 LIST PRICE $3,899,000 FEATURED ON PAGE 148 CREATIVE SERVICES & AD DESIGN/ORIGINAL ARTWORK PROVIDED EXCLUSIVELY BY SOUTH BAY DIGS. © 2019 m3 Media, LLC. All rights reserved. Publisher Associate Publisher Editorial Director Production Manager Marketing Director Digital Media Director Senior Graphic Designer Graphic Designer Contributing Writers Senior Staff Photographer Warren J. Dow Carol Skeldon Amy Adams Lauren Potter Kyle Coats Kieron McKay Ryan Lyse Jim Alba Wendy Bowman Jenn Thornton Constance Dunn Karine Monié Joclene Davey Abigail Stone Paul Jonason EARLY REDONDO BEACH S O U T H B A Y History Tidbits DRE#: 01368971 Maureen Megowan 310.541.6416 mdmegowan@gmail.com Flotsam Castle One of the most unusual homes ever constructed in the beach communities of the South Bay was a home constructed entirely of driftwood by a local "hermit" on the beach at the southern end of Torrance Beach. The home was constructed by Louis C. Dart during the period from 1919 to 1925 and was known as both the "Flotsam Castle" as well as the "Hermit's Castle". Louis was an attorney by training who practiced in western Nebraska. After having lost his voice by too many years of "lawyering" and having suffered from kidney disease and other intestinal ailments, like many others at the time, moved to Southern California in September 1919 to try and regain his health. After working at several jobs at local ranchos, he went to the shoreline just south of the area known as Clifton-by-the-sea in Redondo Beach below the area later developed as Hollywood Riviera. There he found an old tent, and exhausted and deathly ill, stayed to die. Soon after, an old Mexican woman told him that the waters of the fresh water spring at the base of the cliff bluffs had healing powers. For a month, he lived only on the spring water. He then found some wild tomatoes at the top of the bluffs and lived for quite a while only on a broth of tomatoes and snails. Over that time, he miraculously regained his health and began to build his castle from driftwood and other materials he found on the beach. The port of Redondo was very active transporting materials, some of which found their way overboard drifting to shore. Louis stated that he only spent 20 cents on nails for an emergency and that all of the other materials were delivered to him by "Neptune's White Horses". On Thanksgiving in 1920, a 45 foot yacht named "Genevieve" moored just offshore, and winds that night broke her moorings and dashed the yacht on the rocks on the beach. The owners of the yacht paid Louis $5 to watch over the yacht overnight and then offered numerous items to him for helping them salvage the remains of the yacht. Many of these items found their way into the castle including an old galley stove whose remains slowly washed up on the shore over a two year period. Louis expanded the castle over the next several years finally reaching 4 stories in height. An old sign hung over the entrance reading "This building cost but little money but much work without which life affords no satisfying kick". Another sign read "My family-outside its appetite- is not so very big-Just a brindle Thomas cat and a black-nosed guinea pig". Over the years, the castle became popular with visitors and Louis raised money by selling soft drinks (cooled by a cooler fed by the spring), cigarettes, candy, and even started to bake and sell thousands of pies. Several other drift-wood homes were also built south of Louis' castle during the 1920's. After abandoning the castle sometime after 1925 and moving to Riverside, the developers of the Hollywood Riviera project burned the house down in May 1930. The above is an excerpt from my book "Historic Tales from Palos Verdes and the South Bay". For more info go to www.southbayhistory.com Flotsam Castle 1924 S O U T H B A Y History Tidbits mdmegowan@gmail.com Maureen Megowan 310.541.6416 mdmegowan@gmail.com Maureen Megowan 310.541.6416 S O U T H B A Y EARLY REDONDO BEACH History Tidbits brought the ancient art of Hawaiian surfing to the California coast. He owned most of the Redondo Beach was the home of California´s first modern surfer. In 1907, Henry Huntington properties in Redondo Beach and was eager to sell them to visiting Angelenos looking for a break from the heat of the greater Los Angeles basin. Huntington had seen Hawaiian beach boys surfing and decided to hire one of them; a young Hawaiian-English athlete named George Freeth to demonstrate the art of surfing for the entertainment of Redondo Beach visitors. George wanted to revive the art of surfing that he had seen depicted in old Polynesian paintings but found it difficult and had little success using the typical 16-foot hardwood boards. He cut them in half and unwittingly created the original long board which worked exceedingly well and made him the talk of the Hawaiian Islands. Starting in 1908, "The Man Who Could Walk On Water" as he was called, gave surfing demonstrations for the many tourists arriving at the beach on the big, red streetcars. George exhibited his surfing prowess for Redondo Beach visitors twice a day in front of the Hotel Redondo. He was eventually made the official Redondo Beach lifeguard and the first lifeguard in Southern California. From 1907 to 1915, George spread a surfing revolution that would eventually become a phenomenon on the California Coast. A memorial bronze statue of George Freeth was placed at the Redondo Beach Pier at it is often decorated with leis as tribute from surfers who visit from around the world. Several natural and man-made novelties lured early the Hermosa Beach city line there was Moonstone Beach. Natural mounds five to six feet deep and 40 to 50 feet wide of gem stones were there to poke around in. Carnation Gardens, in the general vicinity of Ruby and Sapphire Streets east of Catalina Avenue, offered 12 acres of sweet smelling flowers that were almost always in bloom. The piers, too, were an attraction. Sports fishing was unsurpassed and amusements such as games, rides and the largest salt water plunge in the world added to the excitement. One of the more interesting parks in Redondo Beach is Wilderness Park, an 11 acre oasis that feels like you are way out in the country. This park was originally a Nike missile site that was decommissioned by the Federal Government and transferred to the City of Redondo Beach on May 7, 1971. This park is available for overnight camp outs. Another attraction is the Seaside Lagoon, a salt water swimming area constructed in the early 1950's, whichis heated by the hot water used by a nearby utility plant to generate steam for the generation of electricity. Besides swimming, the Lagoon offers a large sand area for sunbathing, children's play equipment, snack bar facilities, and volleyball courts. There is also a grassed area and luau shelter for day and evening events. The above is an excerpt from my book "Historic Tales of Palos Verdes and the South Bay". For more info see http://www.southbayhistory.com.

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