DIGS is the premiere luxury real estate lifestyle magazine serving the most affluent neighborhoods in the South Bay and Westside of Los Angeles, California.
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AUGUST 11, 2023 | ISSUE 308 TO OUR READERS South Bay DIGS welcomes your feedback and encourages reader response to our editorial features. Please send your letters to the Publisher at 722 1st Street, Unit D, Hermosa Beach, California, 90254 or via email to Contact@WestsideDIGS.com. Please include your name and contact information. Letters may be published and we reserve the right to edit. ADVERTISING For inquiries, please contact Publisher Warren Dow at 310.373.0142. EDITORIAL For editorial inquiries, please email Editorial@SouthBayDIGS.com On The Cover 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. CREATIVE SERVICES & AD DESIGN/ORIGINAL ARTWORK PROVIDED EXCLUSIVELY BY SOUTH BAY DIGS. © 2023 Micro Market Media, LLC. All rights reserved. C O N N E C T W I T H U S Listen & subscribe on iTunes, digs.net or your favorite podcast provider. The Titans of Real Estate INFLUENCERS PODCAST .net Founder & CEO / Publisher President & COO Chief Growth Officer Digital Media Director Video Editor Senior Graphic Designer Contributing Writers Senior Staff Photographer Warren J. Dow William Bud Moore Kyle Coats Kieron McKay Matt Polizzi Rufus Agbede Jenn Thornton Constance Dunn Karine Monié Abigail Stone Paul Jonason TIMELESS CALIFORNIA CHARM A classic of Cape Dutch design makes for an enduring memory in Montecito COVER STORY WRITTEN BY VIRGINIA FAY FEATURED ON PAGE 58 Cover Photo: COURTESY OF JIM BARTSCH DRE#: 01368971 Maureen Megowan 310.541.6416 mdmegowan@gmail.com HERMOSA BEACH AQUARIUM S O U T H B A Y History Tidbits In the late 1940's and the 1950's, Hermosa Beach had, what at that time, was considered a state of the art Marine Aquarium - as reported in an article in the Daily Breeze in August 2006 by Andrea Sudano, the aquarium consisted of "giant glass-fronted tanks of the Ocean Aquarium just south of the pier and west of The Strand. Hermosa Beach's own mini Sea World stood just south of the pier where Shumacher Plaza now is -- or as the Daily Breeze put it in 1956: "Just walk to the foot of Pier Avenue and turn your feet to the right before they get wet. In front of you is a large gray building housing numerous specimen from the sea next door. It's the Ocean Aquarium." The original operator and owner A.D McBride opened the aquarium in 1947. The large blue building was round, so visitors could walk in a circle along the building's edges. The underwater zoo drew about 1.8 million visitors, including more than 25,000 group tours from the Boy Scouts and other youth and school organizations. At the time of its opening, it was considered one of the largest and most modern aquariums in the country. Being next to the ocean, fresh sea water for the tanks was easily available. The warm local waters were too warm for many of the fish, however, so refrigeration equipment was needed to cool the water. One particular stunt gained a huge amount of publicity when Redondo Beach resident Deo Fisher broke the world's record for most time spent underwater when she stayed under for 55 hours and 39 minutes in a porpoise tank as a publicity stunt. Many television programs at the time showed some of the sea creatures that made their home there. The aquarium also had daily shows of trained seals and the daily feeding of the animals drew large crowds. Long-time Hermosa Beach residents reminisce about buying three sardines for a nickel and feeding what was billed as the "fattest seal in the world". Winnie the Whale--very much deceased--was also on display but smelled of formaldehyde. "While Marineland of the Pacific entertained tourists on the Palos Verdes Peninsula for more than 30 years, the Ocean Aquarium wasn't nearly as lucky. By all accounts, the facility enjoyed barely a 10-year run. An apparent squabble between McBride and the city over a 40-year lease calling for the development of a new pier caused both parties to hire lawyers in January 1956." In 1957, the Aquarium was sold to Fred Thomas Salatino and a partner. "According to a Breeze article, the city was offered the aquarium's land and several nearby parcels for $85,000 in June 1958, and bought the land several years later. After the fish were shipped out, the underwater zoo apparently sat vacant for some time. Demolition on the structure began March 19, 1962, to make way for a parking lot." For more local history see my book "Historic Tales from Palos Verdes and the South Bay" at www.southbayhistory.com 18 DIGS.NET | 8.11.23