Bruce's Beach plaque dedication ceremony rescheduled due to storm
A ceremony to dedicate a plaque and an art piece at Bruce's Beach in Manhattan Beach has been rescheduled due to a winter storm bringing heavy rain across the Los Angeles area.
The Bruce's Beach Plaque Dedication Ceremony was scheduled for Saturday, Feb. 25. It has been rescheduled for Saturday, March 18, 2023, the city announced Thursday.
The Manhattan Beach City Council directed the plaque and art piece be placed at a park at 2600 Highland Avenue to honor the legacy of the Bruce family and residents of Bruce's Beach in the 1920s.
The Bruce family purchased and owned the segregated property, and the African-American beach resort opened in 1912. The Bruce family ran it as a recreation area with a lodge, dining hall and fishing pier for the Black community before racism drove the Bruces off the property. The property was reclaimed by the city of Manhattan Beach in 1924 by eminent domain.
In 2006, the Manhattan Beach City Council renamed the parcel of land Bruce's Beach as a first step toward righting the wrongs that were done to the Bruce family
On July 20, 2022, Los Angeles County officials handed the property deed over to Bruce family members during a ceremony on the Bruce's Beach property, which is where the L.A. County Lifeguard Training Center is located, at 26th Street and The Strand. It was the first time the government has ever made appropriations for land taken from a Black family.
The Bruce family has since decided to sell its portion of the Manhattan Beach Bruce's Beach property back to the County of Los Angeles for nearly $20 million.
"We apologize for any inconvenience by the postponement of the original event," the city said in Thursday's statement. "We are committed to honoring the legacy of the African American community affected by the eminent domain ruling, which ultimately seized the land of African American homeowners and others who owned properties in the area from Highland Avenue to the Strand between 26th Street and 27th Street in the early 1900's. We appreciate your patience and understanding, and we look forward to commemorating the plaque monument dedication with the community on March 18th.
