SEAL BEACH : FOCUS : An Old-Town Feeling

L.A. Times Archives

Jan. 28, 1988 12 AM PT

Seal Beach is a community of striking contrast--from its pier, the longest in southern California at one-third of a mile long--to Leisure World, a retirement community that was the first of its type in the nation. When a storm destroyed the pier in January, 1983, the residents were out campaigning the next day for rebuilding funds and were instrumental in collecting $100,000 to assist in rebuilding it two years later. The U. S. Naval Weapons Base takes up approximately 10.7 square miles and was commissioned during World War II to load and store munitions for ships. On the base is a wildlife refuge, which has become a bird sanctuary. It houses five endangered species, including the California least tern. Quaint in its appearance, Main Street has a “village air” where people walk to the beach, tiny shops, bars, theaters and an old-fashioned barbershop. The father of Seal Beach, P.A. Stanton and the Bayside Land Company, changed its name from Bay City in 1915--due to the gathering of seals on the beach and to avoid confusion with San Francisco. Today, it encompasses Leisure World, the downtown area along Main Street, and residental areas known as The Hill, College Park East and College Park West. Among one of Seal Beach’s proudest civic possessions is the original pipe organ from the old Paramount Theatre in New York, which is located at the Bay Theatre. Government

City Council: Edna Wilson (mayor), Joe Hunt (mayor pro tem), Frank W. Clift, Joyce Risner, Victor S. Gergas

City Manager: Robert Nelson

Fire Chief: county

Chief of Police: Stacy Picascia

Statistics

Population (1986 est.): 26,244

Area: 10.7 land, 7.5 water square miles

Incorporation: Oct. 27, 1915

Median household income: $23,973

Median home value: $125,852

Racial/ethnic mix: white, 95.3%; Latino, 4.3%; black, .9%; other, 3.8%

(Total is more than 100% because racial/ethnic breakdowns overlap) City Services