Bruce's Beach

"A historic site that was originally a Black-owned resort. It symbolizes resilience and the struggle against racial exclusion in Los Angeles." - Natalie Preddie Natalie Preddie Natalie Preddie is a travel writer and broadcaster based in Toronto, Ontario. She is the mother of three little boys and focuses on family and BIPOC travel. Natalie has bylines in The Globe and

"In the 1920s, Willa and Charles Bruce built a resort known as Bruce's Beach—complete with a bath house, dance hall and cafe—to serve fellow Black residents of Manhattan Beach, making it one of the few beaches they could use due to segregation. Not surprisingly, the couple was harassed for their efforts, and eventually, in 1924, the city of Manhattan Beach used eminent domain to force them off their land to turn it into a park. In a landmark decision by LA County, the land will be returned to the Bruce family. But you can still visit the public park and the beach below to visit this important piece of Black history in LA." - Maxwell Williams, Krista Simmons