Willa and Charles Bruce paid $1,225 for beachfront property in 1912 and built a resort where Black people could actually swim. A restaurant, a dancehall, changing rooms and showers.
Manhattan Beach condemned it in 1924 and said the city needed a park.
The buildings came down in 1927. The Bruces asked for $120,000 and were paid $14,500.
Then the lot sat there. No park. Not for nearly thirty years.
And the park was never the point.
In 2022 the county handed the deed to Willa and Charles's great grandsons, ninety eight years after the taking. In 2023 the family sold it for close to twenty million.
Some receipts take a century to clear.
100% combed cotton, 6.5 oz heavyweight
Regular fit, side-seamed with shoulder-to-shoulder taping
Ribbed neck, double-needle hems, pre-shrunk
Printed to order in our own shop
Fit note: Regular fit with a refined drape. True to size.
