Climate Manhattan Beach benefits from ocean breezes that provide clean air and summer temperatures that are cooler than the inland regions of Southern California. The city has a total area of . Manhattan Beach features of ocean frontage.
Beach and sand dunes A majority of the land in Manhattan Beach was once exposed sand dunes, which now lie beneath the city's buildings and streets. The underlying dunes afford residents ocean views throughout the western portions of the city. The tallest hill is 244 feet high, and it is located in the city's southwest region. The only remaining exposed sand dune is at
Sand Dune Park, where sand resembling the original landscape can also be found. In the late 1920s, excess sand from Manhattan Beach was purchased by Hawaiian developers, who negotiated a deal with the Kuhn Brothers Construction Company to ship the sand across the
Pacific Ocean from Manhattan Beach via Los Angeles Harbor to
Waikiki Beach over a ten-year period. The beach is approximately 2.1 miles long and 400 feet wide. In the early part of the last century, the beach was narrow (approximately 150 feet) and sloping. From 1938 to 1989, it more than doubled in width when large quantities of sand were placed on beaches to the north during construction of the
Hyperion Treatment Plant,
Marina del Rey, and Scattergood Power Plant. The sand was carried southward by the ocean's natural littoral flow and widened Manhattan Beach. Every August, the city hosts the
Manhattan Beach Open volleyball tournament and the International Surf Festival.
Neighborhoods The city has several distinct neighborhoods, including the "Strand", "Sand Section", "Hill Section", "Tree Section", "Gas Lamp Section", "Manhattan Village", "Manhattan Heights", "East Manhattan Beach" (Manhattan Village, Manhattan Heights, Liberty Village), "The Poet's Section" (Shelley, Tennyson, Longfellow, Keats), and "El Porto" (North Manhattan Beach). The Roth Tract, between Herrin and Peck, is sometimes referred to as the "Bird Section." The "Hill Section" is known for its high-priced homes; many of the residences are remodeled or newly constructed. The steep hills allow panoramic ocean and city views. The "Sand Section" has quiet walk-street neighborhoods adjacent to the ocean. Oceanfront homes stretch along the bike path and walking lane of "The Strand". "The Strand" section of Manhattan Beach includes some of the most expensive real estate per square foot in the United States. Since 2010, new property developments in Manhattan Beach cannot exceed two lot parcels. Size and appearance restrictions were enacted by the Manhattan Beach City Council to preserve the appearance of the beachfront community after three lots were joined to create a oceanside home in 2008.
Downtown "Downtown" Manhattan Beach is considered the heart of the city. The area runs along Manhattan Beach Boulevard and the streets perpendicular to the
Manhattan Beach Pier and Valley Drive. There are Zagat-rated casual fine-dining restaurants, specialty boutiques and retailers that create a pedestrian-friendly, mixed-use downtown center. The Metlox site, where the
pottery factory once stood for decades, was closed in the early 1990s and redeveloped into a mixed-use center. The Metlox site includes a luxury boutique hotel, spa, restaurants, shops and underground parking.
North Manhattan Beach District The North Manhattan Beach business district is located near the intersection of
Rosecrans and
Highland and has restaurants and shops. The district is defined as covering "32nd Street to 45th Street and consist[s] of over 80 businesses".
Rosecrans Corridor The Rosecrans corridor is located on the south side of Rosecrans Avenue, east of
Sepulveda, and west of
Aviation. The Manhattan Beach Country Club, the westdrift Manhattan Beach Hotel and Golf Course, retail stores, restaurants, supermarkets, multi-story office buildings, and shopping centers border the Rosecrans corridor between Sepulveda and Aviation Boulevards. The Rosecrans corridor is adjacent to The Point and Plaza El Segundo off Sepulveda Blvd, which features additional retailers.
Sepulveda Corridor The Sepulveda Corridor occupies the commercial zone and is the city's main north–south highway. The area includes the
Manhattan Village Mall, which is located east of Sepulveda Boulevard between Marine and Rosecrans Avenues. The mall, built in the early 1980s, was remodeled in the late 1990s and early 2000s. The Manhattan Village Mall is executing a multimillion-dollar redevelopment that adds both outdoor and enclosed retail and restaurant space. There are several medium-sized hotels, large automobile dealerships, automotive repair shops, restaurants, multi-story office buildings, medical buildings, pharmacies, banks, and small shopping centers along this corridor.
Kaiser Permanente's medical offices include a laboratory and pharmacy.
Aviation Corridor The Aviation Corridor is located along Aviation Boulevard (the city's eastern boundary), south of Rosecrans Avenue, and north of Marine Avenue. Aviation High School was located at the intersection of
Manhattan Beach Boulevard and Aviation until it closed in the early 1980s. The zone includes several major entertainment and aerospace complexes, including the Manhattan Beach Studios Media Campus and the
Northrop Grumman Space Park Complex. Manhattan Beach Media Campus has production for movies and entertainment including the
Marvel Studios motion pictures
Thor (2011) and
Iron Man 2 (2010) and both sequels to
James Cameron's
Avatar movie. The studio complex has large photovoltaic
solar panel rooftop installations in the area which generates approximately 1 megawatt of power. ==Demographics==