A Beach Town Drive By

Who doesn't like to look at beautiful homes as you drive by? I myself am such a house-googler - I just eat up the details of a lovely house and always wonder what the inside looks like. I'm joining Melissa at The Inspired Room for a round-the-world drive by, and for my part offering some photos of houses in Manhattan Beach CA - the town where I was born, grew up, and lived about a third of my married life before we moved. I still consider it "my town" because my heart has remained there. A little history: Manhattan Beach began in the early 1900s, with clapboard beach-front homes built along the rail line that ran from Los Angeles to the harbor in Redondo Beach. It really started to grow in the 50s after WWII, with hundreds of homes built to accomodate the young families moving to the area. Most of the lots are small, especially nearest the beach, and the original houses were small, too - 2 or 3 bedrooms, 1 bath, and a single car garage. Today, most of those have been torn down and replaced with mega-houses. I can't say I like the density (it's one of the reasons we moved), but I will say that some of these big homes are gorgeous, and they cover just about every architectural style there is. I drove around last week and took photos of some favorites (click on them to see a larger version).

This first house is an original. My dad built it in 1958 for about $25,000 - today it's worth over a million. Crazy, yes? It's true that location is everything! My mom still lives here, and although the house has been added onto a few times it has never lost it's mid-century look. I can hardly believe that it's been around for 50 years!

This house is just down the street. I love the entry way.

The blue house below was built in 1946, and is a favorite of mine. It happens to be on a larger-than-usual lot.

My husband and I bought our dining table from the owners of this storybook house. They were moving to a totally different kind of house and were selling all their english styled furniture. There's an elevator inside!

I would love to live in this house with the diamond-paned windows! Or in the following one. I'm drawn to cozy English-style homes. 

Below is a typical kind of home built in the place of the little original houses - they fill up every inch of the property and are often Spanish or Mediterranean in style. I guess it goes hand-in-hand with our balmy California weather.

Then there are a few of these ultra-modern houses like the next one - to me this house could be mistaken for an office building! I couldn't get a picture of the front doors because a large truck was blocking that side, but they are a full two-stories high and they're made of metal. And by the way, only three people live in this house.

But other homes are sweet, like this Cape Cod -

or this Craftsman -

or this one that looks narrow, but goes way back and even has a tennis court...

or this contempory beach house on a hill with a gorgeous ocean view all the way to Catalina Island (on a clear day, anyway)...

and this one with it's cobblestoned driveway.

A lot of the streets are narrow without sidewalks -

but that's okay when the Pacific Ocean is just on the other side of that hill!

Comments

[melissa @ the inspired room]

Jill,

This was amazing! I can tell I would love that area! What wonderful houses! Thanks for sharing these, I was loving every minute of it.

Although, yikes, the prices might scare me away! Our houses here in Portland are not exactly cheap, though, so anymore not many prices shock me. If you have a decent house in a great neighborhood, there are no bargains!

Thanks for sharing! I'll link this up tomorrow!

Happy day,
Melissa

[janet]

Jill,

Great drive-by. I love the many styles, but the English ones are my favorites. I do *so* love your ocean!

Janet

[Karen]

Each home is more beautiful than the next. What a nice place to have such unique styles of homes all in the same area. Karen

[Neutral Dwelling]

Enjoyed the tour! They were all just beautiful.

[Hooked on Houses]

Oh, these are fun. Very different from what we have around here in Ohio. Thanks for sharing them with us! -Julia :-)

[Vee~A Haven for Vee]

Wonderful tour and I really enjoyed seeing a different sort of seaside community. Loved seeing the Cape Cods on the Pacific Coast...a nice twist. ;>

[Rhoda]

Jill, those are all beautiful, loved your tour!

Rhoda

[Julie size]

2 weeks until my beech vacation...and this post made me want it to HURRY up and get here!

If you have a minute - go to my blog and check out the winner of my Farm Logo contest. I am so excited!

[Jill Flory]

just had to comment! thanks for the pics! i read melissa's blog every day and love her drive-by's. it was fun to see yours too.
by the way, i love your name too!!
Jill Flory

[jkj]

super selections!! love ca. beach towns! from inland o.c. jkj

[Sweet Cottage Dreams]

Hi Jill! There are some wonderful homes in So. Cal!! I do think my favorites are the Cape Cod, Craftsman and then the one overlooking the ocean!!

Thank you for the tour!!

Becky in No. California

[cathy in sw Ohio]

I love the blue house too, big houses are neat to look at, but I will take smaller and homey over it any day.....love all your pictures!

[Angie]

Thank you so much for the tour of your neighborhood. One of my favorite activities is looking at houses and imagining what it would be like to own this house or that which is so different from my own basic multi-level:-)

It's an etsy: www.glitterme.etsy.com

[Kathy]

Oh, I love all of your photos! I lived in Manhattan Beach for a few years and these photos brought back so many great memories.

Thanks for sharing!

[Lisa]

These are really beautiful! You found a wonderful selection to feature.

[Candi-Teal Chic]

Wow, these homes are phenomenal! I would give anything to live in socal, so gorgeous!!!

[Brooke]

Beautiful! Beach houses are the happiest of all.

[Lisa]

Very cute houses! I would live in any one of them, except maybe the one that looks like an office building!