With the goal of creating a space for Black Angelenos to visit the ocean during a time of beach segregation, Willa Bruce purchased Lot 8 of Block 5, on this site, in 1912. Willa told the Los Angeles Times, “Wherever we have tried to buy land for a beach resort we have been refused. But I own this land and I’m going to keep it.” On June 17, 1912, she and her husband, Charles, opened a portable cottage offering refreshments, bathing suits, and changing areas to the public. The popularity of the Bruces’ resort increased, drawing hundreds – and, at times, thousands – of Black visitors to the area. By the summer of 1916, the Bruces replaced their portable cottage with a two-story structure that included changing rooms, a dance hall, and restaurant.

Inspired by the Bruces, other Black families purchased land in the surrounding area and built cottages and vacation homes, creating a summer community for Black Angelenos. This included veteran Buffalo Soldier Major Reverend George W. and his wife Mrs. Ethel Prioleau, who purchased the southern half of Lot 4, Block 12 in 1919. The northern half was purchased by Ms. Elizabeth (Emma) M. Patterson in 1922. Together, they built a duplex, which was moved to another location in 1925 and still stands in Manhattan Beach today. In 1923, caterer Mrs. Mary Sanders bought Lot 6, Block 12, and Mr. and Mrs. Milton B. and Anna E. Johnson purchased Lot 1, Block 12.

One week after Bruce’s Beach closed, James and Lula Slaughter opened a boarding house on 26 Street, opposite the condemned area. Advertised in the California Eagle as “Formerly Bruce’s Beach,” accommodations were open to the Black community.

The same month, the Board of Trustees entered an agreement with local businessman, Oscar Bessonette, to “lease” the beach between the Strand and the Pacific Ocean, rendering it private property. According to the Los Angeles Times, the lease was an “aid to keeping out undesirable visitors.” Bessonette placed “No Trespassing” signs on the beach, subjecting violators to arrest.

Manhattan Beach officials selectively enforced the trespassing laws, repeatedly confronting and harassing Black beachgoers. Tension peaked when UCLA student Elizabeth Catley was arrested and held for hours in a Redondo Beach jail in her bathing suit.

On July 17, 1927, the Los Angeles chapter of the NAACP organized its first peaceful protest. Chapter president Dr. Henry Claude Hudson led a “swim in” and four protestors were charged with resisting an officer. At trial, Bessonette testified that the actual intent of the “No Trespassing” signs was to keep “Colored people” off the beach.

The court ruled against the protestors, but on appeal, the decision was overturned. The City of Manhattan Beach canceled its lease with Bessonette. The NAACP’s actions and court decision set a precedent that would forever discourage private exploitation of the Manhattan beachfront.

In the immediate aftermath of the trial, violence against Black residents increased. On the night of October 18, 1927, hooded individuals allegedly approached the Slaughter residence and set the gas meter aflame. Venice Evening Vanguard reported, “Dynamite, bullets and the secret torch are all alleged to have been employed by residents in order to induce the [N]egroes to travel. Certain citizens objected to a colored settlement.”

In February 1928, Los Angeles newspaper The Record reported that the Los Angeles District Attorney’s office had launched an investigation into the violence, adding that the situation had “grown to the proportion of a race war.” Ultimately, the 1928 Grand Jury did not pursue any formal indictments.