By 1903, Hermosa Beach consisted of five homes, the first one built known as Hill House and owned by the Hiss family. Hill House was similar to most homes built during this time period in that they were wood-frame structures built solely for eating, sleeping, and staying warm during the cold, wet winters by the sea.
The intersection of Manhattan Avenue and Manhattan Beach Boulevard has been the focal point of activity in Manhattan Beach since the city’s inception. In the late 1930s it got a little busier with the La Mar Theater.
The creative streak that feeds Gerard Bisignano’s real estate acumen can be traced to a pivotal moment in his early teen years. “My dad was a war correspondent in Vietnam,” says the Palos Verdes native.
ON THE COVER Beach Cosmopolitan: A Modernist statement house rises at the north end of Hermosa Beach presented by Chris Plank and Lynn Range of Vista Sotheby’s International Realty.
Situated between the fun bustle of Hermosa Beach Pier and downtown Manhattan Beach, it’s a mellow residential area where pedestrians and bicyclists travel along wide streets.
In the late-1980s, Marco Rufo was a Boston transplant attending UCLA and working part-time as a limo driver. One of his steadiest clients was the head of a Japanese conglomerate.