When the old local favorite Toes Beach surf spot lost its wonderful waves due to the construction of a breakwater to protect the marina, El Porto Beach stepped up to provide surfers with some new waves to explore.
Penny Burnstein Photography El Porto was once an unincorporated community, but is now a part of the City of Manhattan Beach.
Penny Burnstein Photography The entire stretch of shoreline in Manhattan Beach is actually two beaches; Manhattan Beach is on the southern end between 1st street and 38th street, El Porto Beach makes up the northern end, from 38th street to 45th street.
Penny Burnstein Photography
Penny Burnstein Photography
Penny Lynn Burnstein Photography El Porto was subdivided in 1911. There were 83 business lots and 225 residential lots, partly covered with large trees, and ocean view sand lots. El Porto is probably the only community in the state that was almost totally developed with two residential units filling each of its tiny lots, with no room for yards or gardens.
Penny Lynn Burnstein Photography The 30-by-90 foot lots were each between a street and an alley. Numbers were assigned to the east-west streets and names to the alleys. The alley between 39th and 40th Streets, for instance, is named El Porto Street.
Penny Lynn Burnstein Photography Due to the large underwater canyon, the swells here can be much larger than at nearby beaches. Sandbars channel the flow of incoming waves to create left and right breaks – some as tall as double overhead – when the waves at neighboring beaches are flat.
Penny Lynn Burnstein Photography Marty Doughery, who has been surfing since the 1960’s, says, “El Porto is a beach break that needs a north swell to catch a wave. It’s a locals only thing. So you need to know how to surf, or you don’t get many quality waves.”
Penny Lynn Burnstein Photography Many of the locals have fond memories of growing up and surfing here. Randy Krauch began surfing at El Porto as a teenager. After surf sessions, he would eat at the former Highland Ave Beach Hut along with many other El Porto surfers.
Penny Lynn Burnstein Photography
Penny Lynn Burnstein Photography Another local, Mike Frasca, has lived in El Porto for over 20 years. His first home on Seaview, between 41st and 42nd Streets, was formerly a WWII officers quarters.
Penny Lynn Burnstein Photography Sometimes there are celebrity sightings at El Porto. Former resident Geof Addison remembers running into actor Adam West; his son lived next door to Geof and West was stopping by for a visit.
Penny Lynn Burnstein Photography Though many people assume “El Porto” means “The Port” in Spanish, the name is actually a misspelling; the Spanish word for port is “puerto.” Some believe that this may not be an accident, as the Portuguese word for port is “porto” and this might reveal influences of both languages.
Penny Lynn Burnstein Photography
El Porto Beach is located off of Vista del Mar at 45th Street. There you’ll find the entrance to the parking lot that runs the full length of the beach down to Rosecrans Ave.
Penny Burnstein Photography
El Porto was once an unincorporated community, but is now a part of the City of Manhattan Beach.
The entire stretch of shoreline in Manhattan Beach is actually two beaches; Manhattan Beach is on the southern end between 1st street and 38th street, El Porto Beach makes up the northern end, from 38th street to 45th street.
Penny Lynn Burnstein Photography
El Porto was subdivided in 1911. There were 83 business lots and 225 residential lots, partly covered with large trees, and ocean view sand lots. El Porto is probably the only community in the state that was almost totally developed with two residential units filling each of its tiny lots, with no room for yards or gardens.
The 30-by-90 foot lots were each between a street and an alley. Numbers were assigned to the east-west streets and names to the alleys. The alley between 39th and 40th Streets, for instance, is named El Porto Street.
Due to the large underwater canyon, the swells here can be much larger than at nearby beaches. Sandbars channel the flow of incoming waves to create left and right breaks – some as tall as double overhead – when the waves at neighboring beaches are flat.
Marty Doughery, who has been surfing since the 1960’s, says, “El Porto is a beach break that needs a north swell to catch a wave. It’s a locals only thing. So you need to know how to surf, or you don’t get many quality waves.”
Many of the locals have fond memories of growing up and surfing here. Randy Krauch began surfing at El Porto as a teenager. After surf sessions, he would eat at the former Highland Ave Beach Hut along with many other El Porto surfers.
Another local, Mike Frasca, has lived in El Porto for over 20 years. His first home on Seaview, between 41st and 42nd Streets, was formerly a WWII officers quarters.
Sometimes there are celebrity sightings at El Porto. Former resident Geof Addison remembers running into actor Adam West; his son lived next door to Geof and West was stopping by for a visit.
Though many people assume “El Porto” means “The Port” in Spanish, the name is actually a misspelling; the Spanish word for port is “puerto.” Some believe that this may not be an accident, as the Portuguese word for port is “porto” and this might reveal influences of both languages.
To learn more about the pre-El Porto surfing in this beautiful area, check out Penny Burnstein’s article about the lovely history of Toes Over Beach!
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