Kings Harbor history

The proposed breakwater was begun in 1939 but only partially finished.

After World War II, construction began on an improved breakwater that used 100,000 tons of rock to protect the area from winter storms and this temporary breakwater was completed in 1947.

The Win’ard Yacht Club was formed on April 20, 1949, by a group of yachtsmen who felt a need for a meeting place for local boaters.

In 1951, this race was named the Matt Walsh Perpetual Trophy race and was named after its donor who was a widely known Corinthian who won many races in the area.

Due to the lack of a club house, meetings were held in the Hermosa South School until 1952, when the members built a facility on the old Edison Pier at the foot of 10th Street, near where the Marina offices are today.

Another storm in 1953 again damaged the breakwater, city streets, and shoreline homes.

The fleet found time to help the Girl Mariners with many of their projects and to assist the crew of the “Porpoise” (mostly feeding them). They arranged the first Installation Dinner for the Yacht Club in 1954.

In 1956, the federal government authorized forty five million dollars, and work began on the marina that exists today, named King Harbor in honor of the congressman.

The breakwater was completed in 1958.

The first recorded junior regatta dates to June 1959; it was sponsored by Bill and Maggie White.

A small clubhouse was built by the members and remained a familiar landmark until dismantled in July 1960 to make room for harbor expansion.

The R.R. Hensler Co. of Sun Valley won the bidding process, and by March 1961, the pool project was more than half completed.

In 1962, a younger group called the “Splitnebs” was formed for younger kids, which kept them interested and busy.

Donato envisioned a Polynesian theme for the pool, naming it Pirate’s Isle when he opened it in the summer of 1963.

Redondo Beach teens prepare for the annual luau of the Redondo Beach J-Teens and Bay Teens at Pirate’s Isle in this June 24, 1964 Daily Breeze photo.

The legal wrangling continued until December 1965, when a judge ruled that the city had the right to evict Donato from Pirate’s Isle because he had not fulfilled his lease requirements with regard to deadlines for construction requirements.

In 1969, Councilman David Hayward made an unusual suggestion for a way to use the lagoon during the off-season.

In 1975, the city decided that the name “Marine Park” wasn’t very descriptive of the lagoon.

It remained until 1977 when, battered by the tides, it was moved with a bulldozer over by the hill, and another, larger vault was built.

As society changed and more of the club's women entered the work force, in 1990 a new women’s group was formed.

Most of the money went to repair structural damage caused by the 1994 Northridge earthquake, including cracked pipes, faulty pumps and damaged diving towers.

The city had to spend $2 million in improvements to the facility after it closed in 1997.

Seaside Lagoon ended up being closed for all of 1998.

When it reopened on Memorial Day Weekend in 1999, the refurbished park included new white sands, play equipment, shade structures and palapas that gave it the feeling of a tropical retreat.

2006 Daily Breeze file photo.

Water quality issues continued to plague Seaside Lagoon, but a Facebook campaign by residents and support from City Council members led to the Los Angeles Regional Water Quality Control Board relaxing some of its testing standards in May 2010, allowing the facility to continue operating.

The new building was part of a city waterfront renovation project that began in December 2011.

In 2012, another major upgrade occurred at the park with the opening of a brand-new $1.2 million main building, which included new restrooms and changing areas.

Swimmers celebrate the Fourth of July in their swimsuits at Redondo Beach’s Seaside Lagoon in 2013. (Daily Breeze photo by Steve McCrank, Staff Photographer)