Landmark Hermosa: The Vetter Windmill

As its sails pierce the wind, the historic Vetter Windmill sits below 11th Street, along Pacific Coast Highway, continuing its 107-year presence in town.

Hermann Vetter, one of Hermosa Beach's founding fathers who moved to the Southern California coast from Germany in 1903, built the windmill to provide water for his flower and vegetable gardens near 16th Street and Ardmore Avenue.

The property was used to support his florist trade, which his daughter managed while Vetter worked as a clerk for the Los Angeles Federal Service.

Vetter later was elected as the first city clerk of Hermosa Beach. Being one of the first trustees elected to serve on the City Council in 1906, he acted as city clerk for three years.

Also a member of the first school board, Vetter was greatly responsible for the building of Ocean View School, the first official public school in Hermosa Beach, in 1904.

When Mr. Vetter turned 70 in June 1933, he retired from the federal government and was highly commended for his years of faithful service.

Among the many contributions Vetter made to the city, his windmill remains the most noticeable. For nearly 60 years, the windmill pumped water for Vetter's gardens until the site on Ardmore Avenue was sold for apartment development.

Residents grew so accustomed to the windmill that they raised money toward a $2,000 relocation cost to save the landmark. The windmill was moved to its current location in Greenwood Park on PCH.

Roger Bacon, owner of the Ralph's Shopping Center, proposed a fund among business owners to restore the windmill in 1998. That summer a $33,000 funding operation kick-started the windmill's restoration period. The restoration was completed in 2000, preserving one of the oldest remaining structures from Hermosa Beach's past.

Congratulations to Rick Koenig, the Hermosa Beach Historical Society president, for winning today's Landmark Hermosa. We'll have a new landmark to guess next Friday.