Business & Tech
Landmark Hermosa: Hermosa Pavilion
If you guessed the Hermosa Pavilion on Pacific Coast Highway for this morning's trivia, you were right.
Hermosa Beach opened the doors to the Hermosa Pavilion on 1600 PCH in 1987. Though it took nearly two years to come to its full inception, the complex still stands where it was 24 years ago.
Though now the Pavilion is frequented by many residents for grubbing at Brix Cafe, working out at , or attending the , this was not the case in the 1980s.
Not all Hermosans were in favor of the new shopping structure. A report from the Los Angeles Times on July 4, 1986 reported neighbors complaining “that the new center will bring more parking problems, increased traffic and noise...and for some, blocked ocean views.”
Developers reportedly took these issues into consideration before construction by meeting all of the city's zoning codes.
Mike Schubach, the Hermosa Beach Planning Director at the time, said “the center should not increase traffic... but should instead attract area residents and those that regularly travel PCH,” in addition to having a solid wall “built around the parking areas facing the residences to reduce noise,” according to the Los Angeles Times report.
With approval from the Hermosa Beach Planning Commission, the Hermosa Pavilion was scheduled to break ground in 1987, complete with a six-screen movie theatre, restaurants and specialty shops.
The complex was designed with a "California beachside look” decked with “Miami-pink stucco, accented with porcelain tile along the building base and the theater and upper arcade," according to a public announcement in March 1987.
The Pavilion’s design took a pivotal turn at the end of the century with plans of remodeling the two-story shopping center after its businesses became vacant.
A city Planning Agenda on July 24, 2001 outlined a proposed expansion of the Pavilion, even suggesting to add outdoor deck areas (see accompanying report under photos.) Spaces would be converted to house a new health and fitness club, where the movie theatre once stood.
In addition, the complex would undergo a total transformation with a more contemporary design, featuring “curved architectural features, storefront glass and standing seam arched metal roof to help articulate the building facade,” according to the agenda—which is the current look of the Pavilion we drive by and visit everyday.
Congratulations to for correctly guessing today's Landmark Hermosa. We'll have a new trivia next week.
