Bronze plaque stolen from Bruce's Beach just the latest in troubling trend of metal theft
Police are searching for the people who stole a bronze plaque from Bruce's Beach, just the latest in the troubling trend of metal theft plaguing Los Angeles County.
The theft was reported to Manhattan Beach Police on Monday after the plaque, which was installed last year and detailed the racially charged history of the beach, was missing.
"Upon discovery of the stolen plaque, the Manhattan Beach Police Department immediately opened an investigation to identify, locate, and apprehend those responsible for this unfortunate incident," a statement from the city said.
City officials say that the plaque "held significant historical and cultural value" to the area as it provided the history of Bruce's Beach, which was owned in the early 1900s by a Black family who had built a small resort catering to Black people from around Southern California.
"It's a national touchstone for people who were displaced by discriminatory practices," said Manhattan Beach Mayor Joe Franklin. "It's an example of successful reparation of property that was taken during troubling times a century ago. ... We worked so hard on it to reach back into our history to get the facts accurately."
Los Angeles County Supervisor Janice Hahn issued a statement on the plaque's theft on Tuesday.
"I am sorry to hear that the Bruce's Beach Park plaque was stolen and I know it opens up old wounds, especially for African Americans," she said. "I hope that the plaque's theft is unrelated to the painful history of Bruce's Beach and my decision to return the property to the Bruce family, and more related to the string of recent bronze thefts we have seen."
Metal thefts have plagued Los Angeles County law enforcement officials in recent weeks as thieves continually hit local places including a string of cemeteries in Compton and Carson, and the Sixth Street Bridge. Over the weekend, a copper statue was stolen from outside of Marco Antonio Firebaugh High School in Lynwood.
Investigators believe that the thieves are looking to capitalize on rising prices for copper and bronze.
City leaders have taken action in Pasadena and Los Angeles, both of which are looking to implement task forces to tackling the issue.
The Bruce's Beach parcel of land was owned and operated by Charles and Willa Bruce beginning in 1912 and lasting until the city of Manhattan Beach condemned the property under false pretenses, claiming they were going to develop a park. However, the property sat vacant and unused for years after the Bruce family and other Black families living in the area were evicted.
In 1960, a park was finally constructed on a portion of the land that was seized as city officials were concerned that the families that were evicted could take legal action if the property continued to go unused.
The parcel of land was transferred to the state of California, and then to Los Angeles County in 1995.
It wasn't until 2022 that the county agreed to return the land to the descendants of the Bruce family, thanks to the urging Supervisor Hahn, who urged that they correct the "injustice inflicted upon not just Willa and Charles Bruce but generations of their descendants who almost certainly would have been millionaires."
In early 2023, the Bruce family reached an agreement to sell the land back to Los Angeles County for $20 million. It was then that Manhattan Beach city officials had the bronze plaque placed at the site.
Anyone with further information is asked to contact investigators at (310) 802-5123.
