The Biltmore

The Biltmore is an alternative oral history about the futile attempts to develop a vacant, beachfront lot in Hermosa Beach, California over twenty years. In 1969, The Biltmore, a derelict hotel and the tallest building in Hermosa Beach was torn down. For some, the loss of such an iconic building marked the point at which Hermosa Beach was no longer a paradise. Many of us remember our childhoods fondly, perhaps the area we grew up in, including its buildings and businesses, more than our families.

Many of the events in the book happened but the book is a work of fiction. Hermosa Beach went from being a town at the beach to a town of surfers living the dreams of all who loved Gidget, Beach Party movies, and surf music. That didn't last long as later in the 1960s it became a hippy paradise where it seemed that residents were required to own a Volkswagon Beetle. That didn't last long either and the town became a party town for single software and aerospace engineers. A small contingent of punks tried to stage a rebellion but that was short-lived as housing prices soared and modest houses were torn down and replaced with houses that strained the limits of the small lots.