Redondo Beach’s post office opened in 1889, and 5 of its places are on the National Register
More historic than 54% of U.S. towns · #135 of 847 in California. What drives it
5 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 49 buildings. Most of Redondo Beach was built recently: 5% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1973. Below: 6 old photos and papers, maps from 1891 on, and the census since 1890.
From Redondo Beach’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers
How Redondo Beach began
When was Redondo Beach founded?
1889
The Redondo Beach post office opened in 1889, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Andrews Station (1875), opened inside today’s city and later closed.
First census: 603 in 18902020 census: 71,576137 years
How historic is Redondo Beach?
B−
More historic than 54% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Redondo Beach post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Redondo Beach’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Redondo Beach is more historic than 54% of U.S. towns, #135 of 847 in California. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
B−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Redondo Beach’s overall grade.
Few California towns list much on the Register (a typical California town has 0.0 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Redondo Beach’s 7.9 sits above most of its state (90% of California towns have fewer) while its 55 historic buildings outnumber those of 86% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C to B+. The pre-1940 share (±0.9 points) is firm at this size. The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date.
Founding year: the first post office (other dates in Quick answers). Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →
What stands out about Redondo Beach’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Redondo Beach. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1896Redondo sheet · 1:62,500
U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Redondo Beach.
Every building
Redondo Beach, building by building, 1891–1916
Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a year, then a sheet.
1891Sheet 1 of 1
Edition
Sheets
BrickWoodStone
Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
On the National Register
5 listings protect 55 historic buildings
The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.
The South Bay area was originally inhabited by the Tongva tribe of Native Americans. Archeological work in the nearby Chowigna excavation show evidence of inhabitants as far back as 7,100 years ago. The Chowigna band of Tongva used the site of today's Hopkins Wilderness Park in Redondo Beach (formerly Nike missile site LA-57 from 1956 to 1963) as a lookout place. The wetlands located at the site of the retired AES power plant in Redondo Beach were a source of foods including halibut, lobster, and sea bass, and also of salt.
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
The Redondo Beach post office opened in 1889, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Redondo Beach rank for history?
Redondo Beach is more historic than 54% of U.S. towns, #135 of 847 in California. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.
What is on the National Register in Redondo Beach?
5 listings: 4 buildings, among them the Redondo Beach Public Library (listed 1981, the first), and 1 historic district, the Redondo Beach Original Townsite Historic District, with 49 contributing buildings. 55 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in Redondo Beach?
5% of Redondo Beach’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate), against a typical 3.4% for a California town; the median home was built in 1973.
Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
From Wikimedia Commons (4), the Library of Congress (2), the National Register of Historic Places (5), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
1902
c. 1903
1903
c. 1904
c. 1904
