California Historical Landmark No. 1041, 3701 W. 119th Street, Hawthorne

Did you guess it?  This landmark is a monument dedicated to the Beach Boys, the American Rock Group, as their wiki page suggests. 

I figure most people have a reason for doing something even if it's "just for the fun of it".  Well, "ProBlogger:" by Darren Rowse and Chris Garrett (to find out more about this book, click here), suggest you blog (which BTW, did you know blog came about by combining the words web log?) about something you are passionate about and start close to home.

I chose the Beach Boy Monument because it is located in Hawthorne, CA. Even though  I was born in Inglewood (as I found out about Brian Wilson was born in Inglewood, the town just north of Hawthorne), I consider Hawthorne my home.  It's where my favorite and maternal grandparents lived since the mid-50's.  So, after my immediate family (dad, mom, siblings) moved to Massachusetts and later to Minnesota, visits were to Hawthorne.  My fondest memories are of Hawthorne.  Plus, it doesn't hurt that the most western line of Hawthorne is a scant four miles from the beach, which I love, love, love.  Did I mention how much I love the beach?  Love it!  Moving to Hawthorne in 2004 just seemed like a no-brainer.

Hawthorne, I found out just 'cuz of this blog decision, was incorporated in 1922.  It will be another 13 years before we celebrate 100. So, when my mom and her brother moved to Hawthorne in the mid 1950's, Hawthorne was just in infancy.

For those who don't know, there is SoCal, which is short for Southern California.  In my mind this is Santa Barbara and south to the Mexican Border.  There's Los Angeles, L.A., the city.  There is Los Angeles the county, which covers a huge area, including Malibu, and including what is known as the South Bay.  Hmmm, why don't we call it SoBay?  I digress.

South Bay consists of Hawthorne, El Segundo, Manhattan Beach, Hermosa Beach, Redondo Beach and Torrance.  Hawthorne is like the center diamond in the South Bay by viture of its location.

While our L.A. neighbors to the north, Beverly Hills, are the 90210...Hawthorne is the 90250.  Funny, why isn't someone creating a show around our town?  We have over 87,000 inhabitants.  Over the years some fairly infamous people have lived here like Jim Thorpe and Marilyn Monroe, as a younger girl.  For many years it was the home of Mattel, home of Barbie and Hot Wheels, before Mattel moved to El Segundo.

So I live in Hawthorne and I have a Beach Boy connection via my Uncle Larry, Hawthorne High School (Go Cougars!) class of 1960.  My Uncle went to high school with Brian Wilson.  Of course, back in those days during the high school years, Brian Wilson was simply Brian Wilson, HHS student, like my Uncle Larry.

By May, 2005 when the Landmark was dedicated, I'd already been back in Hawthorne for over a year.  Over four years later, I still hadn't visited this monument that is less than two miles from my home.  Now granted, I understand I am under no obligation.

After the decision to commit to this blog, the decision to visit the landmark was made.  Decisions flying all over the place.  I hope I didn't hit anything.  My uncle was nice enough to join me. 

When I got to the monument, I was delighted to see it was a little more substantial than I'd expected.  It's located where to me, I would refer to as "off the beaten path".  If you are a fan though, may be worth it. I was glad my uncle met me there because he knew that back in the day the Wilson home was located where the monument is, but no longer thanks to Highway 105.

The video I include with this blog also includes a very brief look at Hawthorne High School.  Their mascot, the Cougars, inspired an alum to start a website many years ago with an address of http://www.cougartown.com. This was well before and had nothing to do with the current slang definition of a cougar or the new Courtney Cox show of the same name.

My one comment about Hawthorne High School is about how different it and other SoCal schools appear to be architectural-wise compared to where I went to High School in New Hope, Minnesota, E. J. Cooper Senior High School, Go Hawks!  The schools are very spread out and open.  The schools in Minnesota, not so much, as you can imagine due to weather concerns.  That's right!  It gets f***in' cold in Minnesota.

So, thanks for sharing this with me.  Now watch the short video.  Please?  Please.