Hermosa Beach Pier / Pier Avenue Plaza: Circa 1920's

This photo of what is currently the Pier Avenue Plaza is probably from the early 1920s. The photo was taken from across Hermosa Avenue facing west.

Note the electric lines at the top of the photo that provided power to the Pacific Electric trains, or "Red Cars," that ran along Hermosa Avenue from Los Angeles to Redondo Beach. The Bank of America building is now at the corner where The National Bank of Hermosa Beach once stood. The building at the end of Pier Avenue (at the foot of the pier) housed a public library and a lifeguard station.  The Hermosa Hotel is the taller building on the left.

Here's the same view on April 30, 1955 ...