Old Salt Lake | Virtual Museum

Report by Galen Hunter

Ainsworth Stairs, a history collection

[ Page updated - March 8, 2019 ]

Old Photographs

[Figure 1 - circa 1891 panoramic view looking north at Ainsworth Stairs, Hotel Redondo and waterfront area]


[Figure 2 - 1894 photograph by W. H. Fletcher titled "Hotel at Redondo, Cal. 903". Looking northeast at Hotel with top of Ainsworth Stairs in foreground]


[Figure 3 - 1895 photograph by W. H. Fletcher titled "Hotel at Redondo Beach, Cal." Looking northeast at Hotel with top of Ainsworth Stairs in foreground]


[Figure 4 - 1924 aerial view of the Redondo Hotel in Redondo Beach, lower right shows Ainsworth stairs]

Old Newspaper Articles

1889, November 9 - Los Angeles Herald, article about Redondo Beach, excerpt:
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" ... stepping lightly over the as yet incomplete hotel, and up and down the stairway leading down to the beach, which recalls the grand staircase of Versailles ..."
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1890, May 2 - Los Angeles Herald, article about Redondo, excerpt:
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"From the bluff a broad cement stairway leads to the beach. This great piece of masonry is 30 feet wide, with 14-inch treads and only 4 1/2-inch risers. The whole is 110 feet long. The terrace is 35 feet wide and 1,000 feet long, but is not fully completed yet."
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[Figure 5 - 1954 July 13 Los Angeles Times article "Historic Steps Saved at Redondo Beach Park"]

Old Surveys and Maps

[Figure 6 - 1930 "Map of Redondo County Beach", detail, Los Angeles County Surveyors Map CSB0532-1]

[Figure 7 - 1935 "Map of Proposed Redondo Beach Yacht Harbor", detail, Los Angeles County Surveyors Map CSB1083-2]

Recent Photographs and Videos

[Figure 8 - 2019 March 3 Ainsworth Stairs, bottom looking up]


[Figure 9 - 2019 March 3 Ainsworth Stairs, top looking down]


[Figure 10 - 2019 March 3 Ainsworth Stairs, top looking southwest]

Video recordings of the stairs on March 6, 2019:

view video (mp4, 48 seconds).

view video (mp4, 39 seconds).

view video (mp4, 1 minute, 33 seconds).

view video (mp4, 36 seconds).

Also see:

 |  The Beach Bluff Retaining Wall with Broken Pieces of Old Sidewalk

 |  Old Indian Trail at Malaga Cove