Manhattan Beach’s Hangout of Choice

"Meet me at the Red Dog." Although this invitation may seem odd or meaningless to an outsider, it is colloquial for the fountain sculpture of a large red dog in Metlox Plaza—the place where many Manhattan Beach students from elementary school to high school like to meet. And the great thing about Metlox is even their parents meet there too.

Sure, there's the Manhattan Village Mall. The mall not only has shopping and dining options, but a movie theater as well. However, unlike Metlox, the mall is quite a distance from the beach, a big priority for local youth. So, although the mall is popular, Metlox's location—mere steps from the beach and the downtown area—help it win out as Manhattan Beach's hangout of choice.

Metlox, although it may not look it now, is actually a city landmark, as it has stood in Manhattan Beach for more than 80 years. For many of those years, it was a pottery manufacturing facility. But not too long ago, Metlox was transformed into an outdoor shopping center that has become a hub in Manhattan Beach for socializing, especially for me and my friends, as well as many other Mira Costa students.

When the plan for Metlox was first proposed, the vacant land had the chance to become a park or a mall, among other options. My parents, especially my mother, thought a park would be a great place for me and my two sisters to go during the weekends, and strongly supported this designation of the space. However, now she is very pleased with what Metlox has become: Not only does it offer a safe place to meet my friends less than a mile from my house, but Live Oak Park, another great recreational facility, is just a block away.

Metlox is now a place that friends can use as a rendezvous point before heading off to the beach and other places downtown. It is also a destination in itself as a place to stroll and eat lunch, especially on Tuesdays when the Manhattan Beach Farmers' Market is held there.

The farmers' market is a great opportunity to socialize and eat with friends before heading to the beach as it offers plenty of affordable choices. The plaza also has a wide variety of restaurants—from Japanese to Greek to Italian—all of which will please the palate, especially when topped off with some ice cream from Coldstone Creamery.

However, Metlox is not only for food. Many residents, especially my sisters, love the shopping opportunities the plaza offers, and could spend hours there doing just that.

Because of the wide variety of services, food, and shopping the plaza offers, as well as its proximity to downtown and the pier, it is rare to go to Metlox any time from Friday to Sunday afternoon, and not see one of your friends. And that is definitely an opportunity worth having.

Adam Gerard is a freshman at Mira Costa High School.

Editor's note: An earlier version of this column mistakenly stated that a referendum was behind the decision to turn Metlox into a shopping plaza.