Mar Vista has always had a reputation for being a healthy place, especially for those with respiratory problems. Glen Howell, cofounder of the Mar Vista Historical Society, says at one point, Mar Vista boasted of five sanitariums.

"One of those sanitariums, which was on Venice Boulevard, was called Casa del Mar: House by the Sea."

When the town was annexed by the city of Los Angeles in 1927, Mar Vista had to give up a street name already claimed by L.A. Inspiration came from the sanitarium across the way. So Howell says West Street became Marcasel.

"So if you drop a couple letters and switch some things around, you can switch Casa del Mar to Marcasel. So actually some people think the 'house by the sea' became 'sea castle.'"

Today, Marcasel is the street address for homes pretty enough in their own way to be called sea castles.

(Airdate for this story: 10/20/07)