Santa Monica Conservancy

TODAY the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium nomination was approved by the State Historic Resources Commission! Correction: it is ALMOST listed in the National Register. It will be officially entered on the National Register by the Keeper in about 45 days.

Our very own Nina Fresco was recognized by the commissioners for her outstanding work in preparing the nomination. Attending in-person with Nina, Board Member Morgan Sykes Jaybush spoke eloquently in support of rehabilitation of this iconic building. And importantly, Christine Lazarreto of Historic Resouces Group spoke on behalf of RPG Group, the new proposers for the revitalization for the Civic, in support of the nomination. And of course, we couldn’t have gotten here without public support! This was a great effort on the part of many people to successfully bring this community landmark to state and national attention.

Come explore the Summer Garden at the Shotgun House with poet and gardener Hilda Weiss! The zauschneria is blooming and loves an audience. 🥰

Our next tour is this Sunday from 2-3:30 pm. Click through to our website and scroll down to register.

Thank you to everyone that attended our second Main Street Walk this past Saturday, June 15th with amazing street historian and storyteller, Mark Gorman! 💙✨

Mark (author of the weekly blog, The Street Seen, which takes deep dives into the history of Main Street and Ocean Park), puts his extensive knowledge to use on this 1.5 hour walk spanning from Hollister Avenue to Marine Street. Read his blog by checking out the link in bio. 📚

Upset you missed the June walk and want to attend the next one!? 👀🚶
The Conservancy will host Main Street Walks on the second Saturday of every month this summer. Did you know there used to be an ostrich farm in Ocean Park? Neither did we! 🐣 Walk with Mark to learn more hidden stories about our neighborhood. Walks are FREE ✨ and leave from the Shotgun House.
Join our next walk by clicking the link in bio and checking out the calendar on our website. 🔗

Hit the beach tomorrow for Nick Gabaldon Day 2024! From Heal the Bay: Surfers Collective, Heal the Bay, Surf Bus Foundation, Swim Up Hill, and Santa Monica Conservancy as we unite to celebrate Nick Gabaldón Day on June 1, 2024! Nick fearlessly pursued his passion for surfing, paving the way for countless others. This event serves as a celebration of diversity in surfing and an opportunity for the community to come together, share stories, and ride the waves in his honor. Let’s celebrate his legacy of resilience, determination, and love for the waves. Together, let’s keep his spirit alive!

Heal the Bay Aquarium under the Santa Monica Pier will be free for all visitors in honor of Nick on Saturday, June 1st so bring your friends and family out to enjoy. A celebrity guest reader will pop in for story time and special art activities will be offered, as well as screenings of documentaries exploring issues of race, coastal access, and following your passion against all odds.

Congratulations to Michael Burton, our 2024 Volunteer Award Winner!

Michael Burton is an outstanding volunteer who serves the Santa Monica Conservancy in many capacities, educating the public about our history. As a retiree with an avid appetite for history, he became a docent at the Annenberg Community Beach House in 2013, and shortly thereafter joined the docent team that presents our signature Saturday morning Downtown Walking Tours. His enthusiasm, energy and colorful anecdotes bring history to life and make his tours fascinating.

Click the link in our bio to learn more about all of our 2024 Preservation Award Winners!

Congratulations to the team behind the recent floor replacement at the beloved Marion Davies Guest House for their 2024 Rehabilitation Award!

Designed by pioneering architect Julia Morgan in 1929, the Guest House (at the Community Beach House required replacement of worn, deteriorated original wood floors due to heavy public use. City staff and their historic preservation team carefully studied and documented the existing floors in order to exactly replicate their materials, design and craftsmanship. They were able to exactly match materials, intricate design patterns, installation and finishes, with a result that is a perfect match for the originals.

Click the link in our bio to learn more about all of our 2024 Preservation Award Winners!

Congratulations to the team behind the recent rehabilitation of the iconic Bay Cities Guaranty Building (aka the Clock Tower) for their 2024 Preservation Award!

The beloved building had experienced severe exposure to ultraviolet light and airborne salt since construction in 1929. The recent rehabilitation spanned nearly four years and included up-close facade assessment of the entire building, repair recommendations and drawings, and a repair construction phase for the concrete facade and metal panel repairs. The historic significance of the building and historic exterior architectural concrete were prioritized throughout all phases, which led to a successful rehabilitation of this local landmark.

Click the link in our bio to learn more about all of our 2024 Preservation Award Winners!

Congratulations to members of the Philomathean Club, our 2024 Stewardshipo Award winner!

Founded in 1921 during the suffrage movement by seven African American women, the Philomathean Club has been dedicated to supporting education, arts, culture, and charitable work for over 100 years. The recent successful City Landmark Nomination of Philomathean Hall, the clubhouse members built in 1958, was initiated and supported by today’s members. This effort is emblematic of the club's stewardship of the mid-century clubhouse, and is crucial for many reasons, including drawing attention to Broadway's historic Black community.

RSVP today to honor the Philomatheans and our other winners during the Conservancy's 2024 Annual Meeting & Preservation Awards! Link in bio.

Last evening at City Hall, Mayor Phil Brock and the City Council delivered a proclamation to the Conservancy declaring May Preservation Month in Santa Monica! Members of the City’s Landmarks Commission also received the honor.

Executive Director Kaitlin Drisko and Board Members Tom Cleys, Carol Lemlein and Ruthann Lehrer were on hand to accept on behalf of the Conservancy.

And earlier this year, Mayor Brock invited the Conservancy to share short videos about Santa Monica’s historic places that now play before every City Council meeting. We thank the City for their support and hope that combined with the proclamation, these efforts will bring more visibility to the value of our historic and cultural resources, and their community stewardship.

Check out the latest “Three-Minute History” video on Memorial Park on our YouTube channel, produced in partnership with the Santa Monica History Museum! Link in bio.

Congratulations to the Kuruvungna Springs Foundation, our 2024 Cultural Heritage Award winner!

Kuruvungna Springs was once part of an original Tongva settlement, located around the site of the ancient springs that provided fresh water for generations of indigenous people. Later, the springs were an early source of Santa Monica's water supply. Thanks to the care and hard work of a dedicated group of Tongva descendants and other community volunteers, this fragment of the original village was saved from neglect and restored to honor their ancestors and to educate the public about the Tongva culture.

RSVP today to honor the Kuruvungna Springs Foundation and our other winners during the Conservancy's 2024 Annual Meeting & Preservation Awards! Link in bio.

Congratulations , the winner of this year's Adaptive Reuse Award!

This large structure on the south side of the Santa Monica Airport was built in 1954 for Bill Lear, an inventor and developer of the Learjet. Thanks to the vision of Judi Barker, today Barker Hangar is one of the largest and most versatile venues in Los Angeles, uniquely suited for events such as award shows, art and design fairs, gala dinners, and many more.

RSVP today to honor the Barker Hangar team and our other awardees during the Conservancy's 2024 Annual Meeting & Preservation Awards on Sunday, May 19th from 2-4:30 p.m. Link in bio.

Photo Credit: Barker Hangar

In celebration of National Preservation Heritage Month, our third episode of Site Specific features five preservation all-stars representing many dimensions of the field including documentation, community engagement, advocacy, scholarship, technical innovation, and problem solving!

Featuring:
Jeffrey Caldwell – President, Board of Trustees of the California Preservation Foundation
Chris Gray – Member, Board of Directors of the Western Chapter of the Association for Preservation Technology
Lindsay Mulcahy – Neighborhood Outreach Coordinator, Los Angeles Conservancy
Alan White – Vice President, Board of Directors, Western Chapter of the Association for Preservation Technology
Sian Winship – President, Society of Architectural Historians, Southern California Chapter

Please join us! Free, via Zoom! Link in bio.

Congratulations , the Conservancy's 2024 David Cameron Award winner!

This award is given in recognition of outstanding achievement in historic preservation over a period of time. As a historic preservation architect for over 40 years and as a principal with , Peyton Hall, FAIA has been engaged in some of Santa Monica’s major preservation projects. Peyton's dedication, experience and ability to find solutions have guided and strengthened the Santa Monica Conservancy for many years.

RSVP today to honor Peyton and our other Award Winners during the Conservancy's 2024 Annual Meeting & Preservation Awards on May 19th!

This year we will convene in the heart of Downtown Santa Monica in the theatre of Illusion Magic Lounge at 1418 4th Street. The theatre is inside the landmark Central Tower Building, an intact art deco ecosystem unto itself, built in 1929 by the owner/architect team Arthur Creel and Eugene Durfee.

Enjoy light refreshments during a reception from 2-3 p.m., followed by the Annual Meeting and Awards Presentation from 3-4:30 p.m.

Registration link in bio.

Join us as we kick off Preservation Heritage Month with a very special free event at Santa Monica’s Farrow & Ball showroom for members of Preservation Next!

Learn about the history, inspiration and heritage-minded applications of the Farrow & Ball signature palette of 132 handcrafted colours with Colour Consultant Krista Broadstreet. We’ll consider how colour is perceived in Santa Monica given its characteristic light and connection to the sea and sky. How can the stories of Santa Monica be told through colour? Come along and find out!

Light refreshments will be served, register here: https://smc.givecloud.co/items/preservation-next-farrow-and-ball

Many thanks to everyone who came on the African American Histories by the Sea tour last weekend. Special thanks to our tour guide Alison Rose Jefferson, PhD for sharing her knowledge and research as she brought folks through the Belmar History + Art installation at Historic Belmar Park.

In the first photo, Saturday's tour group looks at sports fields that were once the neighborhood of Belmar, which can be seen in the middle of the second image from 1926. (Ernie Marquez Collection) Belmar was razed in the 1950s through the process of eminent domain to make way for the Civic Auditorium and the Civic Center campus.

Visit the link in our bio to explore the many dimensions of this commemorative justice project, or better yet, visit the installation yourself! Historic Belmar Park is at 1840 4th Street in Santa Monica.

Thank you to everyone who came to our community sound bath last Sunday and especially to our partners .rose and ! The shared healing experience, facilitated by the extraordinary Adina Rose, was very special. And the sounds activated CIOP's restored sanctuary, revealing how thoughtfully and thoroughly the the space has been treated. We don't always center sound and acoustics in preservation work, but it has a profound impact on the experience of space.

This event was co-produced by Preservation Next, our affinity group for emerging and mid-career folks interested in heritage conservation in all its various forms. Stay tuned for more events in our new "Rest and Restoration" program series!

LANDMARKED! Congratulations to members of the Philomathean Club for the successful designation of their historic headquarters at 1810 Broadway as a Santa Monica City Landmark!!!

The Philomathean Club, established in 1921, is the oldest African American women’s club in Santa Monica, in Los Angeles, and perhaps in the region. It is an exemplary manifestation of the African American women’s club movement, which mobilized the intelligence, compassion, and financial acumen of club members to establish and support a range of social services and educational opportunities for African Americans. These women’s clubs sought to both buffer their community members from the worst impacts of racism and prepare them to lift themselves up from those circumstances through literacy, vocational training, higher education, arts, and culture.

The nomination was sought by the Philomathean Club, Inc., the Quinn Research Center, and the Santa Monica Conservancy.

Visit our YouTube Channel for a short video about the Club:
https://youtu.be/-4hnRtmU_FQ?si=ty_8mbBGDz-0Hj5Q.

Happy Spring Everyone! Nowruz Mubarak!

Swing by the Shotgun House this Saturday and Sunday from noon to 2 p.m. for some conservation inspiration--both indoors and outdoors!

The Shotgun House is located at 2520 Second Street just opposite the Ocean Park branch library.

Seen here are photos from this past Sunday's Spring Garden Tour, hosted by docent, poet and gardener Hilda Weiss with a special guest visit from landscape designer Isara Ongwiseth of . After a tour of our blooming native coastal garden--including a sneak peak down the north alley to see the deep bellied blossoms of the Dutchman Pipeline--we moved inside for mint tea and poetry.

This Sunday, poet and gardener, Hilda Weiss will lead the first in a quarterly series of intimate tours that correspond with the garden's own life cycles. These collective explorations will spotlight the benefits of our native plants, the garden's connection to the Shotgun House and the use of poetry to explore our own connection to place. There are still a few spots left! Visit smconservancy.org to register!

Free Lunchtime Livestream this Friday at noon!

What does it take to balance the needs of a nationally significant historic site with the demands of a popular and inclusive community space? Look no further than the Annenberg Community Beach House!

For our second episode of Site Specific, Conservancy Executive Director Kaitlin Drisko will chat with Manager Nan Friedman and John Lesak, Principal of Architecture, Planning, and Conservation firm about operating and maintaining the unique site.

Click the link in our bio for Zoom information.

Seen here, brothers Donald (left) and Vernon Brunson (right) pose at a Craftsman-style home in the neighborhood north of Santa Monica High School where they lived. In her essay, “Reconstruction and Reclamation: The Erased African American Experience in Santa Monica’s History,” Dr. Alison Rose Jefferson notes that,

“There in the neighborhood of Belmar, other nearby homes were long wooden buildings called shotgun houses. Inexpensively built, they were easy to relocate and even easier to burn. A few of the targeted neighborhoods in the city's redevelopment plan were torn [or burned] down in their entirety, including throughout Belmar [which in the 1937 map is the area between Belmar Place, Pico Boulevard, 4th Street and Trolly Boulevard.] During the 1950s, the city forced Belmar residents to leave their homes and close their businesses under eminent domain condemnation eviction and land purchase compensation proceedings. In its place would be a new civic auditorium and courthouse grounds.” (Follow the link in our bio for the full essay.)

Today, people interested in the erased history of Black Santa Monica can explore Belmar History + Art’s outdoor exhibition and other educational materials located along Fourth Street, Pico Boulevard and Civic Center Drive at Historic Belmar Park, by Dr. Jefferson and artist April Banks. The collaboration provides a historical reflection of the many sites where African American residents lived and contributed to making Santa Monica a vibrant and unique place.

Images: (1) A typical home in the Belmar area and north of Santa Monica High School, ca. 1930. Santa Monica History Museum Collection, 36.2.22 (2) South Santa Monica, annotated detail, Fairchild Aerial Survey, 1937. Courtesy of Santa Monica Public Library Image Archives, donated to the Library from City Collections

The Conservancy's February e-news is available to read online! Click the link in our bio to learn more about a new grant from the City of Santa Monica that will allow us to support the Quinn Research Center in their work to share the story of the Broadway neighborhood, and much more! You can sign up for our monthly e-news on our website smconservancy.org.

Black History is Santa Monica History!

Phillips Chapel at 2001 4th Street in Santa Monica’s Ocean Park neighborhood stands as the first African American house of worship in Santa Monica and is possibly the city's oldest continuously used public building.

The first African Americans settled in Santa Monica in the late 1800s, joining Chinese, Latino, Japanese, Californios, Jewish and immigrants of other nationalities in building the new city. Most early Black residents migrated from southern states, attracted by the climate, employment and escape from Jim Crow laws and practices.

In 1905, several members of the Black community established a religious congregation at Hull’s Hall on Third Street in north Santa Monica, which later became Phillips Chapel Christian Methodist Episcopal (CME) Church in Ocean Park. Named for Bishop Charles H. Phillips, this was the first CME church established west of Texas. Over the years, the building was renovated, and reconstructed, but still retains its historic Colonial Revival architectural style and deep historic and cultural significance. It was landmarked in 2005 and continues to serve the community.

IMAGES
1. Original Phillips Chapel building with CME Sunday School Convention of the Los Angeles District in front (1909). Shown in front are Bishop Charles H. Phillips (center right foreground) and the first pastor, Rev. James A. Stout (left foreground). Santa Monica Public Library Collection.
2. Phillips Chapel today.

On February 18 at 5 p.m., Santa Monica Mosaic kicks off its 2024 season dedicated to the city’s arts and entertainment world with a program focused on the star-studded history of the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium! The venerable hall, which presented world-class performances and a host of other programs from day to night for half a century, has been shuttered since 2013 and faces an uncertain future. Use the link in our bio to register! The program is free for members, students and teachers and $10 for the general public.

Mosaic: Civic Memory will examine the cultural significance of the venue and its adaptability to stage everything from antique shows to the Oscars and concerts that spanned the spectrum of entertainment diversity. Performers from the Beach Boys to Ella Fitzgerald took to the Civic Auditorium's stage and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. made two rousing appearances including during the civil rights benefit, Stars for Freedom.

Mosaic: Civic Memory will also honor the Civic Auditorium's architectural distinction, followed by a presentation detailing its fate post-closure in 2013 and the community support that has since rallied around securing its future. The episode will conclude with an opportunity for viewers to ask questions of the show’s featured speakers. They include Carole Curtin, who ran the Civic for 24 years until its closure; Lorcan O’Herlihy, FAIA, an award-winning architect and close friend of the Civic’s wunderkind architect, Louis Naidorf of Welton Becket & Associates; and Conservancy Board member Amanda Seward, who grew up with the Civic and is now involved with efforts to preserve it.

Did you know that Santa Monica was a site of international espionage during WWII?

Our latest blog post features an exclusive article by historian, author and West LA native Ronald Drabkin about a double agent whose activities connect Santa Monica's own aviation history including Douglas Aircraft, with the historic Associated Telephone Building where the FBI was actively gathering records of its own. Read the full article here, https://smconservancy.org/2024/01/spies-in-santa-monica-target-douglas-aircraft-by-ronald-drabkin/.

The article is adapted from a chapter in Drabkin's new book, "Beverly Hills Spy: The Double-Agent Flying Ace Who Infiltrated Hollywood and Helped Japan Attack Pearl Harbor." Drabkin will read from his book at Diesel, A Bookstore in Brentwood on February 13. Beverly Hills Spy

Speaking of aviation, wondering what's happening with the Santa Monica Airport, which is scheduled to close to aviation use in 2028? The latest news is that in December 2023, City Council approved an agreement with international architecture, planning, landscape, and design firm Sasaki Inc. to "to assess the existing site conditions, gather public input and propose options for the future of the airport land centered around a 'Great Park' consistent with Measure LC," according to a City press release.

Photos:
1. The first Douglas Aircraft Company plant on Wilshire and 25th in 1920, where the foreign spies first came to observe the advanced planes being made. Santa Monica Public Library Image Archives.
2. The Associated Telephone Building on 1314 7th St in Santa Monica. Date and credit unknown.
3. A young Frederick Rutland in his military uniform, on board a seaplane carrier. Rutland would become a double agent acting for the Japanese Government during WWII. Date unknown. Photo in the public domain.

We hope you will join the Conservancy and the Annenberg Community Beach House for our first big bash of 2024! On Sunday, January 28 from 1-3 p.m. we will gather to celebrate Marion Davies – Santa Monica’s favorite silent film actress, famed party hostess, philanthropist, and the original Beach House resident. Come in your favorite Gold Coast era attire!

Happy Birthday Marion! is a free, all ages event held at the Annenberg Community Beach House at 415 Pacific Coast Highway in Santa Monica. The Marion Davies Guest House will also be open for free, walk in tours from 12-2 pm.

Click the link in our bio to register and for more details. Questions can be directed to [email protected].

We are saddened to hear that the remarkable Ernest Marquez (1923-2024) has passed away. Ernie devoted much of his life’s work to documenting his family’s Californio history and heritage centered at the Boca de Santa Monica Rancho. This essential piece of scholarship was largely absent from the available literature when he started his research many years ago. Ernie's efforts helped to build an invaluable record of development of Santa Monica and Los Angeles beginning in the 1860s.

Ernie shared his work with all of us through his advocacy to preserve the Pasqual Marquez Cemetery, one of the last remnants of the massive Boca de Santa Monica land grant; the 10,000+ photo collection he amassed over the years now in the collection of ; the books he published with ; and his presence in the community.

We join his many admirers in celebrating Ernie’s life and express our gratitude for his generosity of spirit and all he did to recover, preserve, and share his family’s history.

To hear about Ernie's work in his own words, watch this short video: https://youtu.be/kHRsFxtVHLk?si=2rvbymgP2yWh3umA. From From USC Libraries with support from California Humanities and thanks to .

(Images: Marquez accepts honors at the Conservancy's 2019 Gala. Photo Credit: Omid Razavi)

Happy New Year Santa Monica! 🥳

Coming up this month: An opportunity for Route 66 Legacy Businesses to apply for funding from the National Trust!

The Preserve Route 66 Legacy Business Grant Fund provides financial support to businesses to preserve historic places and spur economic development along the Route 66 corridor, with an emphasis on projects that illuminate the narratives of communities whose places and stories have been historically underrepresented.

Applications are due January 12, 2024. For more information, including eligibility requirements, click this link, https://savingplaces.org/preserve-route-66-legacy-business-grant-fund.

Established in 1926, US 66 served as a primary route for those who migrated west, especially during the Dust Bowl of the 1930s. In California, it covers 315 miles, and ends right here in Santa Monica. This satellite image was accessed through the US Geological Survey, usgs.gov.