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Historical Notes

Footpaths like the Sunset Trail and stairways like the 99 Steps preceded it, but the California Incline was the first automobile shortcut over Santa Monica’s ocean bluffs. When it opened around 1905, Linda Vista Drive (as it was then called) was a dirt path carved into the cliffside. Only later was it paved and named for its intersection with California Avenue. *

Historical Notes

Today, the California Incline is a vital street in Santa Monica, linking the PCH with Ocean Avenue, and California Avenue, bisecting Palisades Park. It begins at an intersection with Ocean Avenue and California Avenue, at the top of the palisades, extending to the PCH at the base of the bluffs.

Historical Notes

Originally known as “Linda Vista Park,” Palisades Park was the first officially-designated public open space in Santa Monica. The land was donated to the City by Santa Monica's founder, Senator John P. Jones, in 1892. Additional land was donated by the Santa Monica Land and Water Company. The park was designed by I.E. Le Grande in 1913. It features Craftsman-era stone gates with tiles designed by Ernest Batchelder, picnic areas, a rose garden and scenic overlooks.

Historical Notes

The Long Wharf was built in 1893 at the north end of Santa Monica to accommodate large ships and was dubbed Port Los Angeles. At the time it was constructed, it was the longest pier in the world at 4700 feet, and accommodated a train.*^

However, just a short four years after the Long Wharf's construction, San Pedro Bay was chosen over Santa Monica to be the main seaport of Los Angeles. Click HERE to see more in Early Views of San Pedro and Wilmington.

Historical Notes

The California Incline was widened and improved between 1929-1930 by the CA Division of Highways (later Cal Trans). This was about the same time the coast highway was improved and officially named the Roosevelt Highway. 

The coast highway was formally dedicated as the 'Theodore Roosevelt Highway' when it was completed in 1929 and was generally known as the 'Roosevelt Highway' or the 'Pacific Coast Highway'.  In 1936, it was designated as US 101A (Alternate). In 1964, state legislative action changed many highway numbers in California, and US 101A became CA 1.

Historical Notes

The California Incline was rebuilt and reopened in 2016 after being deemed "structurally insufficient" in the early 1990s. The new structure consists of a reinforced concrete slab supported by 96 concrete pilings and over 1,000 soil nails to stabilize the erosion-prone sandstone along the bluff. The expanded Incline now accommodates three lanes of traffic as well as walking and biking lanes, with two new pedestrian bridges connecting it to Palisades Park and the beach.

Historical Notes

Click HERE to see more early views of the California Incline (1930 +).

Historical Notes

Linda Vista Park was renamed Palisades Park in the 1920s.

Historical Notes

Originally known as “Linda Vista Park,” Palisades Park was the first officially-designated public open space in Santa Monica. The land was donated to the City by Santa Monica's founder, Senator John P. Jones, in 1892.*^*^

Linda Vista Park was renamed Palisades Park in the 1920s.

Historical Notes

In the beginning, the parkland was scruffy. The city planted grass, Monterey cypress and eucalyptus trees (at the suggestion of Venice developer Abbot Kinney, a promoter of the Australian trees). Park development progressed under Park Commissioner Edward Sweetzer, who donated his salary to buy trees, according to a conservancy report. ^

Historical Notes

The cannon is an 1861 Rodman seacoast gun that was on loan from the Federal Government.  It was brought to Santa Monica in 1908 from San Francisco.

Historical Notes

Inspired by the formal beaux-arts principles of the City Beautiful movement, landscape architect I.G. LeGrande in 1913 presented a park plan featuring walkways, planters, gazebos and fountains. The longitudinal pathways, colonnades of palm trees and redwood pergola date from that era. ^

Historical Notes

At the time it was constructed, the Long Wharf was the longest pier in the world at 4700 feet, and accommodated a train. Also known as Mammoth Wharf, it stood until 1920 when it was dismantled.*^

Historical Notes

Although Santa Monica and Ocean Park (South Santa Monica) were both settled at the same time (in the early 1870’s), Ocean Park’s history is somewhat independent from that of the rest of Santa Monica. Separated from the north by a gully which today is occupied by the Santa Monica Freeway, Ocean Park was initially oriented towards the beach where a series of piers and other tourist attractions were erected in 1890 to 1910.^^*#

Historical Notes

One of the city’s oldest neighborhoods, Ocean Park sprang to life with Abott Kinney’s 1891 Ocean Park Development Company. Kinney bought a sandy strip of land in Santa Monica’s southwestern edge and began building roads, homes, parks and piers. After 1904, Kinney moved his attention to his Venice of America development (also called Ocean Park at the time), south of the Santa Monica city boundary. The history of Venice and Ocean Park are intertwined.^^*#

Historical Notes

The southern part of Santa Monica, commonly known as “Ocean Park,” was already an important business center as well as a popular summer resort. With the completion of the bath house and the Decatur Hotel, the building of the Masonic block and many other business blocks on Pier Avenue, Marine street and the ocean front began to put on a metropolitan aspect.^^*#

Historical Notes

Among the South Bay piers, the most notable in this period was Abbot Kinney's Venice of America pier, started in 1904 and built to rival his former partner's Ocean Park Pier. Located at the end of Windward Avenue in Venice, Kinney's pier was 900 feet long, 30 feet wide and included an Auditorium, large replica Ship Cafe, Dance Hall, Dentzel carousel, a Japanese Tea House and an Ocean Inn Restaurant. Venice soon became considered its own neighborhood.*^

Historical Notes

Venice of America was founded by tobacco millionaire Abbot Kinney in 1905 as a beach resort town. He and his partner Francis Ryan had bought two miles of oceanfront property south of Santa Monica in 1891. They built a resort town on the north end of the property called Ocean Park, which was soon annexed to Santa Monica. After Ryan died, Kinney and his new partners continued building south of Navy Street in the unincorporated territory. After the partnership dissolved in 1904, Kinney built on the marshy land on the south end of the property, intending to create a seaside resort like its namesake in Italy.*^

Historical Notes

When Venice of America opened on July 4, 1905, Kinney had dug several miles of canals to drain the marshes for his residential area, built a 1,200-foot long pleasure pier with an auditorium, ship restaurant, and dance hall, constructed a hot salt-water plunge, and built a block-long arcaded business street with Venetian architecture. Tourists, mostly arriving on the "Red Cars" of the Pacific Electric Railway from Los Angeles and Santa Monica, then rode Venice's miniature railroad and gondolas to tour the town.*^

Historical Notes

The beautifully lit canals with gondoliers and arched bridges drew widespread publicity and helped sell lots in Kinney’s Venice development. However, as the automobile gained in popularity, the canals were viewed by many as outdated, and the bulk of the canals were filled in 1929 to create roads.*^

Click HERE to see more Early Views of the Venice Canals (1904+).

Historical Notes

When Abbot Kinney was building Venice in 1905, he decided that his new resort should have an internal transportation system to shuttle visitors and residents around town. He turned to John J. Coit who operated a successful eighteen inch gauge (1/3rd scale) miniature steam railroad at Eastlake Park (now Lincoln Park) in Los Angeles. He persuaded him to oversee the construction and management of a mile and three quarter long railroad that would take passengers from the Windward Avenue business district on a loop across canal bridges and through the canalled residential district, then return via a loop up Washington Boulevard, past its Lake Avenue maintenance yard and back to the Windward station along Mildred Avenue.*#*#*

Historical Notes

The cost of a trip around Venice was five cents, although residents could buy a book of tickets for $1.00 which made the run only two cents. At that time, it cost 15 cents to ride from Los Angeles to Venice on the Los Angeles Pacific Railway. *#**

Historical Notes

The Venice Beach Aquarium exhibited the finest collection of marine specimens on the Pacific coast. It later became the official marine biological station for the University of Southern California.*

Historical Notes

The North Beach Bath House replaced the original Santa Monica Bath House in 1894. It was for many years the area’s favorite resort facility.  A special feature was the hot saltwater baths.  The admission fee was twenty-five cents.  The building also housed a restaurant, a bowling pavilion and the first Camera Obscura.  At the turn of the century, thousands of people were coming to visit the Santa Monica beach and its attractions.^#*

Historical Notes

On September 9, 1909, after sixteen months of construction, the Santa Monica Municipal Pier opened to the public. Thousands of people swarmed onto the 1,600-foot-long concrete pier to enjoy a festive day of band concerts, swimming races and the novelty of walking above the waters of the Pacific Ocean. While originally built to satisfy the City's sanitation needs, the Pier quickly became a magnet for the fishing community and fueled the imagination of many local entrepreneurs.^

Historical Notes

The growth of Santa Monica in the early twentieth century forced the city to confront a very serious sewage disposal problem. After considering several options, officials agreed that the best method was to build a pier and cast it out to sea.

L.G. Osgood of the California Ornamental Brick Company recommended using concrete to construct the pier. Wooden piers were notorious victims both of the weather and of infestation by wood-burrowing clams called shipworms or Teredo Worms. The City Council concurred, and committed to the first concrete pier on the West Coast. On September 28, 1907, the public voted in favor of a $150,000 bond to build the proposed pier.

Of eleven plans submitted for the new pier, the City Council chose local architect Edwin H. Warner’s design, which proposed a 1,600-foot-long pier supporting an eighteen-inch outfall pipe running underneath the entire length of the pier’s floor, inclined so that gravity would carry the treated waste to the ocean. The plan included a treatment plant on the beach at the foot of the pier, designed to purify the sewage and pump it into the outfall pipe for disposal.

The construction contract was awarded to the Stutzer Cement and Grading Company and on April 8, 1908, work on the new pier began. Journalists arrived from across the country to observe the construction of the West Coast’s unique new concrete pier, and in turn became well acquainted with the charming seaside community where it stood.

On August 18, 1909 the new pier was completed with only a few minor finishing details remaining, and Mayor T.H. Dudley declared September 9 the official opening day of the new Santa Monica Municipal Pier.

Thousands of people attended the grand opening and dedication ceremony, a full day of festivities and activities commemorating the City’s magnum opus—the West Coast’s first concrete pier. The celebration commenced with a parade that began at Santa Monica City Hall and ended at the foot of the new pier, where Mayor Dudley dedicated it and the featured speaker, State Senator Lee C. Gates commended the citizens of Santa Monica for their energy, spirit and courage for using groundbreaking technology. Santa Monica, he declared, had set the precedent for all future piers.*

Excerpt from Santa Monica Pier: A Century on the Last Great Pleasure Pier by James Harris (Angel City Press, 2009)

Historical Notes

The above postcard was produced to advertise the Balloon Route Excursion, a daily trolley car site-seeing route that operated under the management of C. M. Pierce (and the Los Angeles Pacific Co.) between 1904 and 1911. Printed on front: Longest concrete pier in the world, 1600 ft. long. On reverse: Balloon Route Excursion, The Scenic Trolley Trip. Paralleling the mountains from Los Angeles to the ocean, then 36 miles along the Seashore. Parlor Cars; Reserved Seats; Competent Guides. Free Attractions - An ocean voyage on wheels, the cars running a mile into the ocean on Long Wharf, Port Los Angeles; Admission to Largest Aquarium on Pacific Coast; Ride on the L.A. Thompson Scenic Railway at Venice; Admission to Camera Obscura, Santa Monica. Last car 9:40 A.M. Daily, 429 South Hill, Los Angeles.

Historical Notes

In 1917 Charles Looff, a famous carousel carver turned amusement entrepreneur, built a wider pier with an amusement park along the south side of Municipal Pier. Both piers combined were referred to as Santa Monica Pier. 

Click HERE to see Early Views of the Santa Monica Pier (1917+).

Historical Notes

When it was built in 1905, the Ocean Park Bath House was one of the most elaborate structures on Santa Monica's beach. It was Moorish in style, 3 stories high with 5 domes. An ad from 1906 claimed it had the largest swimming pool in the US.*^*^

Historical Notes

Looking more like a movie set, the Ocean Park Bath House was one of the most talked about buildings of its day-and a great draw for the beach area. The lavish indoor plunge (heated for those who didn’t take to cooler ocean swimming) was built by A.R. Fraser. ^^*#

Historical Notes

Daredevil pilots landed on the beach since there was no airport back then. The Kinney Company hired many.

Historical Notes

In 1903 Alexander Rosborough Fraser built the Ocean Park Casino, and in 1905 erected the Ocean Park Bath House. In 1906 he built the Ocean Park Auditorium, the Masonic Temple and the Decatur Hotel. In 1911 “Fraser’s Million Dollar Pier,” was completed, extending 1000 feet over the ocean and housing a multitude of amusements, including a beautiful dancing pavilion. Fraser built numerous improvements in Ocean Park, and is responsible for the construction of the concrete promenade which joins Ocean Park with Venice. #^*

Historical Notes

Santa Monica was known for its annual road race--an event that took place from 1909 through 1919 (with a 1917-18 hiatus because of America's involvement in World War I).

The Santa Monica race was established by a consortium of Southern California auto dealers who wanted to stimulate interest in cars--buying them as well as racing them--at a time when automobiles were relatively rare in Los Angeles.^

Historical Notes

Auto racing became popular in Santa Monica. Drivers would race an 8.4-mile loop made up of city streets. The Free-For-All Race was conducted between 1910-1912. The United States Grand Prix was held in Santa Monica in 1914 and 1916, awarding the American Grand Prize and the Vanderbilt Cup trophies. By 1919, the events were attracting 100,000 people, at which point the city halted them.*^

Historical Notes

The course covered San Vicente Boulevard, Ocean Avenue and Wilshire Boulevard (then named Nevada Avenue).

Historical Notes

In the 1914 Vanderbilt Cup Races, Eddie Pullen's #4 Mercer lost its front right tire at the "Death Curve" and moments later crashed into the barricade. Two days later, Pullen won the 400-mile American Grand Prix on the same course with the same car.^

Historical Notes

Both the 1914 and 1916 Vanderbilt Cup Races were held on the beautiful Santa Monica road course bordering on the Pacific Ocean.

The Santa Monica 8.4-mile course consisted of three major roads; Ocean Avenue (location of the start/finish), Wilshire Boulevard and San Vicente Boulevard. The race was 35 laps for a total of 295 miles.

Historical Notes

Jefferson school, originally called 6th St. School, was Santa Monica's first school building and was located on two lots on the east side of 6th St. between Santa Monica Blvd. and Arizona. This first school was a frame building and was erected in 1876.^

Historical Notes

In 1903, Santa Monica constructed its first independent city hall at a site that was then just east of downtown’s main commercial core. Choosing the Mission Revival architectural style, it featured massive brick walls covered with stucco, arcades, arched windows, elevated scalloped parapets, and a corner tower.*

Historical Notes

Santa Monica’s library shared space in City Hall, and a notorious dungeon-like jail was located in the basement that drew indignant protests from female civic leaders who demanded better conditions for the city’s prison population. Later a new jail adjacent to City Hall was built by Henry Hollwedel.*

Historical Notes

The Mission Revival style building designed by architects Carroll Brown and Henry Hollwedel (Henshey's Majestic Theater, Santa Monica Bay Women's Club) served as city hall and SMPD headquarters from 1902 to 1938.

Historical Notes

The old City Hall building was demolished in the late 1930’s. S. H. Kress & Co bought the property and erected a new store to replace the store on 3rd street. This building has since been demolished for new development, but the 3rd Street building survives.*##^

Today’s City Hall at 1685 Main Street replaced this earlier structure in 1939.^

Historical Notes

The Vitagraph Company was one of the biggest motion picture studios in the early era of American film. Originally founded in Brooklyn, NY in 1897, they established another studio on 2nd Street in Santa Monica in 1911. The photo above was taken the following year, 1912, but they only lasted there until 1915 because the persistent fog made filming so difficult that they moved to 4151 Prospect Avenue in Hollywood (Click HERE to see the Hollywood Studio). In 1925, they were bought by Warner Bros.*

Historical Notes

A remarkable survivor from the year Santa Monica was born, this small brick building was constructed as a beer hall by William Rapp.  An 1877 newspaper ad promoted the “Los Angeles Beer Garden” with fresh Los Angeles beer always on hand.^

Historical Notes

The arches give this vernacular building an Italianate air.  It has gone through many incarnations in its long life, even serving briefly as City Hall in 1888-1889.  From 1911 to 1914 it was used by the Vitagraph Film Company, an early movie studio.  It’s also been home to the Salvation Army, a radiator repair shop, a piano tuning shop and an art gallery.  Old painted signs on the north wall memorialize some of the previous occupants.^

Historical Notes

Saving the Rapp Saloon took several decades of effort.  Vacant and abandoned since 1959, the owner hoped to sell and relocate the building so that this prime location could be redeveloped. It was named the first landmark in the city in 1975, and the city offered to support the relocation.  Ideas floated to use the building as a historical museum.  By 1984 no viable purchaser had emerged with a realistic plan for re-use; and the owner threatened demolition.  Finally, in 1986, the American Youth Hostel acquired the property with the intention of preserving and re-using the historic landmark.  New construction wraps around the Rapp Saloon, visible in its entirety – a model of combining new construction with historic preservation.^

Historical Notes

The Rapp Saloon, at 1438 Second St., was built in 1875 and is the oldest surviving brick building in the city. This one-story structure was designed for William Rapp by a contractor known only as Mr. Freeman. The building was constructed by Spencer & Pugh bricklayers and plasterers. It was the first masonry structure in Santa Monica. The Rapp Saloon even served as Santa Monica’s City Hall for two years, and was the city's first landmark.*

Historical Notes

Santa Monica High School was founded in 1884. It changed location several times in its early years before settling into its present campus at 601 Pico Boulevard. The "new" campus opened in 1906 with one building, the current History building, with an enrollment of 50 students. The school sits on the hilltop of what is now 6th Street and Pico Boulevard, from which one can see the Pacific Ocean.*^

Historical Notes

In 1921, the Open Air Memorial Theatre (now called the Greek Amphitheatre) was built to honor the Santa Monicans who served in World War I. One of the best examples of the classical Greek style in Southern California, the amphitheatre was built after Santa Monica passed a $30,000 bond measure to fund its construction. Barnum Hall Theater, originally called "the Auditorium," was built in 1937 by the Works Progress Administration (WPA) to be the Civic Auditorium of Santa Monica and host school events as well. The campus also added six buildings during this period: the Language, English, Business, History, Administration and Music buildings.

In 1952, Santa Monica High School was finally expanded to what it is now, 33 acres, and two new buildings were built, the Science and Technology D.M. buildings. As the school aged, renovations took place in Barnum Hall and the Music building was completely rebuilt.

The school has been a location in a number of films. Most famously, it is the high school setting in Rebel Without a Cause where James Dean walks up the History Building stairs.*^

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