Tag Archives: Beaches
Santa Monica Air Line, a Pacific Electric streetcar that shuttled people between downtown Los Angeles and Santa Monica, circa 1909
This natty group of Angelenos was photographed beside a Pacific Electric streetcar on what was known as the Santa Monica Air Line, which was took people from the Pacific Electric Building at Sixth and Main Streets in downtown Los Angeles, … Continue reading
Santa Monica celebrates “Pier Day” when the US Navy’s Atlantic fleet arrives, September 9, 1909
Santa Monica pier, which looks nothing like this today, celebrated “Pier Day” when the US Navy’s Atlantic fleet parked itself off the Los Angeles coast on September 9, 1909. They certainly got a decent turn-out. And it would have been … Continue reading
Passengers board the “Balloon Route” tourist streetcar at Hermosa Beach, California, 1906
The Los Angeles Pacific Company’s “Balloon Route” was a streetcar ride that started in downtown Los Angeles and took passengers on a scenic trip around L.A. It was marketed as being for tourists, but in reality was an extended advertisement … Continue reading
Aerial shot of the Los Angeles river reaching the Long Beach foreshore with the Rainbow Pier jutting out into the Pacific, California, December 2, 1955
It’s amazing how being 12,000 feet in the air can change your perspective. This shot looks north across Long Beach, California on December 2, 1955. That wide channel on the left is the Los Angeles river. And that huge arc … Continue reading
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Tagged Aerial photographs, Beaches, California, Long Beach, Theaters
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Fraser’s Million Dollar Pier on fire at Ocean Park Beach in Santa Monica, California, September 3, 1912
Building piers along the Pacific shore was a very popular thing, which is a little surprising because nearly all of them caught fire and burned to the ground (or to the water, as the case may be) at one time … Continue reading
A huge crowd gathers in front of Venice Pier, Venice Beach, California, circa 1920s
This photo is undated, but I’d say it’s from the 1920s—mostly because everybody is dressed up in hats and coats and suits while at the beach. Something big was happening that day on those bleachers rigged up in front of … Continue reading
A large crowd gathers in front of the Ship Café on the Venice pier, California, 1905
The idea of a café built in the shape of a Spanish galleon (a reproduction of the one helmed by explorer, Juan Cabrillo, when he discovered California) proved to be a very popular idea when Abbott Kinney’s “Venice of America” … Continue reading
Angelenos dot the beach in front of the Moorish-style Ocean Park Bath House at Ocean Park, Santa Monica, circa 1910
Los Angeles is a city of eclectic architecture, but this one sure takes the prize. It’s the bath house at Ocean Park, which is the beach sandwiched between Santa Monica and Venice. I don’t know who chose to build it … Continue reading
Looking along the Santa Monica pier, Santa Monica, California, 1924
The piers along Santa Monica and Venice beaches in California have taken on several incarnations during the past 150 years (due to the vagaries of weather, fire, technology, trends) so it can be hard sometimes to tell one from the … Continue reading
Inceville movie studio, owned by director Thomas Ince, in the area around where Sunset Blvd meets the Pacific Coast Highway, Los Angeles, circa mid-1910s
In 1912, silent film producer/director Thomas Ince built a city of motion picture sets in and around the area where Sunset Boulevard now meets the Pacific Coast Highway (PCH). Having a studio that met his exact specifications probably helped him … Continue reading