Tag Archives: Santa Monica
Passengers riding the Thompson Switchback Gravity Railroad from the Arcadia Hotel into Santa Monica, California, circa 1887
The building in the background of this circa 1887 photo was the Arcadia, a luxury-for-the-time oceanfront hotel in Santa Monica (open from 1886 to 1909) on Ocean Ave between Colorado Ave and what is now known as Pico Blvd. In … Continue reading
Human card game at Gables Beach Club, Santa Monica, California, circa late 1920s
Honestly, I don’t know what the heck was going on in front of the Gables Beach Club in Santa Monica when this photo was taken some time in the late 1920s. What I can tell is that the Gables Beach … Continue reading
The California Incline road leading down to Santa Monica beach, Santa Monica, California, circa 1910
The steeply graded road connecting the top of the Santa Monica cliffs to the beach is known as the California Incline. I’m used to it being an always-busy, two-lane roadway with a separated path for pedestrians and cyclists. So it’s … Continue reading
Vista Tea Room building by the Santa Monica pier, Santa Monica Beach, California, circa 1920s
The building housing the Vista Tea Room by the Santa Monica pier looks to be very interesting. It has cute, decorative balconies, so I’d say the upper floors were a hotel. I love the sign opposite: Over The Waves Lunch … Continue reading
Girls crowd onto a Life Guard vehicle at the top of the California Incline, Santa Monica, 1934
I don’t know what these five girls were doing sitting on a Ford truck at the top of the California Incline overlooking Santa Monica beach, but if you put a bunch of pretty girls on a vehicle, they’re bound to … Continue reading
Aerial photo of the Santa Monica pier, Santa Monica Beach, Los Angeles, 1924
Here we have an aerial photo of the Santa Monica pier from 1924. We can see the Looff Hippodrome. Built in 1916, it’s that square building with the tower. It houses the Looff’s carousel and is still there. Meanwhile, the … Continue reading
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Tagged Aerial photographs, Beaches, Santa Monica, Santa Monica pier
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Night shot of Bundy Theatre, 3414 Pico Blvd, Santa Monica, 1946
I love that this photographer thought to take a night photo of the glowing neon surrounding the Bundy Theatre in Santa Monica, silhouetting that car parked out front. But what I love even more is that several of the letters … Continue reading
Looking south along the bluffs of Santa Monica Beach, California, 1888
This photo from 1888, we’re looking south along the bluffs of Santa Monica Beach. To be honest, I’m surprised to see so many beach huts filling the shoreline (I assume that’s what they were, and that people owned them?), especially … Continue reading
Billboard for the Deauville Beach Club on Santa Monica Beach, Los Angeles (undated)
I have no information about this photo of a billboard advertising the Deauville Beach Club on Santa Monica Beach. I don’t know when the photo was taken or where the billboard stood, but in a way, that’s beside the point. … Continue reading
Interior of Thrifty Drug Store lunch counter, Santa Monica, California, January 4, 1937
Most vintage photos of stores (at least, the ones I come across) are nearly always of the exterior, so it makes for a refreshing change of pace to see inside. This one shows us what the interior of a Thrifty … Continue reading