Tag Archives: Santa Monica
Hotel Arcadia, the first upscale hotel on Santa Monica beach, circa late 1800s
California’s plentiful sun and fresh sea air has long been a draw for ailing and half-frozen Easterners. So finally landing on California soil must have been a relief—especially if this is where they dug in their toes. This is the … Continue reading
Police about to be repelled by water canons from the SS Rex gambling boat off the Santa Monica coast in 1939
The SS Rex was a gambling ship that sat off the Santa Monica coast during the late 1930s. At the time, gambling was illegal in California but technically, the Rex was operating within the law because it sat more than three … Continue reading
Birdseye view of cities near Los Angeles, circa early 1910s
In this illustration of Southern California, we can see how truly separated the various towns were in the early 1910s. Waaaaay off in the distance we can see (what we now refer to as) downtown Los Angeles, with great expanses … Continue reading
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Tagged Color photo, Downtown Los Angeles, Maps, Santa Monica, Venice Beach
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The Vitagraph Motion Picture Company, 2nd St, Santa Monica, 1912
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. This photo was … Continue reading
Colorized postcard of the pier at Santa Monica, the year it opened in 1909
It took 16 months of construction, but when the Santa Monica pier opened in 1909 it was a big deal. Thousands of people swarmed onto the 1,600-foot-long concrete pier to enjoy a festive day of band concerts, swimming races and … Continue reading
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Tagged Beaches, Color photo, Santa Monica, Santa Monica pier
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Panorama photo of the Moorish-style bathhouse and Ocean Park Beach, Santa Monica, California, circa 1905
Click on the above photo to get a larger view. This panorama photo was taken (I’m guessing) from the Santa Monica pier looking south toward the stretch of Ocean Park Beach where the Moorish-style bathhouse opened in 1905. By all … Continue reading
A Thompson gravity switchback railway in front of the Arcadia Hotel, Santa Monica, 1890
Before the monstrous death-defying roller-coasters at Six Flags Magic Mountain, there was the Thompson Switchback Gravity Railroad. Mr. Thompson built first one was built at Coney Island in 1884. This one was outside the luxurious-for-the-time Arcadia Hotel in Santa Monica … Continue reading
The Pacific Coast Highway, possibly Santa Monica beach, California, circa 1930s
I could find no information about the date or exactly location of this photo of the Pacific Coast Highway section of Highway 1 that stretches from Santa Monica through Malibu to Oxnard. What it does look like are the palisades … Continue reading
Santa Monica Beach, California, 1887
This photo is one of the earliest shots of Los Angeles I’ve come across. This is Santa Monica beach in 1887. I’m pretty sure these dozen or so people had their entire beach to themselves, which for this modern-day Angeleno … Continue reading
3rd Street Promenade in Santa Monica, 1965
It’s hard (read: almost impossible) to picture how 3rd Street in Santa Monica must have looked before it became a busy and popular pedestrian promenade in 1965. But this 1910 photo gives us some idea of what it must have … Continue reading